absurd faith

On Saturday a few of us from Hope Uniting joined others from the Uniting Church across NSW and the ACT to unveil a giant patchwork quilt filled with artworks demanding an end to child detention. It was touch-and-go, rain poured down until just before the public liturgy and then the hopeful sun broke through and we gathered in the midst of muddy grass and tourists. I was proud to be a part of the Uniting Church. On Sunday, celebrating the Feast of the Reign of Christ (Christ the King) I was struck by the absurdity of such an action. It is absurd to believe there is power in laying out a quilt on a wet ground. It is absurd to see blowing bubbles as a sign of blessing, evoking the playful joy of childhood.

And yet, that is exactly what I believe.

I believe that in gathering, singing, praying, speaking prophetic words and being playful together, we glimpsed the reign of God breaking in. We named God’s rule as something completely other than a government who would lock up vulnerable asylum seekers. We proclaimed the upside-down, topsy-turvy and unimaginable kingdom of the God who journeys ahead of us, even to the cross.

At the feast of the Reign of Christ we look back over the year that has passed. We find ways of placing our year at the foot of the cross and at the dawn of the resurrection. We offer to God those moments and times and experiences when we have found it hard to understand God’s presence with us tangibly. And equally to celebrate those moments and experiences when we have seen God’s vision for the world dawning, breaking through to transform us and our community. And we remember that we are a people who have been marked by good news! We are a people who have hope for the present and for the future.

Let us celebrate meeting God in the absurdity of bubbles and patchwork. Because even the absurd might be a catalyst for the transformation we yearn to see.