Mission Impossible

Mission Impossible

Jesus replied, "What is impossible with man is possible with God."

Luke 18:27

            Loopholes. I have become quite well convinced that the Source of Life and Love is singularly the foremost expert on loopholes. In fact, I’m now largely convinced that when we spell the word “holiness” in religious and spiritual circles, that we do ourselves a possible disservice of misspelling. Too often it seems to me that the word the Lord in fact meant seems closer to “holeyness.”  God seems to have a way of taking the “I” out of so many things anyway – why not here too?

            A few years ago it struck me how holey we are even in how our bodies are constructed nostrils, ear canals, ureters, veins, arteries, pores, hair follicles, heart chambers, stomach cavities, our holeyness is remarkably, ubiquitously built right down into the cellular structures where channels in the cell walls allow DNA, RNA and nutrients to flow as they need to back and forth from cell to cell and fluid to fluid. Animals too have many of theses same structures - they too are holey. Even plants, with the channels they have from their roots, through their stems, into their leaves - all porous, all holey! Loopholes. In this way it becomes impossible not to see that indeed all is holey! Even those who do us great harm, those whom we consider enemies – in this we can possibly see the loophole – they too are holey. And in this thought, I can imagine God looking through all those holes, like simple dots on a strainer to the Divine Eye, saying “I see right through you!”

            This is a particularly tough one to grasp in light of the recent shooting in Southern Oregon, or in the shadows of many other horrible and heinous crimes committed across the globe these days. But, I would submit this. I believe God is singularly expert at this kind of “mission impossible.” Not only are these horror-producing people holey, they are also preaching. Whaaa???!!! Yes. Preaching by example of what not to do. Not good preaching. Not in methods condoned. But by their crimes they turn whole communities to prayer and vigils. Preaching by forcing a whole community to ask in aching, broken, wholehearted ways all the big questions that grief always forces: “Where is God in this?” “Why God?” “Is there a God?” "Is human enlightenment possible?"“Can healing come out of tragedy?” “Will we ever find perfect peace?” “Will we ever find perfect love?” “What is the meaning in this?” If the place of a “preacher” is to make us search our hearts and minds for what is beyond us, for what is found only in the Eternal and Divine, and encourage us to return to prayer to seek faith, hope, healing, and love - then, in the worst way these perpetrators do preach.

            God will use you - whether you want to be used by God or not. He’s got mission impossible down – perfectly.

            In fact, as I was beginning to write this, I was struggling a bit (as I have done with most of the last many essays) with what on earth to write, and what verse to use. I am not theologically trained, and I did not have all the Bible verses I have used committed to memory. I'm young and new-found in my adult-interest to study the Bible. And so, as discipline has taught, I would pray and ask for help and guidance on what to write. Through all of this practice, I now have a better appreciation for what our many religious teachers do in praying and preaching and praying, again and again and again. After writing the first two handfuls of these essays I saw how impossible writing another 30 was looking. It was definitely out of my hands.  So, with this one (as with them all) I prayed – a little harder, ‘cause it’s 39. And thoughts like the ones above began to emerge about Mission Impossible and “holeyness” I thought of the verse “Pray without ceasing” 1Thessalonians 5:17 which used to sound completely impossible and a bit ridiculous to me, until I realized that as we breathe we naturally make the sound “Yah” with the in breath and “weh” with the out breath, and we are in fact, all of our lives, unavoidably, with each breath praying “Yah-weh” continuously. Our first breath and our last will complete each other in prayer. So, not really having a better verse come to mind, the verse I was going to highlight was “pray without ceasing” as a success in one type of mission impossible.

            However, last night as I was praying about this essay, I was fixing lunch for my husband. My habit is to put a note in his lunch. Recently I’ve been pulling notes off of a stack of “sticky note Bible verses” to write on. As Providence would have it the verse that came up next was: “Jesus replied, "What is impossible with man is possible with God."  Luke 18:27 !              

             Thank you Lord for the many prayers you answer, and for making what seems impossible, possible. We pray that your grace, mercy, comfort, healing, and real presence will guard, guide, and hold in love all victims, their families, and all of us. Help us keep strong hope in darkness that your lights of love and promises of peace will, in fact, brighten our world in increasing measure - even when it seems like a mission impossible. Amen.