Shifting Sand

"Safe on the solid rock I stand; all other ground is shifting sand...."  This is from a well-known Christian hymn that came to mind today.  I have been reading  Pelagius, and a well-written novel about him.  The narrator observes at one point that the theological ferment in the church around 400 CE was concurrent with the crumbling of the Roman Empire.  He  says: "the worse conditions became in the changeable world, the stronger was the pull towards the eternal and unchanging citadel of God."

We see a similar process in America today.  The worse things become for the "average" American, the more polarized public opinion becomes, and the more desperately the Christian right seems to cling to its certitude. (Simultaneously becoming more and more hateful to the female of the species, in my observation.)

How then shall we find our safety on the Rock of Christ in such times?  Shall we condemn all those unlike ourselves as fools and conspirators with chaos?  Shall we retreat to our enclaves and ignore all those we think are wrong and/or dangerous?

I have been an activist of one kind or another for fifty years.  Now, pretty much forced into sedentary life by age and health issues, I sometimes feel angry and helpless in the face of what seems to be a descent into darkness foreshadowing the future of my child and my grandchild.  What role is there for me now on the path of destiny?

I think it is one of mentoring those whose vocation it is to be peace in the world and those who are called to stand up for the weak against the strong.  I also see it as one of exemplifying the ability to “live with the questions” which comes with age.  The latter is what I have been thinking about today.


Daily prayer and meditation have by the grace of God made for me a place within which is unaffected by the chaos without.  This is not a place where I know what is right and true regardless of others’ opinions or doctrines.  It is not a place where I am certain of everything and therefore unmoved by others.  

It is a place within where I am in relationship with the One Who loves us.  It is a condition in which I have no need to know it all or be the one with all the answers; it is rather a  condition in which I am loved utterly in spite of my fear or anger; a place from which I can admit that I have been wrong; that I have no idea what comes next. It is a place of assurance where. although my feet may be placed on the water, my Love holds me up, secure in the knowledge that all will be well.

I believe in the power of prayer, not to change God, but to change me.  I believe that I can pray for others in perfect confidence that my Beloved will carry that peace that passes understanding to others in the world, regardless of their challenges and circumstances.  I believe that constant contact with God in each of us can transform our world.  Therefore, I ask everyone who is a seeker: never cease in prayer and meditation.  Never, never leave His presence; he is our rock and our salvation.

Besides, He kind of likes us!
Amen.