And yet, it's not the end of the story. Jesus the Christ speaks truth with compassion that radiates and ultimately reconciles. Not long after entering the city that will proclaim for a time "Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!" (13:36), Luke hangs the crucified One between two thieves, holding the poles of all that seeks to divide in one singular reconciling Love.
That's the clear-eyed love that ultimately liberates; its expression is the calling of a community maturing in service as a people of The Way.
For your reflection and conversation:
In our community this year, how have I yielded to the desire for an easier, softer way and what has been the result for me and for our community? What prophetic voices inside us and outside us have I/we silenced this year?
Christ the reconciler holds together both clarity of truth and compassion of heart. What is my preferred pole and how have I contributed to the ‘knot' in our community this last year? What is our preferred pole as a body and how has that contributed to the ‘knot' in the world in which we seek to serve in the last year?
* The Revised Common lectionary diverges from the Roman Catholic lectionary this week, using the text of Luke 13 rather than the text of the transfiguration. For a discussion of the transfiguration in Luke see Sandra Lommasson's blog post at Quadratos.
Sandra Lommasson is the founder and co-executive director of Bread of Life, a spiritual formation center in Sacramento, CA, and a spiritual director. Her passion is creating processes and pathways for the formation of spiritual directors and leaders of religious or public organizations. She is a published author in the field of spiritual formation and served on the Council of Spiritual Directors International from 1999-2005.
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