Grace, Flat Tire
“We are very imperfect vehicles for the embodiment of Divine Grace. We’re all driving around on at least one flat tire and with missing or malfunctioning parts. Broken as we are, the impulse is still there: Christ’s desire to incarnate grace and truth.”
Br. Mark Brown, “Brother, Give us a Word,” Society of Saint John the Evangelist, SSJE, friends@ssje.org, a daily email sent to friends and followers of the Society of Saint John the Evangelist, a religious order for men in the Episcopal/Anglican Church. www.ssje.org,.
I and another spiritual friend so relate to this message as we both have mobility issues, so we love the image that we are moving around with at least one flat tire and maybe more. Images from our physical life are mirrors into our spiritual life. These images help us know a God who is all knowing and whom we only have a tiny glimpse of from time to time.
I hope to remember the flat tire when I make my mistakes. It helps me to remember I am human and not to beat myself up. I often need a little more air, a little more Spirit in my tires. I like the image of the Spirit, the air we breathe being that air, creation, the mark of the Creator, that is all around us and freely given.
Sometimes our tires become so worn that we actually will have to change them. That could mean so many things. The Spirit can no longer stay within our tires. Perhaps we begin a new spiritual practice. Perhaps it is a sign that our image of God has become too small. Perhaps it means old habits will no longer work to keep us connected.
The flat tire is a work in progress. It is a reminder that we are not perfection and subject to change.
Joanna joannaseibert.com