Holy Disturbance: Where Does it Hurt?

“We believe everyone carries hurt and has the capacity to acknowledge the pain of others. We believe God draws close to us in every moment of suffering. We commit to vulnerability and compassion.”

—Sanctified Art

I have been doing poetry exercises every morning for the last month. One of the exercises is to take a poem and use its structure as the basis for making one’s own poem—a way of learning what good poetry feels like.

The poem I read for you on Sunday was one of these poetry exercises (the original poem is “Cages”, by Jane Kenyon). I appreciate poetry because it slows me down, makes me see, makes me feel, helps me pierce the fabric of reality.

I found that immediately after the flooding in the interior and east of us in the Fraser Valley, the news of the devastation was so big that I couldn’t get my head or heart around it. I felt disassociated from it. By observing this, I realized that even when my body stays put, my heart and mind have developed ways to escape the difficult emotions that tragedy and hardship brings. There are so many ways we “flee from the trouble that is to come”.

Writing this poem slowed me down and allowed me to break through this protective barrier. It helped me to be present to the reality of the floods, the lives they touched, the communities they devastated. I was able to attune more to the multitude of lives around me, all unfolding simultaneously alongside my own. This, in turn, widened my compassion and gave me the energy and will to take action on their behalf.

This Advent, our question is “Where Does It Hurt?” The invitation in this question is to move towards, rather than away from, the pain that is in us and around us. Grappling with this question will invite us to feel, name, speak out, yearn, and address what is hurting us, hurting those around us, or hurting the earth. This question will disturb placid waters. This disturbance is holy.

Traveling through Oregon late at night, Johanna and Brock stopped at a small grocery. It was empty but for the cashier who, taking advantage of his thimbleful of power, told them a “joke”. It was explicitly sexual and crudely objectified women. When they told me this story this week, I didn’t laugh. I groaned. 

Groans are powerful. Groans keep us from making peace with things that have no peace. 

Jaahnavi Kandula, a graduate student from India, was studying in Seattle. While crossing the street in January, she was hit and killed by a speeding police car. This week, the body cam video of the officer sent to assess the incident became public. He was vice president of Seattle’s police union. While speaking to the union president in the recording he confirms her death and then laughs: “Yeah, just write a cheque — $11,000. She was 26, anyway. She had limited value.” (NYT article link)

I heard these two stories on the same day. The “micro”—in this instance, something as small as laughter—is the expression of the “macro”, the ubiquity of misogyny.

Maybe groaning is having its day.

In Romans 8, there is groaning, too: Creation, every microscopic part of it, is groaning. Humans are groaning. God’s Spirit is groaning—an inexpressible groan, too deep for words. 

When we groan, our bodies and breath take over. Our bodies show us what is becoming intolerable, what is violating our deep values and convictions. A groan is prophetic. A groan dares to call out what must no longer be. 

Last week, a super storm dropped an unprecedented amount of rain—a year’s worth—in a single day near Derna, Libya. Both dams in the city burst, washing twenty percent of the town into the sea. Folk acquainted with war, dislocation, and hunger now face the grief of thousands missing. It feels like the whole earth is groaning these days. 

Despite all this, creation continues to hope. From Romans 8: “For the creation is waiting in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed.”

Could it truly be, after all we’ve done, that creation has not given up on us? That it sees potential in us? Is waiting for us, the collective children of God, to step up and become kin? Could it truly be that we are the ones for whom the earth waits?

The groans are the deep work of the Spirit, birthing a new way of being. The grief breaks us open and builds momentum within us, pressing down with strength and conviction into us. Through our collective groaning, too deep for words, something is being liberated—born. A piercing cry: “It is time.”

Time to be connected rather than cut off from our power. 

Time to say, “You may not talk about my daughter, or anyone else’s daughter, or treat anyone’s body, including the earth, this way, any more.”   

No more laughing at and minimizing the harm being done. 
No more self-justifying and excusing the harm being done. 
No more numbing and distracting ourselves from the harm being done.

It’s time to feel the deep groans of the entire created order gathering strength and momentum inside of us. 

The flood in Libya was caused by drops of rain. Tiny, inconsequential raindrops joined together, became the force that broke dams and tore down houses. Raindrops did that. The micro became the macro as water gained momentum and sped down the hillside. 

Our tiny choices matter. If everyone stopped laughing at misogynistic jokes they would cease to be jokes. Patriarchy is made up of tiny raindrops. But so is the reign of God.

This is the season of creation. All over the world those who follow Jesus are figuring out how to be better kin to creation. Young people are protesting in London. Farmers are planting trees in Central America. Nuns are holding prayer vigils. Church leaders are signing treaties. The river is building strength, building momentum. 

