Waiting out the Cold
I have always enjoyed winter. I remember spending hours outside with friends having snowball fights, digging tunnels through snow mounds, playing football, and going sled riding (the colloquial term for anyone from western PA). Then and now, I also take pleasure in feeling the cold. The brisk chill can invigorate and the crisp air can seem fresher to the lungs. For these reasons, I was never one who wanted to rush through winter to get to spring. If I did not get a full three months of winter, I felt cheated. As I reflect back now, I suppose that my embrace of winter was rooted in playfulness and youthful joy.
Subzero temperatures aside, as an adult I still find myself appreciating winter. Here we are in the dead of this polarizing season. While it is true that I am still one to bundle up (with or without my children) and frolic outside in the cold or snow, I recognize that I now approach these months with a particular spirituality. The naked trees, frozen tundra, and long, frigid nights give a rather convincing impression that life is stagnant. All we can do is wait for the earth to orbit and the spring thaw to come in order for us to see and believe that creation will, in fact, happen anew.
Although we might be inclined to simply “hold on” and survive the winter, we have to be careful to not let our hearts hibernate. As people of faith, how can we stay engaged and attuned to what is happening in our fractured world that is need of redemption? To refrain the question according to the Prophet Micah, how can we do justice, love kindness and mercy, and walk humbly with God?
As we were reminded this past week, this year marks 50 years since Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated. We have yet to establish a society and culture where black lives matter equally. Moreover, last week people from all faiths gathered in DC to witness against torture and cry out to the awful reality of Guantanamo Bay where our country still detains dozens of people in violation of habeas corpus. Finally, I would be remiss not to mention that President Trump just revoked the temporary protection status for one quarter of a million Salvadoran immigrants many of whom belong to the Episcopal Church.
A part of us may simply want to wait out the cold. One hopes the spiritual part of us overcomes and inspires us to respond with urgency to the social and moral evils that impede the forming of the Beloved Community. Beneath snow covered ground and within the roots of the exposed, brittle trees, life is happening. Divine grace continues to be at work and in motion. May our hearts, minds, and spirits stay active in this time of winter. May we discern how God is calling us to be Disciples of Christ in our ever changing and broken world!
Paul Shoaf Kozak,
Intern
