In the musical, “A Christmas Carol,” which many of us saw at the FreeFall Theater this afternoon, Scrooge sings of his heart being broken and exposing all the evil inside. Yes, our hearts broken open by life’s circumstances, by tragedy, by crisis, can expose us to the truth. We may see the worst about ourselves. It can be jarring. It is natural to resist such exposure.
As the old saying reminds us, “The truth hurts.” It can be very difficult to see our shortcomings and our character defects. Realizing that long cherished perspectives are simply wrong and possibly hurtful can be like having the rug pulled out from under us. To see the harm we have caused ourselves and perhaps others can be quite painful. It is heart breaking to see the truth, to come to terms with our identity and our faults and weaknesses.
A broken heart is an open heart. Open to expose the bad. Open to let the bad seep out. A broken heart is also open to God, open to being filled with love, open to receiving goodness and grace. So the image of the broken heart is ultimately a path of healing as we see in the case of Ebenezer Scrooge. His heart has to be broken open so that he can be healed and made whole.
In this season, may we be willing to have our hearts broken, so that they are open to receive the coming of Christ.
God heals the broken hearted,
and binds up their wounds.
Psalm 147:3
Prayer: By nature, we seek to avoid pain. But just as the remedy for a physical malady may be painful but ultimately lead to health, so it is with our spirits. The healing process may be painful. May we allow our hearts to be broken open so that love may flow freely. May our broken hearts release the Christ within us. Amen.
Lakewood United Church of Christ 