As I mentioned in an earlier post, a friend on Facebook asked me to talk about any shifts in perspective I have been gained as a result of my sabbatical, and specifically she asks: "Can you share some of your insights of self transformation? What once was, what you experienced and where are you currently?"
In many ways, writing this blog has become an extended way of answering those kinds of questions. When I initially began it in May 2017, I saw it in practical terms as a way of keeping church members (and maybe a few other folks) aware of my experiences while I was on sabbatical, hence the name "Travels with Wesley." Once I returned home, I wrote a few follow-up posts, but I didn't really intend to keep up with it. I felt like it was almost self-indulgent to continue. After all, for whose benefit is this? Who am I to think that anyone would want to read my theological reflections?
However, the seeds had been sown when I was part of the 2016 Wesley Pilgrimage through Discipleship Ministries of the UMC. Traveling with sisters and brothers from across the Connection and seeing some of the places that were so significant in the early days of Methodism in their company made me want to know more, to read more, to see more, so that I could share more. And like it or not, social media and blogs offer an opportunity to reach people that is unparalleled. Writing from my home in North Carolina, my words can travel around the world in the blink of an eye. Right now, there are people from 10 countries who are regularly reading this blog, and that is just the tip of the iceberg.
John Wesley was a paradox. He was both confident AND full of self-doubt; he was both a rule-follower AND an iconoclast; he was both compassionate AND insensitive. Immersing myself in his letters and his journal and spending an extended amount of time in places he knew so well has helped me to examine myself so that I can see where I am all of those things, too. Without putting John, Charles, and Susanna on a pedestal, because of traveling with the Wesleys, it has become possible for me to better appreciate the ways they used the gifts God gave them to live out their faith with boldness and conviction within the limits of their personalities and blind spots and as people both representative of AND different from the times in which they lived.
Most of all, viewing the Wesleys as human beings not so different from the woman I see every day in the mirror gives me hope that I, too, might continue to grow in grace and holiness and that God might use me and my words, even on Facebook or in this blog as a vehicle for helping others to experience God's love in Christ. The Wesleys are an inspiration to me, for they show me that, in the words of a favorite children's hymn,
the saints of God are just folk like me,
and I mean to be one too.
A lovely reflection on Grace and Divine Love in the lives of the ordinary. The cross itself is the sign that contradicts, moving dynamically outward in all directions with their built-in polarities and also their built-in balance. From the backdrop of the cross where creation and Creator meet in interwoven and mutual compassion, with Christ we human beings through conscious intention and commitment continuously leap more deeply into life with its countless mysteries and innate contradictions and polarities. The cross gives momentum as the backdrop map of our self-extension into all kinds of compassionate presence and non-judgmental service in the mercy of Christ.. Sending you abundant thanks and blessings through the many dimensions of your travels in Grace~
ReplyDeleteAlla, thank you for your insightful comments, and blessings on your spiritual walk. Grace itself is a mystery, and the paradox that the cross, the instrument of death, becomes the channel of life is the biggest mystery of all.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Donna, from a warm memory of my childhood. I sang that song, as I called it before I knew it as a hymn, with gusto, circa 1960. It is happily stuck in my head for today. I have come to know and appreciate several real people who are worthy of sainthood through our book studies, and Susanna is near the top of the list. Thank you for your gift of insight and time.
ReplyDeleteIt's a catchy little song, isn't it? I'm glad you're finding the books we're reading interesting, and it's wonderful that you're enjoying the various saints we're encountering along the way.
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