| Embracing Brokenness - article by Joel Hempel
This past Sunday, following worship, I was talking with a friend of the congregation. After several polite exchanges, he shared his concerns for a loved one experiencing mental distress. In the middle of the conversation, it occurred to me that God may be creating a ministry and maybe even an identity for us as a church. What do I mean? Pastor Scott is showing us that being broken by traumatic events does not have to destroy well-being. Of course, Pastor would have chosen not to have the stroke. Similarly, those of us who deal with mental health issues or scary diseases like cancer or dementia would have preferred to avoid them if given that option. Likewise, sisters and brothers among us who have experienced the death of a loved one certainly would have done almost anything to bargain their way out of their tragedy. Brokenness – in its many forms – has become our unwanted companion. But, as unwanted as brokenness is, might it be that God is giving us the opportunity of turning pain into promise? Could it be that God is giving us the congregational vocation of welcoming the broken, caring for the brokenhearted, and patiently attending to our sisters and brothers who are hurting and in need of healing? If embracing brokenness is our vocational calling (this would have to be discerned by the congregation), we would be in the best of company, for our Lord himself was broken so we could become whole. Jesus was “pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities . . . and by his wounds, we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5). What do you call a broken pencil? Pointless! But it is not pointless to embrace our brokenness. Unlike our throw-away culture, we don’t throw away broken people. Rather, we rest assured in God’s wisdom offered to St Paul and us: “‘My power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses . . . For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Cor. 12:9-10). Brokenness is messy! Brokenness is costly and time-consuming. Brokenness will not be in heaven – Thank God! – but it is here to stay. We can accept and love each other with all our limitations or become a superficial, non-community of distant followers of Jesus.
If we take on what God has placed in our midst, we will need help – a lot of it. We will need God’s wisdom, strength, courage, and, above all, his mercy. Because in our brokenness, we will surely make mistakes. But with the Helper as our Counselor and Guide, we will grow by his grace – AND people will be made whole. | 
