The Bends of Life

Dear Friends,  

Take a long look at the images above. In every case, someone or something bends. How about us? Would we fit into the page of images? Are we rigid or flexible? Do we bend when we need to learn more, become more, love more? Or have we come to accept that there is only one way to be and that is with strict adherence to a set of rules which we internalized at some point in our lives? Each of us can point to certain rigidities. What have you learned from yours? Have you chosen to retain them or release them? 

When given a choice, do we bend or not? Standing erect mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually is in many ways a good thing. (Luke 21.28) But standing erect could be a place from which to observe but not interact. To interact, we must bend/flex. A person who is self-centered has a hard time being flexible. 

It takes a certain courage to bend toward God in our midst. God is seldom “up there.” God is more often in the world around us.  

Some of the people Jesus encounters in the Gospel were bent over, not by their own choice. The woman with the hemorrhage, the bent over woman, cripples, the emotionally drained. 

Not all bending is toward God or toward life. The phrase “bent cop” denotes a police officer who has succumbed to bribery, greed, other vices. Bent can refer to misshapen and therefore useless, too. We know the phrase, “I get bent out of shape when….” 

Bending and brokenness are not commensurate. We fear being broken. Bending does not necessarily lead to brokenness, but it may – or a branch may break off. Trees need to be pruned. So do we. 

In this short blog, let’s consider only one more thought. This Lenten time can be seen as a road with a series of bends. What are our tools for the road to Easter? 

For one thing, don’t just watch your feet. If we watch our feet only, we risk missing what is around us. Cross-country skiers are taught to look ahead, read the signs of the terrain and adjust their stride accordingly. The bent over woman couldn’t see Jesus’ face. All she saw was her feet and maybe His. But remember that Jesus had a thing for feet. 

On the road, we have decisions to make. Do we follow the road that others have laid out or do we blaze our own trail? Our Lenten challenge is to decide when to follow and when to set our own direction. At some point, do we need a guide? Do we even allow anyone to guide us? Do we perceive God-with-us or do we feel alone on the road? 

Finally, at times we walk with others around the bend in the road, sometimes by their choice, sometimes ours, sometimes happenstance. Any of these moments call for respect for each other’s course as well as our own.  

However we approach the Lenten road that leads beyond the bend, let’s not predetermine the outcome for ourselves. Easter is, after all, the Great Feast of Surprises. 

~ Sister Joan Sobala