In our Lenten series, Soul Feast, we’re using the dual lens of Counselling Therapist (Liz Kahle) and Christian Spirituality (Pastor Cari) in hopes of gaining a deeper understanding of what our soul is, how to become more aware of our soul, and what it may be communicating to us right now.
The basic definition we’re using for the soul comes from the work of Ruth Haley-Barton who defines the soul as the core of our very selves. Which we would add, points to our truest identity.
It’s within this context that we’re going to try to tackle the big topics of sin and shame as they are deeply interwoven into the very fabric of life, and deeply impact our connections.
Before we dive in, we’d like to take a moment to ground our conversation in the love and hope we are moving toward in this season of Lent.
Richard Foster writes,“At the heart of God is the desire to give and to forgive. Because of this, He set the entire redemptive process that culminated on the cross and was confirmed in the resurrection. The usual notion of what Jesus did on the cross runs something like this: people were so bad and so mean and God was so angry with them that he could not forgive them unless something big enough took the rap for the whole lot of them. Nothing could be further from the truth. Love, not anger, brought Jesus to the cross. Jesus knew that by his vicarious suffering he could actually absorb all the evil of humanity and so heal it, forgive it, redeem it.”
It's from this place of greatest love, and the movement toward healing, forgiveness and transformation - that we talk about sin and shame in the second episode of Soul Feast - A Lenten Series by Counselling Therapist Liz Kahle and Pastor Cari Fydirchuk.
References:
Richard Foster - Celebration of Discipline
Brene Brown - Altas of the Heart
Mark McKinnon - Counselling Therapist and Christian lens
Gregory Boyle - The Whole Language - The Power of Extravagant Tenderness
Genesis 3:15, NIV
Genesis 1:26-28
Luke 5:16, NIV
Luke 15 - The Prodigal Son
Ignatian Spiritual Exercises