Tiny Tim

So I've started writing my blogs now in response to whatever word or little phrase is floating around in my head that day.  It's interesting because the titles have always come after the body of the blog in the past, until yesterday.  And since some anonymous someone tells me that that was one of my best, I decided to go with my stream of consciousness for a while.  However, when "Tiny Tim" came floating into consciousness today, I just about decided to chuck the idea, but that didn't seem quite fair.  So here I am. 

"God Bless us Everyone" is the phrase that arrives in my head after thinking about "Tiny Tim." His ability to love the unloveable Scrooge, and to forgive the creep for his circumstances gets to the old miser.  It is love which transforms that angry, greedy, coldhearted old man.  The ghosts throw in some doses of fears to be sure, but ultimately, it is love which changes Scrooge and gives him a new heart of flesh; new eyes to see the world; new ears to hear the story of others. 

Why in the world a Christmas character is in my thoughts today I am not certain, but the thing of which I am certain, is that we are called to forgive our enemies, and that is one of the most difficult things imaginable.  It is our inability, and/or our unwillingness to even contemplate forgiveness which keeps the world in such a disastrous mess. 

We all have our enemies, and the biggest emotion that accompanies our thoughts about such ones, is FEAR.  We get scared.  We are scared beyond reason at times.  And then the scare of course evolves into anger and hatred and sometimes even rage.  The thing that most of us keep in mind, is that anger, hatred and rage are feelings...emotions...and though they are valid, they do not need to define us. 

The writer of John's epistle tells us "Perfect Love casts out all fear."  The writer of that epistle has plenty to say on forgiveness and hating one's brother means we're not loving God.  Ouch...that one feels a bit like a knife sticking into vulnerable flesh and then someone turning it.  I love God.  I do.  And yet the epistle tells us it is impossible to love God and yet hate one's brother. 

Over the past several years I have been working with a ritual which comes from the Aborigine people in Australia.  It's quite a process.  And the thing about it, is that it works. Maybe I'll tell you more about it tomorrow.  Forgiving those who cause us the most pain is an essential thing.  It's not about them.  It's about us.  When we continue to harbor so much ill will, we end up hurting ourselves.  We know this.  We've been told it many times.  And yet...

Perhaps it is in finding Tiny Tim within our own psyches that will give us the grace to forgive others.  It's finding the one inside of us who is a vulnerable child and a child who is open hearted, even in the face of cruelty that may grant us the means of grace to release our longheld resentments, our deepest fears, and reach out to the ones who wish us ill.

Creating and Loving One, who calls us to do the impossible, give us the strength, the courage and the willingness to release the pain of the past, so we may open our hearts to the future.