On Language, Discomfort, and Transformation

This from an email I received from a congregational leader yesterday:

"I think it will be a process for some of us to be comfortable with some of the more religious sounding words...I can only say I can deal with the parts I have come to understand for myself and still have questions."

I'm preaching on transformation this Sunday. Here's an excerpt, somewhat in response to this conversation about language and the desire to feel comfortable...

"The truth is, there is no transformation without discomfort. In fact, discomfort and even chaos is a sign that transformation is possible. And the trick is to stay in the discomfort long enough for the deeper change called transformation to come. We don’t usually. We solve the problem. We fix the pain. One of my friends – who worked on the Obama campaign– just posted he has officially lost faith in Obama, most especially because he feels the President has created a sense that our problems are fixed “enough” so that most people check out…which leaves the deeper ways of societal transformation wholly unaddressed.

I’m not weighing in on his take on Obama. I’m sure you’ll all debate that later.

But I do want us to talk now, and to remind ourselves often, about what he’s saying more generally – that is that feeling unsettled is a good thing when it comes to seeking a life of greater meaning, of greater purpose. It’s a good thing for us as individuals, it’s a good thing for us as a religious community, and it’s a good thing as a society. When you get that gut feeling, deep down, that discomfort, lean into it, and with wonder and light, begin to imagine what hidden wholeness might be calling you, calling all of us forth."