Focus on Jesus to Get Through It All

As a small child I remember going to the Fun House at Arnolds Park in Okoboji. It contained a collection of playful obstacles. One of them was a large horizontal tube that turned while people tried to walk through it. It was difficult for me at first because I naturally looked straight ahead at the side of the tube as I walked. But as the tube turned, I quickly lost my balance, fell and kept sliding down side as I tried to crawl through. Eventually someone showed me that instead of looking in the direction of the turning tube, I needed to look through the tube and focus on the wall outside the tube. This enabled me to orient myself, maintain my balance and more easily walk through with confidence.
 

In some ways life can be like walking through that turning tube. The world around us is constantly changing and it can be easy to lose our balance and fall. If we focus on Jesus, we can receive the stability of the light and love found in a relationship with God. Christmas is a celebration of how God has come to us on earth so that we can find our way. This is the hope we need to face uncertain times.

One example of turmoil in our church is determining how we should relate to and care for each other when we have varying understandings of human sexuality. Here in Iowa the Rev. Larry Sonner has performed a same sex ceremony.  Rev. Sonner is a man of the highest character and has my deep respect. After a prayerful and tearful time of discernment the members of the Appointive Cabinet filed a formal complaint based on ¶2702.1b in our Book of Discipline that prohibits pastors from performing same sex unions. It is my hope that the process outlined in ¶363.c will be an opportunity to bring us to a just resolution that values the participants and seeks to model for the church and the world how to treat each other as we navigate through this challenging time. While I don’t know how it will all turn out, I do know that by inviting Jesus to be present with us throughout the process there is hope.

 
I believe that when we focus on Jesus, it does not mean that we turn our attention away from other people. Focusing on Jesus actually allows us to better see other people as Jesus sees them. We are transformed from the inside out when we seek to follow Jesus as guided by the Holy Spirit. The name of Emmanuel reminds us how God is with us. Prayers for all involved are needed.

I am inspired by Martin Luther King Jr’s remark that “We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.”  When we focus on the transforming grace of Jesus Christ, reconciliation, justice, peace and love can happen and we will walk through this turbulent world together.  That’s what I see when I focus on Jesus.