What do you expect to see
when a mirror is broken?
It depends
how badly it's broken,
doesn't it?
It might be completely broken,
glass shards everywhere,
but you will still see yourself
in any single one of those shards.
What if it's just cracked?
Well, then something
interesting happens.
If you look at yourself in
an uncracked piece,
you will appear normally.
But, if your reflection
goes across a crack,
or even a missing piece,
then there will be distortion
or even gaps in your reflection.
It's only when there is
a crack or a warp in the glass
that your reflection looks odd
and doesn't behave in the way
that it should.
What a broken mirror doesn't do
is show a reflection of anyone else
other than the person looking into it.
[PAUSE]
When something is broken,
it does not behave in the way
it's supposed to.
If it's just cracked,
then it may well work
reasonably normally for a time
until something widens that crack
and bits break off.
The same is true for us.
We are broken because of Sin.
There are cracks in our being
and we do not work properly.
Look at our wills.
If there is a crack in our will
then it causes a split in
what we want to do.
We can want to do good and,
yet,
at the same time
want to be utterly selfish.
St Paul recognises this fracture
when he sees in himself that
he doesn't do the good
that he wants to do
and that which he doesn't want to do,
he does.
This is why even the very best of us
are confused by
our own sinfulness.
This is why the people
whom we revere most
fall and sin and disappoint us.
Essentially the problem comes
when the reflection of God in our lives
falls over our cracks
which distort our view.
[PAUSE]
It's seems as if we have two wills,
but we don't.
One part hunts for the things of the Spirit, the other for the things of the World.
Both bits of your will
want the same thing
- to be happy,
but you are confused as to
how to get there.
But, the more we follow
our lust for worldly things,
the bigger the crack gets
and the more the reflection distorts.
Whose reflection?
It isn't yours!
[PAUSE]
Each one of us is
supposed to be a reflection of God.
The more we sin,
the more the crack
in our being widens.
When we confess and repent,
the more we focus
on the unblemished part
of the reflection of God in us.
What we cannot do
is close and repair the crack.
That needs God's creating Grace.
The will of the Flesh pulls away
from the will of the Spirit.
So St Paul tells us to focus on
that part of our will
that seeks the spirit
because we can still see God
reflected in that bit,
despite our fragmentation.
The more people see
God reflected in us,
the more will they see
how to be good
and seek the things of God.
The more we recognise
the will of the Flesh and reject it,
the more will we show up the world
for being silly and foolish
- not by violence, ridicule or shouting,
but by simply being obedient
and quiet for God.
[PAUSE]
God looks at you
and sees Himself.
That surely is a wonderful
and frightening privilege.
Rejoice and reflect Him
as best you can
for the world needs it!
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