“The Season of Creation fills us with hope, because we are many, around the world, celebrating in unity for our common home: every small action counts to make the river of justice and peace flow!”**

Deep peace and blessing,
Anne

Rev. Anne Baxter Smith
Pastor, Church at Southpoint

** From the Season of Creation website. 

PS. If you want to catch up before this Sunday:
(1) Forest Sunday
(2) Land Sunday
(3) Wilderness Sunday

Worship Calendar

Location & Zoom. We meet on Sundays at 15639 24 Avenue, Surrey. Zoom is offered if you cannot attend in person. If you have trouble with the zoom link, use: meeting ID: 831 1690 9977 with password: 753319

Sermons Are Podcasted
Catch up on Southpoint sermons by finding the podcast “Meditations from the Church at Southpoint” on Spotify, Apple and Google. They’re also available on our website: www.southpoint.ca.

Sun Sep 24 All IN Anne Baxter Smith
Season of Creation (4) Let Justice Flow in the Rivers
Amos 5:24, Isa 43:19, Rev 22: 1-5

Sun Oct 1 St Francis Sunday
Refreshing our Imagination
Joy Banks: introducing our four core images.
Isa 55

Sun Oct 8   Jake Tucker
Thanksgiving Sunday
The God of Small Things
Luke 13: 18-21

Sun Oct 15  Anne Baxter Smith
Well
John 4:1-42 (**v 13-14)

Sun Oct 22 ALL OUT  Service Opportunity TBA
No service in the Sunnyside building

Sun Oct 29 Fifth Sunday Brunches
No service in the Sunnyside building

Sun Nov 5   Anne Baxter Smith
Table 
Matthew 14:13-21

Sun Nov 12  Anne Baxter Smith
Net
John 21: 1-14

Sun Nov 19 Anne Baxter Smith
Seed
Mark 4: 26-29, Ps 26:5,6

New to Southpoint?

At Southpoint, it all begins with God’s love. Just as a plant grows, it receives sunshine, so we grow as we receive God’s love. At Southpoint, we are growing in our capacity to love God, ourselves, one another, and creation.

We seek to be a community of grace that is intentional yet organic, spacious yet authentic, grace-filled yet accountable. * We are fully welcoming. *

We encourage relationships rather than run programs, yet we recognize the importance of intentionality and structure as we nurture life together.

As a community, we seek to put our love in action. We value helping out on Sunday mornings, sharing food, and showing up in hard times. We keep our church life simple so folk have time to build relationships with family, friends, and neighbours. We encourage folk to serve in tangible ways within the wider community. We rent space rather than own a building, allowing us to do more with less, supporting missions at home and abroad.

Curious to know more?

These six slides express what motivates our ministry (best viewed on a monitor). Here’s the bio of our Pastor, Rev. Anne Baxter Smith.

If you’d like to really peek inside, sign up for our weekly Southpoint News (scroll to brown footer at bottom of page). The Southpoint News is a MailChimp distributed email—you can unsubscribe anytime and will not be added to our contacts list. Email us at office@southpoint.ca. Website: southpoint.ca.

In-person at Sunnyside 15639 24 Avenue, Surrey
* Please read Covid statement here.
* Wear a mask if ? 5 years old
* Need to zoom in?  Invite is here. 

ADVENT
Holy Disturbance: Where Does It Hurt?
This Sunday we’ll have a booklet for you, to accompany you through this season.

Sun. Nov 28, 10:00 am Hope
All In Service 
Speaking Up
Speaker: Anne Smith 1 Sam 1:1-8

Sun. Dec 5, 10:00 am Faith
Reaching Out   
Speaker: Anne Smith Mark 5: 21-43

Sun. Dec 12, 10:00 am Joy
Pulling Apart           
Speaker: Anne Smith Luke 5: 17-26

Sun. Dec 19, 10:00 am Peace
Breaking Through 
Speaker: Anne Smith Luke 2: 1-7

New to Southpoint?

At Southpoint, it all begins with God’s love. Just as a plant grows, it receives sunshine, so we grow as we receive God’s love. At Southpoint, we are growing in our capacity to love God, ourselves, one another, and creation.

We seek to be a community of grace that is intentional yet organic, spacious yet authentic, grace-filled yet accountable. * We are fully welcoming. *

We encourage relationships rather than run programs, yet we recognize the importance of intentionality and structure as we nurture life together.

As a community, we seek to put our love in action. We value helping out on Sunday mornings, sharing food, and showing up in hard times. We keep our church life simple so folk have time to build relationships with family, friends, and neighbours. We encourage folk to serve in tangible ways within the wider community. We rent space rather than own a building, allowing us to do more with less, supporting missions at home and abroad.

Curious to know more?

These six slides express what motivates our ministry (best viewed on a monitor). Here’s the bio of our Pastor, Rev. Anne Baxter Smith.

If you’d like to really peek inside, sign up for our weekly Southpoint News (scroll to brown footer at bottom of page). The Southpoint News is a MailChimp distributed email—you can unsubscribe anytime and will not be added to our contacts list. Email us at office@southpoint.ca. Website: southpoint.ca.