One of the speakers ended his session with this old Fransiscan Benediction:
May God bless you with discomfort
at easy answers, half-truths, and superficial relationships
So that you may live deep within your heart. 
May God bless you with anger
At injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people,
so that you may work for justice, freedom, and peace.
May God bless you with tears
To shed for those who suffer pain, rejection, hunger, and war,
So that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and
To turn their pain into joy.
And may God bless you with enough foolishness
To believe that you can make a difference in the world,
So that you can do what others claim cannot be done
To bring justice and kindness to all our children and the poor.
Amen.
I'm not even sure what I'm getting at with this post. Somehow I've always been fascinated by the faith of "old-school" (I don't know what else to call them) Christians like Frascis of Assisi, Brother Lawrence, Thomas A Kempis, etc.
While they certainly made mistakes just like any of us they had a knack for understanding what it meant to be completely counter-cultural in their faith. I have to admire that.
What would my/your life look like if you daily prayed that God would bless you with discomfort, anger, tears, and foolishness?
2 comments:
The Summit was amazing. What a challenge. It's funny, these adjectives are usually considered bad. And yet this is what the church and all Christians really need. I pray for foolishness, because I think I think I know to much. For tears because I need to care for people more. For anger, of the right kind. And discomfort because comfy doesn't equal joyful.
Tim S.
I already feel foolish, cry a lot, am angry more than enough and I've forgotten what comfort is. But I think my discomfort, anger, tears and foolishness may not be based in the right source. It's hard to remember that God works through us when we are most "broken" in him.
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