Trauma, Fear, and Faith

I had the opportunity to attend a training event where one of the topics was how trauma impacts our lives. It got me to thinking about issues of faith, trust, the ability to live beyond the damaging consequences of our past experiences.
One of the TV shows my sons introduced me to is Arrow. There is a lot of violence and glorying in violence, force, and death as the path to accomplish justice. It is a theme the show wrestles with over and over again. At one point, however, one of the characters makes the following comment: “We are afraid of things we don’t know. Especially when we have been living in pain this long, it’s hard to even accept the idea of being happy” (Thea Queen, Arrow S5, E7).
That is a very fitting response to repeated trauma. It has to do with the way trauma teaches us to respond to the world around us. It has to do with our struggle to learn to trust others. It has to do with the way trauma interferes with that trust and our need to trust and live with the vulnerability of being in community with others who do not always measure up, even as we also are wont to be found lacking.
Our church has suffered a lot of trauma in remembered history. The sanctuary burned down in a fire. Gibson Mill began a series of layoffs resulting in the plant shutting down. Membership moved out of the community seeking employment. The community changed in character and composition. Five neighbor churches closed their doors or moved out of the community. A pastor committed suicide. There was a major disaster with the sewage system at a cost of $400K. The church received a proposal that included closing its doors. The church sold its parsonage to help pay down debt. Our long-time organist moved to a nursing home without a replacement.
That is a lot for any church to process. The accumulation of the trauma makes it hard to return to a life of trust in the future. It makes it hard to accept that God is truly faithful and present with us in all the turmoil of life we experience.
And yet, that is the good news. Despite overwhelming odds, God remains faithful. That is the story of Abraham and Sarah’s barrenness. It is the story of the Hebrew bondage and exodus. It is the story of Joshua, Gideon, David, Elijah, Elisha, Daniel, Lazarus, Peter, John, Paul, and so many others. It is the story of the crucifixion and the resurrection. It is the faith we proclaim in the midst of our trauma, fears, doubts, and uncertainties.
Faith requires courage. It requires facing down the traumas of our past. It requires denying them the power to control our future. It requires that we learn to trust God to be faithful in the midst of our pain, suffering, and sense of loss. The last word will be the word of God, after all. We can live in the hope of Christ despite the traumas of our past because Christ Jesus travels that road with us.
—©Copyright 2018, Christopher B. Harbin  
http://www.sermonsearch.com/contributors/104427/ 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

False Accusations

Image
The religious community around Jesus had no kind words about sectors of society. They were certain Torah provided full justification for blanket condemnation of Samaritans, tax collectors, and a women caught in adultery and thrown at Jesus’ feet. Jesus embraced them with no condemnation. They were so sure Jesus was a threat. They were seeking any means of silencing him. They were not above false accusations or paying people to lie about Jesus’ supposed breaches of law. The accusations did not hold up to scrutiny. I’ve been to numerous drag shows at East Frank. I’ve been to drag story hour. I’ve developed relationships with many among the clientele at East Frank, with drag performers, with queer people around us, and others who support this community. I have also heard all sorts of accusations tossed out against them. None of the accusations stands up to scrutiny. I’ve seen videos merging clips from adult drag shows with scenes from East Frank. I’ve heard and s
Read more

Something More Important

Image
I was given a new title recently. It was not one I had ever expected to receive. I’ve had lots of titles over the years. I’ve been minister of music. I’ve been evangelism director. I’ve been Sunday school teacher. I’ve been summer missionary. I’ve been youth leader. I’ve been seminarian. I’ve been church planter. I’ve been pastor. I’ve been professor. I’ve been missionary. I’ve been guest lecturer. I’ve been interpreter. Over the years, I have been licensed to preach twice. I’ve been ordained. I’ve been commissioned six times. I’m currently in the process of having my ordination recognized by another denomination. While I have embraced those events setting me apart for Christian service, I can’t say any of those events quite measure up to the new title I was recently given. A couple of weeks ago, I was at a family-friendly drag show. It was not the first time. Since helping Union County, NC host its first Pride festival last year, I have been around a company of drag que
Read more

Our Language of Choice

Image
I woke up this morning and decided to be a woman. I really like the idea of earning less money on the job. I like the idea of being passed over for promotions. I like that I will be held more accountable for the care of my home and familial responsibilities than any of the men around me. I’m looking forward to having my expertise ignored. I like that I’ll more likely be treated as a lower-level assistant to male colleagues than an actual colleague. It should be a good experience to live as more of a target for domestic violence and abuse. It will be so freeing to let go of my bodily autonomy and place it in the hands of men who will not understand me. With so many voices in our society shifting back toward the attitudes of 70 years ago, I am really looking forward to setting aside all trappings of male privilege and power to live as a second class citizen whose voice and opinions are essentially irrelevant. Just look at all the advantages women have! They get t
Read more