What is the impossible? Is there such a thing? What is a miracle? Is there such a thing? Each one of us may answer these questions differently, depending upon our outlook on life, and perhaps even more so by the experiences that we ourselves have had so far in our lives. How many times have you felt that you were in an impossible situation that you saw no way to resolve? Have you ever had someone place an expectation upon you that you felt you could not meet?
We as humans live within limitations; however, sometimes the limitations that we live by are set by our own estimation or even awareness of what is possible. The Episcopal priest, teacher and retreat leader, Cynthia Bourgeault, in a recent webcast[i] talk reminds us that when we identify ourselves by these perceived limitations, we limit the freedom of our awareness or consciousness of what truly IS and what can be. So, would it be possible to transcend or transform that estimation of what is possible or our identification with who we see ourselves to be in a way that would allow the un-thought or unconceivable possibility?
We hear of one of those limitations that we consider in our lives in the reading from Genesis today (Gn 17:1, 9-10, 15-22) – AGE:
When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said: “I am God the Almighty…
On your part, you and your descendants after you must keep my covenant throughout the ages…
“As for your wife Sarai… I will bless her, and I will give you a son by her.
Him also will I bless; he shall give rise to nations, and rulers of peoples shall issue from him.”
Abraham prostrated himself and laughed as he said to himself,
“Can a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old?
Or can Sarah give birth at ninety?”
We can’t truly fault Abraham for his response to this incredulous declaration by the Lord. I don’t image the “laughing” so much as cynicism as of perhaps tickled surprise at such an outlandish image of a couple in their nineties producing a child, who then would become a ruler of nations. Abraham, a man of faith, in this scripture is called further into relationship with God – in this instance to trust that despite his and-Sarah’s advanced age they would become parents of a leader of their people.
Abraham and Sarah’s identification with their advanced age caused them to find the Lord’s declaration to be quite surprising to say the least. At the close of the passage today, God tells Abraham that Sarah will give birth to Isaac “by this time next year.” We know that this in fact happens and thus the pre-conceived limitations that Abraham and Sarah had about this possibility were transcended or more accurately transformed. The key here is not just that God said that it would be done and it happened, but that Abraham and Sarah continued to trust and invest in their relationship with God. In other words, they responded in faith despite how ludicrous it seemed.
How much can the expansion of our awareness of life’s possibilities actually contribute to what can happen? In some sense, we can say that the limits would be boundless. The difficulty is finding a way to let go of “limits” that do indeed impede the enrichment of our lives, which from a spiritual standpoint means receiving the “gifts” that God seeks to give us along the way. How do we become “present” enough or aware enough of the many ways and opportunities in our everyday lives perhaps that God is touching us and inviting us into deeper relationship through our world – through each other.
We may all be familiar with the ponderous question, “If a tree fell in the forest and no one was there to hear it fall, does it make a sound?” Perhaps the same question can be asked regarding the presence of God in our lives and world. If we don’t notice or fail to be aware or conscious of God as active in our world, then for all practical purposes, God is not active in the world. We have to recognize in order to engage, and it is through this relating that God’s activity becomes manifest in our world. In other words, we have choose to participate. As Matthew tells us today in his Gospel (Mt 8:1-4) even in the case of what we may consider to be miracles, there is a part that we must play:
When Jesus came down from the mountain…a leper approached, did him homage, and said,
“Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean.”
He stretched out his hand, touched him, and said, “I will do it. Be made clean.”
His leprosy was cleansed immediately.
In this case, this leper approached Jesus and made the request with hopeful faith that it could happen. So, we are seeing two extremes perhaps in today’s scripture stories. In both instances we have people in relationship with God. In the case of Abraham and Sarah, the Lord approaches them and indicates the miracle which will be bestowed upon them, where in the Gospel, the leper approaches Jesus with faith and requests that he be given the gift of healing. In both cases, the “miracle” happens.
While it is true that God is the sustainer and maintainer of the relationship that we have with him, it is not a one-sided relationship. It cannot be. Even if we are simply the receivers, we have to recognize, engage and believe in the possibility of the gift in order for it to be manifest. This is our way of being healed and being made “clean.” The level of clarity with which we can perceive of God in our midst at all times determines the extent to which we can participate in the relatedness that God so wants with us. God will not force herself on us!
When we begin to fine-tune our awareness through practices of recognizing God all around us, then we can give “birth” to new life no matter our age, personality, “disabilities,” etc. WE can then begin to see even our illnesses, burdens and “diseases,” as opportunities for the glory of God’s healing power, just as the leper in today’s Gospel. All our limitations (physical, psychological, emotional, etc.), despite their worn “age” in perhaps years of repetition, can be transformed into the very pathways through which God is coming to us AND inviting us to journey.
The miracle of God’s love oddly enough is in some way “dependent” upon our receiving it and letting it flow through us. When we find ways to let this happen then our way of seeing God can become our way of “being God,” and in this sacred identification we can be Christ to each other and to the world. This makes each transformative moment into the Age of Christ!
Peace,
Thomas
[i] Cynthia Bourgeault, The Finger Pointing at the Moon: Is there life beyond types? (The Enneagram Global Summit 2017 Webcast) http://enneagramglobalsummit.com/