called to bring peace

Dr. Halverson pastored Fourth Presbyterian Church in Bethesda, Maryland for twenty-three years. He did what pastors do – everything from preaching and counseling to marrying and burying. But he believed his most important function was pronouncing his carefully crafted benediction at the end of each service:

Wherever you go, God is sending you.
Wherever you are, God has put you there.
God has a purpose in your being right where you are.
Christ, who indwells you by the power of his Spirit,
wants to do something in and through you.
Believe this and go in God’s grace, God’s love, God’s power.
In the name of the Creator, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Amen.

Dr. Halverson reminded his congregation of that simple truth that each of us are called week in and week out until his death. Sometimes the voice speaking sounds to us as a resounding gong, shouting to go forth and serve, or it might come in the middle of the night as a small whisper highlighting the gifts you have for the journey ahead. Be it large or small, we are empowered to speak God’s word accurately and with courage, even during days when the Word of the Lord is rare. This movement toward speaking, acting, living out the word of God pushes us into the unknown and asks us to dare greatly. FDR said, “It’s not the critic who counts; not the man [sic] who points out how the strong man [sic] stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the person who is in the arena. Whose face is marred with dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly … who at their best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at their worst, if he [sic] fails, at least fails while daring greatly…”

         In her book Daring Greatly, Brené Brown says this quote made her realize three things. First, she wanted to be the person in the arena. “If we want to be courageous and we want to be in the arena, we’re going to get knocked down,” she says. “There is no option. If you want to be brave and show up in your life, you’re going to fail. You’re going to stumble. You’re going to fall. It’s part of showing up.”

         The second thing she realized is that comments from “Twitter trolls” — people who never risk anything but criticize the people who do — don’t matter. “If you are not in the arena also getting knocked down, I’m not interested in your feedback,” Brown says.

         The third thing culminates everything Brown has learned over the past two decades of studying shame and vulnerability. “Vulnerability is not about winning, it’s not about losing — it’s about having the courage to show up and be seen,” As faithful people, we must be willing to dare greatly, to step into the arena of life, and live through acts of justice, peace, reconciliation, and love. We must be willing to embrace the vulnerability that comes with stepping into the unknown and walk as one loved by God and called by God to be a light unto the nations. As we continue our Advent journey, may we join in God’s beloved story of birth, knowing that we have been named, claimed, and called to bring peace, hope, joy, and love into this world. This coming together is what God’s story is all about, and when we open ourselves up to God and each other, we are able “rejoice together, mourn together, and to delight in each other and make other’s conditions our own.” So, believe this and go in God’s grace, God’s love, God’s power. Let there be peace on Earth, and let it begin with us.