Fractals and the Shape of Our Christian Lives

 Fractals and  the Shape of Our Christian Lives

Guest Writers Steve and Sally Harms

carpet

Have you ever come across the concept of fractals? These are never-ending geometric patterns that exhibit self-similarity. One excellent example online is the Sierpiński carpet — a simple square divided into smaller and smaller squares that endlessly repeat the same design (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sierpinski-carpet.gif#/media/File:Sierpinski-carpet.gif). If you watch the video, you’ll notice the endless repeating themes. Fractals are prevalent in nature, found in various forms, such as snowflakes, trees, river systems, coastlines, and even mountains. A mountain is shaped the way it is because it is composed of similarly shaped rocks, which are made of pebbles, which are made of sand, and finally, molecules. Fractals are widely used in science. Our ability to stream Netflix is due to compression algorithms that utilize fractal-based techniques.

snowflake

 

In Chaos: Making a New Science, James Gleick describes how fractals help us make sense of what seems chaotic, like weather. Early radar gave scientists vast amounts of information, but prediction didn’t improve until computers could model the patterns of small, local changes. The key to understanding the big picture was in the details of the small things.

 

Just as the minutiae of weather reveal larger storms, Jesus teaches that the details of our inner lives reveal larger patterns of righteousness or sin. In Matthew 5, He takes the commandment “Do not murder” and breaks it down into its smallest components: “But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment” (Matthew 5:21-22). Murder doesn’t emerge spontaneously; it begins with the “fractal seed” of anger, which evolves into contempt, which can erupt in destructive action.

 

Our personalities are akin to fractals. Small emotions grow into attitudes, which form habits, and those habits shape the pattern of our lives. That’s why Jesus emphasizes the urgency of reconciliation: “If you are presenting your gift at the altar and remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there… First, go and be reconciled” (Matthew 5: 23–24).

 

An Olympic athlete achieves victory not through a single grand gesture, but through countless daily trainings that align with their overarching objective. Similarly, a Christian life is not merely a Sunday profession of faith, but a consistent pattern of years, days, hours, and minutes lived faithfully. Each moment embodies the larger framework of discipleship.

 

Recently, we have seen public figures and institutions targeted by violence fueled by divisive rhetoric. These are tragic reminders of Jesus’ teaching that sin begins not with the final act, but with the seed of anger and contempt. Jesus teaches us that violence starts with a thought, then a word, then an attitude — small steps that, if unchecked, spiral outward until they erupt into destructive action.

 

This is why we begin with prayer, as found in Psalm 80:19, which urges us to seek restoration and for God’s face to shine upon us, leading to salvation. The psalmists teach us to bring both grief and hope to God. Naaman’s story reminds us that healing and grace come through humility and obedience, not through status or power (as depicted in 2 Kings 5). Paul writes that true Christian life is not about pride, but about walking in the humility of the cross (as expressed in 1 Corinthians 4). Furthermore, Jesus emphasizes that worship and reconciliation are inseparable.

 

Where do we need reconciliation today? In our hearts, in fractured relationships, or within our community of faith? The shape of our lives, like a fractal, is formed in the smallest details. May we let God’s light shine in those details, so that our lives, our words, and our society reflect His restoring love.

 Steve and Sally Harms

Medicine has taught us that small things matter: a tiny pill can improve our lives; likewise, our thoughts can shape our character. With each Morning Reflection that we write—and with each one that we read from other gifted contributors—we gain fresh insights and continue to grow in our understanding. For this gift, we are deeply grateful to God and to St. Paul’s Episcopal Church. This piece was posted on Monday, September 22, 2025, from St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in their daily Morning Reflection.

Joanna  joannaseibert.com

 

Spiritual Friends

Gerald May III: Spiritual Friends

Installation of Grace Chapter Daughters of the King Saint Mark’s Little Rock

“At the deepest level of our hearts, we are all aching for each other and for the same eternally loving One who calls us. It would be well, I think, if we could acknowledge this more often to one another.”—Gerald G. May in Will and Spirit (HarperOne, 1982), p. 321.

In Will and Spirit, Gerald May writes that we should not undertake the spiritual journey alone, regardless of our traditions. May quotes Kenneth Leech, who opens his book about spiritual direction, Soul Friend (Harper & Row, 1980), with the Celtic saying: “Anyone without a soul friend is a body without a head.” A spiritual friend or guide does not give directions, but one who points directions—someone who knows something of the terrain from having traveled some of it. Such a guide can say, “I think there may be trouble over there; perhaps try this way.”

Professional training or qualifications of a director, counselor, or friend are not nearly as important as fundamental qualities of primary positive intent, humility (not presuming to know more than one knows), and willingness (commitment to traveling a rough road and allowing the guidance to come from God rather than trying to engineer it); and responding simply and directly to the needs of others as they are presented.

Spiritual Direction Class Kanuga

May cautions us that if we expect to be spiritual friends by learning discernment techniques and using them on other people, the outcome will be a blind sales pitch or slightly pastoralized psychotherapy. He describes psychology as seeking to help a person solve the problems of living, while spiritual direction deepens the Question of life itself.

Joanna.   https://www.joannaseibert.com/

 

 

 

 

 

The Interconnection of Prayer and Service

Nouwen: The Interconnection of Prayer and Service

“Life becomes an unbearable burden whenever we lose touch with the presence of a loving Savior and see only hunger to be alleviated, injustice to be addressed, violence to overcome, wars to be stopped, and loneliness to be removed. All these are critical issues, and Christians must try to solve them; however, when our concern no longer flows from our personal encounter with the living Christ, we feel an oppressive weight.

Jesus in the House and Mary and Martha Erasmus Quellinus

Here arises a key question: “Can we see Christ in the world?” The answer is, “No, we cannot see Christ in the world, but only the Christ in us can see Christ in the world.” This means that through prayer the Christ within us opens our eyes to the Christ among us.”—Henri Nouwen in The Road to Peace (Orbis Books 1998).

Nouwen reminds us that prayer and service can never be seen as conflicting or mutually exclusive. Prayer without action grows into powerless piety, and action without prayer degenerates into questionable manipulation.

When we pray for others, we stand in the presence of God for them, just as Christ does for us. Praying for others takes us out of our heads and places the problems of the world in the Presence of God. Nouwen reminds us that when we pray for the endless needs of the world, our soul expands and brings them to the Presence of God.

But we cannot embrace the world, but God can.

When we connect to God’s Presence, we are no longer victims of the fear, hatred, and violence that rule the world. In God’s Presence, we connect to the Christ within us, and we see the Christ in others. Our hearts of stone break, and we feel compassion as we pray for others. Our prayers are energy, pulses of Hope that connect to God’s greater energy that surrounds us.

We are filling the water pots with water to the brim. The wine-making is God’s. We remove the stone. “Lazarus, come forth,” belongs to God. We are the dry bones. Putting on flesh and breathing are God’s.

We are called to prayer and service together, not one or the other.

Joanna Joannaseibert.com