16 September Mark 8:27-38

16 September 2012 - Mark 8:27-38      JustActing

I have been in retreat for the past two months – pulling back, ignoring everything that is going on in the world, shunning my usual responsibilities, focusing only on what I want to do on a daily basis.  I think I shared my status on Facebook as “apparently experimenting with Hedonism as a way of life.”  I winced when I read the question “Who do you say that I am?”  I winced because I know that I am part of the Body of Christ in this world.  Being part of the Body of Christ means that what I do with my life makes a statement about who Jesus is … but I am in retreat.
“Who do you say that I am?”  I am forced to look in a mirror and ask what it is that my life is saying about who Jesus is at this moment in history.  I have gifts that were given to me at my baptism.  In addition, there are promises that I make each time we baptize a baby – promises about proclaiming the good news, seeking and serving Christ in all people, striving for justice and truth and preserving the dignity of every human being.  I have been thinking about my gifts and my promises a great deal these past two months.  I wonder if justice in action has as much to do with asking questions as it does with doing stuff?  What are my gifts?  How am I using my gifts to act on my promises?  How am I being enabled to use my gifts to act on my promises?  How do folks see Jesus when they look at me and the way I am living my life? Maybe justice in action begins on retreat discerning the answers to those questions so I can come BACK from retreat feeling better focused and energized to do the work God has given me to do.