Discover Wholeness
Scott Murphy, First Presidency
The woman said to him, “Sir, you have no bucket, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us the well, and with his sons and his flocks drank from it?” Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.” -John 4:11-14
It must have taken immense courage for Sonya to enter the church. Her entire body communicated that she wanted to be invisible in that moment. Her plea for help and food was spoken in a whisper. Her head hung in shame and her body curved inward in embarrassment. In that moment, there was not a cell in her body that felt like a person of worth.
But I will never forget the look on her face and in her eyes when I returned and placed some food in her hands. With tears streaming down her face and the repeating “thank-you’s,” there resonated in her a deep feeling of gratitude. But even more, it was the freeing expression of human worth that was emerging as she lifted her head and we looked face-to-face. The expression on her face communicated that she knew I saw her beyond her brokenness.
There were no requirements for her to jump through religious hoops before she could have the food, no message of condemnation or token attempt to somehow fix her life. In that moment it was just two lives sharing the worth and sacredness of our humanity. In that brief encounter, everything about Sonya’s persona communicated that she experienced for those few moments a unity of body, mind and spirit-the essence of human wholeness.
I’ve come to understand through the journey of my own life that human wholeness is never about having our life completely in order or free from difficult questions. Wholeness begins to awaken in our lives when we discover the sacredness of our own humanity that lies within. For Henri Nouwen, wholeness is about the restoring of our spirit and soul. It is about feeling at home in your own skin.
But I have also learned that our capacity to experience wholeness requires relationships-relationship with God and others. When we experience being seen as a person of worth by another, it creates the capacity within to discover the inherent gift of God’s image in us. Meaningful and loving relationships are always the pathway to discover the abundant life Jesus came to offer. This abundant life takes root when relationships make space for the sacredness of life to be encountered.
An undivided attitude of body, mind, and spirit is the gift of wholeness that awaits each human life. My prayer is that each of you will have a moment of encounter that awakens the wholeness that lies within you. Discover wholeness and live.
Prayer Phrase
Discover wholeness.
Spiritual Practice
This week, members and friends of Community of Christ are gathering from across the globe to engage in discernment, worship, and holy decision-making for World Conference. You are invited to spend time each day holding this community and experience in prayer. May we be open to the Spirit of God who speaks through our unity in diversity, dreams shalom within us, and always meets us where we are while inviting us into a future of hope. “Grant to us insight, O God, for this time of decision. May we dream challenging dreams of both depth and precision. Speak through the dark. Dispel by lightning’s bright spark whatever clouds dim our vision.”
-Jane Parker Huber, “O God of Vision,” \xc2\xa9 1981 Jane Parker Huber,
Community of Christ Sings 78
Today’s Prayer for Peace
Engage in a daily practice of praying for peace in our world. Click here to read today’s prayer and be part of this practice of peace.
