This poem came through the MINemergent daily email, and I thought it was fitting for our cohort:
Christ, the Middle
Sean Hall
As we eat together
Have a drink together
Friends, this is our worship
Christ, the middle of every part
Christ, the core of who we are
As we talk for hours
Share the love that's ours
Friends, this is our worship
Christ, the middle of every part
Christ, the core of who we are
Living life together
Sharing dreams together
Friends, this is our worship
Christ, the middle of every part
Christ, the core of who we are
When we cry together
Laugh out loud together
Friends, this is our worship
Christ, the middle of every part
Christ, the core of who we are
When we kiss our lover
When we dance together
Friends, this is our worship
Christ, the middle of every part
Christ, the core of who we are
Say a toast together
Lift our cups together
Friends, this is our worship
--
Eating, drinking, talking, living life, sharing dreams, crying, laughing, dancing, toasting, lifting our cups - these are all activities we share in the cohort. And I truly believe that Christ is in the middle, the core, the center, of these activities.
I think its helpful to remember that, to picture it poetically or imaginatively. I also wonder if there are ways that we can acknowledge the center place of Christ in our cohort? I don't believe that the Spirit of Christ relies upon our verbal acknowledgment or invitation to be present. But I think words, rituals, and expressions can be helpful for us to remember that Christ truly is in the middle of our gatherings.
As Paul says, "In him we live and move and have our being." I believe this is fully a reality, but as the contemplatives remind us, our role is to awaken to the reality around us. How do we "see" Christ "in the middle" more clearly and more often? How do we awaken to the reality of the beauty that this poem embodies?
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Although I would wish otherwise, the one word that would easily define me is “worrier.”
And yet I have been given great gifts. All that happens seems to reveal and awaken me. So that it is not about searching for something that I do not yet have but God revealing to me what is already there.
I do not live out my gifts alone and in my own puny capacity. I am part of something much larger. This is for me what it means when you ask… How do we "see" Christ "in the middle" more clearly and more often?—It is discovering what belongs to me in the larger context of life with God.
In all honesty, everything that has happened in my life—the loss of my first marriage, finding the Cohort, the collapse and rebuilding of my beliefs, a second marriage, job losses and changes, Mike’s hospitalization, uncertainty, instability—everything that has happened seems exactly right for me.
Something I would have never expected.
It is my hope that I continue to be transformed from the past (worrier) and that my desire to keep Jesus Christ in the center allows me to live out the true meaning of my name... The meaning of the name Nancy is 'Grace; favour'
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