Let's be honest

Can we be honest with one another, and with ourselves? Lutherans haven't earned the nickname the "Frozen Chosen" for nothing.

Lutherans of European descent tend to keep their emotions in check. There is nothing wrong with this, or is there?

I believe that there is. As a matter of fact, I wrote about this a few weeks ago in my entry, "The Shame of Lutheran Worship."

This leads me to a quote I first came across a few years ago:

Madeleine L'Engle (1918 - 2007) was a prolific author best known for her novel, "A Wrinkle in Time."

“Faith is what makes life bearable, with all its tragedies and ambiguities and sudden, startling joys,” L’Engle wrote in her book "Walking on Water: Reflections on Faith in Art."

The more time that I spend in the Bible the more I see what L'Engle was saying. As a matter of fact, it's there from beginning to end.

I see the anguish of God's heart in the days of Noah.

I see the passion of Joseph when he was repeatedly tempted by Potiphar's wife.

I can only begin to imagine the pain and excitement that Moses felt during the forty years that he led God's people in the wilderness. I see it most poignantly in his prayer that became Psalm 90.

I see anguish and passion throughout Job and Ecclesiastes.

Bitterness of soul overflows from the first chapter of Ruth.

The plaintive cries of Jeremiah and Habakkuk reverberate still today.

In the New Testament, it's more of the same.

Languishing in prison, John the Baptist doubts his life's work, so much so that he sends his disciples to question Jesus.

The Man of Sorrows ministry was filled with desperate cries for help. The anonymous Canaanite woman is just one example.

Paul was frequently teary-eyed as he carried out his commission.

The anguish doesn't stop until we finally get to Revelation 21:3-5.

Let us learn from those who have gone before us. Let's be honest with ourselves, and with God. Prayer is nothing but pouring out one's heart to the One above.