Broken Open, Poured Out

“I tell you this

to break your heart,

by which I mean only

that it break open and never close again

to the rest of the world.”

― Mary Oliver, New and Selected Poems, Vol. 2

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The Sacred wants to break our hearts

Break them open

With Sacred love

Break them open

So that we might be touched

By the world around us

Jesus said blessed are those who mourn and grieve

He knew, better than anyone else

That it is only when our hearts are broken

That we can feel the pain and despair

Of the poor,

The homeless, the rejected

The shamed

The oppressed

The minimized

Only when our hearts are broken

Can we be moved to act with compassion

And generosity

Only then will we dare fight against injustice

And reject bigotry

And let go of hate

And refuse to accept violence as a solution

For only when our hearts are broken

Will we let go of all of those things that bind us and blind us,

and move into that compassionate and generous place

that marks real love

Paradoxically is through pain that we find healing

And through expending that we are filled

And through a dying to self, that we find true life

 “All great spirituality is about letting go.

Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection show us how to win by losing.

In fact, this “Path of Descent” could be called the metanarrative of the Bible.

It is so obvious, consistent, and constant

that it’s hidden in plain sight.” (Richard Rohr)

And that is why Jesus would say

Blessed are the broken hearted

The way of Jesus is indeed way of the broken heart

Think about the beatitudes.

The Beatitudes reflect what life looks like when we are on the path of descent.

We are on that path when

We have expended ourselves for others in a costly way (become poor).

We have entered into the pain of others, and sat with them in that pain (grieve)

We have chosen to be humble rather than full of ego (meek)

When we have fought for what is right, instead of what is convenient or beneficial for us (righteous)

When we have had empathy and have been people who welcome rather than exclude (merciful)

When we have insisted that we must base our behavior on purity, and do not accept lying, fraud, bullying, name calling, and all the impurities that come from the ego (pure)

When we choose the way of peace rather than the way of violence and retribution. (peace makers)

I don’t know why the church refuses to get it

And instead immerses itself in Luke’s woes. 

In wealth and abundance

In power and acclaim

I do not know why we become the “church of closed hearts and closed minds, closed doors”

For the call is clear

I echo the words of Paul in Romans

Where he offers this powerful plea

“Open your hearts to one another as Christ has opened his heart to you, and God will be glorified”

Be broken open

And poured out

Open your heart

Open your heart

And never close it down again

In that way

And that way alone

Will God be glorified