I first met Sara Miles at one of the 7 dullest church meetings I have ever been to. We've all been to those meetings, right ? Where all the air is out of the room, the energy wrung out, the passion drained. There is no color - only shades of white & gray.
Sara accidentally started talking, in the middle of one of those lllooooooonnngggg pauses, about an effort at her faith community - a rowdy food pantry that had gotten completely out of control & was changing people's lives. I can actually remember the moment she started speaking- it roughly went like this:
It is funny, because I recall thinking to myself - be careful, woman who I do not know - this stuff you speak of is dangerous, life-giving magic. I am sure that I thought "did she actually just use the word conversion in a church meeting ?".
Sara is a gifted writer, so of course she wrote a book about all this called TAKE THIS BREAD, which Anne LaMott describes as "a memoir that blew me away...The most amazing book!".
We are lucky to have Sara's voice alive in the conversation among all people who are walking in doubt & practice. She preaches on family, reminding us that:
We are liberated from human rules about who belongs, and who has power, and who deserves to be part of a family. You could have a virulent skin disease, or be without a savings account, or be crazy. You could be a girl. You could be an orphan or an illegitimate child. And yet you are part of Jesus’ family, the one he makes over and over again as he burns up the ones we create to keep others out.
He turns his back on exclusive blood ties and replaces them with the bonds of affection.
He destroys the boundaries established by the patriarchs. He comes not to bring peace, but freedom.
This past Monday, Sara read her essay on This I Believe, a national media project engaging people in writing, sharing, and discussing the core values and beliefs that guide their daily lives. This I Believe is based on a 1950s radio program of the same name, hosted by acclaimed journalist Edward R. Murrow. In creating This I Believe, Murrow said the program sought "to point to the common meeting grounds of beliefs, which is the essence of brotherhood and the floor of our civilization."
Give yourself a gift and spend 3 minutes listening to Strangers Bring Us Closer to God - and then the rest of your life trying to make real what she (and Jesus) beckons us to.
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