16th Sunday after Pentecost- Proper 21C
"Between you and us a great chasm has been fixed..."
In this parable of Jesus from Luke's gospel for this past Sunday, I can't help but notice this line above and the question it evokes in me. It's passive voice in the translation--has been fixed--and I wonder who has fixed this great chasm? Was it fixed by Lazarus, by his earthly actions? Is it a natural part of the geography of the afterlife?
What are the fixed chasms in our own lives, and who fixed them? Are any chasms truly unbridgeable? How might the fixed chasms in our own lives be bridged or breached?
As I've found myself doing intensive conflict work and mediation these last few weeks, I've been thinking about these great chasms between people and how they get fixed. (We see this at work in our own country right now as well.)
Are Abraham's words in the parable really true--that this great chasm has been fixed and can no longer be bridged or breached?
In the midst of intense conflict, it can feel like there is no way forward, that we are standing at the edge of a great chasm over which there is no bridge. And yet we know that even though this feels true, it is not.
The Holy Spirit is, in her very essence, a bridge builder, a repairer of the breach, and she is always present, always working, creating, breathing new life, even when we cannot see or recognize her at work in our midst.
And I also know that there are tools that we can pick up, to help build bridges over chasms alongside the Holy Spirit, tools that can help us do the work of repairing the breach.
These tools are characteristics or ways of being in the world and in relationship with others. They include curiosity, vulnerability, a willingness to listen deeply--below the surface of things, assuming positive intent of others and playfulness. (Although it's not reasonable to expect people who feel powerless to be able to employ playfulness.)
I've heard our bishop say frequently that he wants us to work together in our congregations to create brave, safe, and sacred spaces. It is these kind of authentic spaces that can help bridge the chasm that divides us.
