Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Irreverin

Home
Progressive Christian
If My Wings Should Fail Me

If My Wings Should Fail Me

Last updated on: March 11, 2014 at 11:53 am by Erin Wathen

If My Wings Should Fail Me 2014-03-11T11:53:17-07:00 Erin Wathen

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

I’m back among the living after a week down with the flu. Not a 24 hour flu bug type thing: actual influenza. Think sharp knives stabbing your chest every time you cough (which is, let’s just say, often) chills, all-over body aches and general awfulness. And then my husband and one of the kids got it, and well… all downhill from there.

But like I said–I’m back among the living today, newly aware of the fragile state of life embodied. It doesn’t take much to lay us flat. And at all times–even when we’re healthy–we live within the limits of the human frame. We can’t fly (which I’ve always thought was a bum deal); we can’t heal ourselves, or others, in the way that we wish; we cannot be in more than one place at once (also a bum deal); we can’t change time, or alter the weather, or say and do that just-right thing to save the world and absorb all the suffering, ever. We are at the mercy of our body’s needs for shelter, food, drink, and oxygen.

This is the gift and the burden of life as we know it. We catch glimpses of some transcendent Spirit sort of thing, of God’s aching desire for humanity: in art; in music; in liturgy; in nature; and in the depth of human relationship. It’s almost there. We can almost see, touch, taste, and bring it into being. But so not quite. We are yet embodied.

So…Lent! A season to be about the work of catching those glimpses; denying some of the bodily demands that keep us firmly rooted to the earth, and freeing up some space for those Spirit things to live and breathe.

I’m doing a sermon series called”Rise: More than Bread Alone.”It’s inspired by Jesus telling the temptor that “one cannot live by bread alone.” Because–and here’s the good news–we are more than this body that holds us down sometimes, more than its pain, more than its needs and desires… And, as long as we are so embodied, we need more than just physical sustenance to do the work of the gospel. Throughout this series, Jesus will meet strangers on the road, giving them–and us!–the kinds of things we DO need, more than bread. Things like compassion, imagination, courage, and community.

That’s the trip we’re on, in this season of the soul. Together, we follow Jesus. We lay some stuff down. And we pick up what we need to sustain us for the work of discipleship, and compel us towards new life in the Spirit. Know what we need for that trip? A playlist. Here it is:

Souls Like Wheels, The Avett Brothers

Vapor, The Liturgists

Step Out, Jose Gonzales

In My Time of Dying, Led Zeppelin

Shake it Out, Florence and the Machine (I know, I know, this is on my list every year. But every year, it is the perfect soundtrack for all this darkness and hope).

I Shall Be Released, The Band

Dirty Feet, Dear Saint Isaac (I’d never heard of these guys til a friend told me about them the other day, and holy smokes, they are amazing.)

Let it Go, Idina Menzel/Queen Elsa –Yes, I’m sick of it, too. But yes, I’m totally serious. Maybe every little girl in America is onto something. But, if the Disney-ness of it all is still a bit too much for you, watch the GMA Frozen Sing Along version. Pure joy. Let the storm rage on, y’all.

Roll up into Jerusalem playing some Beautiful Things, (Gungor), and shake the last of winter, of sickness, of the baser impulses from your frozen frame. God is doing a new thing.

Who says we can’t fly?

Lent and Easter

Florence and the Machine

progressive christianity

spirituality

the avett brothers

Previous Post

March 7, 2014

"Jesus Feminist:" A Gospel of Empowerment

Next Post

March 13, 2014 The Right Kind of Prayer

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category a good week for progress Advent and Christmas Being a Person desert life faith and community Good News for Progressives Lent and Easter Marriage and Family S*^! Jesus Says sabbatical road tripping Spirituality in Culture Talking to Strangers the "Best Stuff I Ever Ate" diet travel Uncategorized writing Writing Prompt Wednesday

Select a Month January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 February 2011 July 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What does "Jezreel" mean?

Select your answer to see how you score.

God sows God defends God fights God reigns