4/13/2023
Blessing and Benediction from Rev. Ivan Herman
by Rev. Ivan Herman
While some might seem to come to faith sight unseen,
may the Holy One breathe on you, blessing you with the gift of doubt.
May you come to see your doubt
as a piercing cross-examination of faith,
as silent wonder in the presence of mystery,
and as a sharp gasp provoked by beauty.
May the Holy One breathe on you, blessing you with the gift of peace and the power to forgive.
Forgiveness breaks the chains of resentment that bind you and others to the past.
Forgiveness warms you when you are frozen by the fear that you’ll never be good or worthy enough.
Forgiveness falls in love with the image of God —
in enemies whose humanity is unrecognizable,
in loved ones who have become like strangers,
and in opponents you see only in the mirror.
Go into the world to live as people set free by forgiveness, directed by the wisdom from doubt, and with love and peace born of nothing less than the breath of God.
Rev. Ivan Newton Herman, Carmichael Presbyterian Church, Carmichael, CA
Rev. Ivan Herman
Rev. Ivan Herman has served as the associate pastor at Carmichael Presbyterian Church since 2009 and is active in the Presbytery of North Central California. He grew up in Ecuador and Colombia, and has previously served as pastor or ruling elder in Presbyterian congregations in Memphis, TN, Washington, DC, and San Antonio, TX. He holds an annual pass to U.S. National Parks as well as degrees from American University, Wesley Theological Seminary, and Wake Forest University. Ivan lives in Sacramento with his spouse, Susan. They keep a well-stocked fridge for their two itinerant young adult sons., but the ice cream never even makes it to the freezer.
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