Connected

Texts: Romans 8:24 - 39
and
this poem by Mechtild of Magdeburg

Effortlessly,
Love flows from God into man,
Like a bird
Who rivers the air
Without moving her wings.
Thus we move in His world,
One in body and soul,
Though outwardly separate in form.
As the Source strikes the note,
Humanity sings -
The Holy Spirit is our harpist,
And all strings
Which are touched by Love
Must sound.

According to Paul, nothing can separate us from the love of our Divine Beloved! According to Mechtild of Magdeburg, "we are one in body and soul, though outwardly separate in form."

We are connected. No matter what happens, when it happens, or how it happens, we remain connected. It is love that is the connecting force.

No matter if our bodies are in the same room, the same state, or the same country – if we have love for one another, we are always connected.

Paul tells us that Death cannot sever the connection between us and our Divine Beloved. He also tells us that Life cannot sever that connection. Furthermore, nothing that may happen between life and death can create a disconnect between us and our Sacred Creator. A lot of things may happen. There may be times when it looks like something or someone has the power to cut us off from the One Who is our Love, but I am convinced with Paul that neither height nor depth ... nor anything else in creation ... can separate us from the Love of God. I am absolutely and utterly convinced.

I am not convinced because Paul said so. I am also not convinced because Mechtild believes that God's love is like a bird who rivers through the air, although that image gives me shivers. I am convinced because like Paul and like Mechtild, I have experiences of the Holy intersecting with my life. I have experiences that sometimes don't make sense unless I attribute them to that which is transcendent. I believe with all of my being that I am joined with the Sacred – not joined like an addition was built onto my soul and God lives there, but joined in the way that you join eggs and flour and milk ... and you end up something delicious to eat. We are joined completely.

Not only are we joined with our Divine Beloved and joined with each other, but we are also joined with creation. With creation, we groan. A little before the selection read earlier, Paul writes that although we are suffering now, glory will be revealed eventually. He writes, "We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labor pains until now; and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies."

All creation groans for redemption. We groan even though we have hope. We groan even in our patience. We groan because we do not yet see our redemption. And Spirit groans with us and through us.

At the time of this writing there was an expectation that Jesus would be right back to wrap this thing up. Now, all this time later, we look for the essence of truth in these writings. What does it mean to be redeemed? The kind of redemption that Paul and his community were waiting for has not happened yet. Is Jesus coming back literally and physically? Will the physical bodies of those who have already died take shape again? Will we go to a place called heaven and worship in a jeweled city with angels flying around? Will the lion and lamb both eat grass side by side? We just don't know. And if Jesus were here to ask, I think he would probably say something like he did to his followers then ... "What is it to you?" or "Only the Father knows." Then we would be instructed to "stay awake," to "be the servant of all," or simply to "love one another as I have loved you."

This question of redemption seems really important to me though, what with the creation, us, and Spirit all groaning for it. Redeem has many meanings, such as: to buy back. This is a common definition for Christian redemption ... Jesus having bought our salvation with his sacrifice. But there are other meanings to the word redeem; meanings that encompass more than going to heaven someday. I think that if all creation is groaning – the earth, the animals, the plants – that maybe redemption is more complicated. Paul talks about all of creation being set free from bondage. So maybe some of the other definitions of redeem apply, like: to change for the better, or to repair and restore.

It is Earth Day this Wednesday, so it seems fitting to take a moment to think about all creation groaning for redemption in terms of repairing and restoring. We humans have trashed this place. Tracy Chapman and others call it the rape of the world. There's so much that needs to be repaired and restored. The earth, plants, and animals are in terrible bondage because of how we live. I took a ride on my scooter recently. I was going to ride in the country somewhere but ended up taking the Lake Michigan tour and ended up riding next to the BP tanks and oil rigs near Gary, IN. It was so sad. Most of my senses were affected – sight, sound, taste and smell. It makes sense to me that creation, other than us humans, is groaning to be repaired and restored.

What about us though? What is it about our bodies that need to be repaired and restored?

There is sickness. Those of us with a chronic illness, pain or disability know the groaning of living with something that is constantly debilitating. All bodies are of equal sacred worth and this equality needs to be restored.

There is racism. People whose bodies are various shades of brown and whose features are non-European are systemically considered less than paler bodies with thin sharp features. Black and Brown people know the groaning of living in oppression. This system needs to be repaired. All bodies are of equal sacred worth and this equality needs to be restored.

There is heterosexism. People who do not fit neatly into gender norms or whose sexual orientation is not heterosexual know the groaning of living with sideway glances and being considered by others to be immoral. All bodies are of equal sacred worth and this equality needs to be restored.

There is patriarchy. Women have been subjected to 2nd class citizenry throughout history. The bodies of women have been objects and property. Women have been and continue to be commodified by men. All bodies are of equal sacred worth and this equality needs to be restored.

There is groaning for redemption, to be sure. What of the trans-woman of colour with a chronic illness? Is she not groaning? Are we not groaning with her? We need to be because we are all connected. All creation needs to be redeemed.

I agree with Paul that "the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed." And I agree with him that nothing, not persecution or famine, not nakedness or sword, can keep us from the love of God in Christ. I disagree with Paul, however, when he says that if we hope for what we do not see, that we wait for it with patience. I am not simply waiting for the redemption. If Paul was waiting patiently for Jesus to come back so that all creation would be redeemed, he'd still be waiting. Jesus was not one to wait and we are not only called to follow his pattern but we are connected to him through love and through the power of the Holy Spirit.

I agree with Paul on something else, though. There will be peril. There will be dangers. There will be famine. There will be heights and depths and rulers and powers. None of these things, people, or places can separate us from the love of God in Christ or from each other.

We persevere in working for redemption. We repair and restore as much as we can however it is given us to do it. We remember that we are one with each other and with Christ. No matter where our individual paths take us … no matter how the church is structured ... no matter what ... we are connected.

Mechtild tells us that when we are touched in Love, we must sound because Humanity sings and the Holy Spirit is our harpist. The strength of Love reaches beyond our bodies and our senses. I have experienced being oppressed. I have experienced the stories of others who are oppressed. You have experienced oppression and have heard the stories of others who are oppressed. And somehow through all the perils and hunger, in spite of the rulers and powers, we are together today loving each other in the name of all that is Holy and Sacred.

Nothing ... nothing can separate us from Love.