Process theologian Charles Hartshorne teaches us that there are two kinds of power. There is the kind of power that we are all familiar with, the kind of power that causes things to happen. Either by physical force or persuasive words, we can make someone else do what we want them to do. This power can be used for good or for evil. The other kind of power, one that we are less aware of, is the power to hold the energy in the room, or the world, while the community/ family/ nation works out its conflict. This is the power of Jesus on the cross, holding all our fears and anger and sin, to bring us through the struggle to a resurrection, or the power of a mother holding a screaming toddler to get through to the other side of a tantrum. On Mother’s Day, we look at this second kind of power.
Rev. Bob Walters