The pain of transformation
September 26th, 2021 – Communion Meditation
As I was out in my garden yesterday transplanting some liriope (aka monkey grass) from “here” to “there,” it struck me that the process was in some ways analogous to the work of transformation that the Lord does in each of our lives. We often get our roots entangled with things that clutter up our lives. Sometimes these things might be wrong kinds of things like rocks that prevent any kind of growth. But sometimes they’re good things, like other plants, that we are to welcome in our lives with balance, but not to look to for identity, meaning, or purpose. God invites us to let go of comforts and complacencies and cling to, abide in Christ Jesus alone.
It’s hard work moving a plant from here to there, even one with relatively shallow roots. There’s a bit of resistance put forth by both the plant and the ground. Sometimes the pain we feel when God changes things up in our lives cause us to cry out, complain, or even attempt to resist. But without the pain of letting go, we will not be able to experience or enter into all that the Lord has for us. God invites us to surrender all that we are and all that we do to Him. He is all-good, all-wise, all-love.
Ephesians 3:20-21a (The Message):
God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us.
Lord, please help us to let go of anything that is cluttering us up, anything that is entangling us, anything that is keeping us comfortable or complacent. We want to cling to You, to abide in You, Jesus Christ. We want to enter into the fullness of all that You have for us. We surrender fully to You – come, have Your way in us and through us, for Your glory.
Gracious God, pour out your Holy Spirit upon us and upon these your gifts, that the bread we break and the cup we bless may be the communion of the body and blood of Christ.
By your Spirit unite us with the living Christ and with all who are baptized in his name. As this bread is Christ’s body for us, send us out to be the body of Christ in the world.
Amen.
