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LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
Inhonor of this semesterâs theme, âFinding Balance,â Seed members were asked to chart their average week by time. Unsurprisingly, we shared similarities in too much screen time, not enough sleep, and even less time with God. We were unbalanced, misaligned against the unforgiving clockwork of life. Restoring our balance requires more than the rearrangement of items burdening our crowded trays. We need to recalibrate by placing Christ in the center of our lives. In this issue, we pondered over the ever-so-precarious balance between ourselves and others, the world, our faith, and God. Enjoy.
Sam Lee Editor in Chief
BEYOND JOURNEYâS END
Jeff Wu
7
WORDS THIS TREE GAVE BIRTH TO Justin Roberts, Yejin Roberts, Ruihao Li
THE BEAR AND THE BELIEVER Anonymous Contributor
I WANT TO SEE HOW THE WORLD MOVES ME Ruihao Li 8 10 12
BIBLICAL BALANCE
THINNED Anonymous Contributor
THE VOICE OF THE POWERFUL OR THE POWERLESS? Anonymous Contributor
Yvette Shin 20 18 15
CRAMPING
Rebekah Shin 22
Beyond Journeyâs End
Roses are Red
In a circle it goes
Green, yellow, red, bare
My heart ebbs and flows
In search of balance
Where simple grass grows
A land of plenty
Where my love sows âVariance be goneâ
My whimpering heart blows
Knowing very well
On my voyage chaos stows
Is this my portion?
Or am I close?
Again in the water
I dip my toes
Jeff Wu
I Want to See How the World Moves Me
Ruihao Li
I want to see how I can be of better support, of better understanding, of better empowerment for the world.
This is the person I have chosen to become, one that is not full of glory and myself but one who is devoted to speaking kindness and compassion to every purpose on this planet.
With the right mind, the right attitude, and the right heart, I dedicate myself to my career path, walking on or near the communal journey.
I listen because I am intrigued. I listen because there might be things that you say that will make me want to connect with you, that will make me sing and make me feel.
I listen not only because Iâm aiming to be a better person but because I want to feel the capacity of what we can do together. I listen because I believe in us.
Words This Tree GaveBirth
Illustration by Justin Roberts
Justin Roberts
Yejin Roberts
Ruihao Li
Growth Decay
Aliveness
Curiosity
Prosperity
Sustainability
BEAR BELIEVER AND THE THE
Anonymous Contributor
Atthe northern-most corner of the earth, there exists a barren realm of ice. It is pure and silent, reflective of the Arcticâs harsh conditions. Yet even here, life prevails. The polar bear roams the Arctic Circle, crossing oceans on ice floes and living off of the sea. Its strength doesnât lie in the absence of difficulty but in its faith in the ice beneath its paws. Sea ice is the lifeline of the polar bear; it allows the bear to travel, rest, feed, and raise its young. So when the ice inevitably wanes with the arrival of spring, the polar bear must retreat to land and trust that with the first autumn snow, the sea ice will return.
The Christian faith is much like sea ice. It is dynamic and undergoes significant transformation, waxing and waning with the seasons. As a foundation, it can be fragile or firm, depending on its composition and the conditions that have shaped it in seasons past. Faith rooted deeply in Christ can bear the weight of the believer, allowing them to weather through the storms of life without worry of drowning in a sea of doubt.
When the world warms, sea ice melts faster and returns later in the year. It becomes unstable and breaks under the weight of the polar bear, plunging it into the frigid waters of the Arctic. Without the sanctuary of the ice, polar bears are condemned to swimming hundreds of miles
in search of solid ground. Many do not survive, and many more are left starving in the hostile climate. With the warming of our own spiritual climate, we are left wondering how to navigate the modern world. We drift, unanchored, wondering where to set our foundations. Do we retreat to land, a solid and tangible realm, or remain adrift on the uncertain sea? How does the polar bear decide whether to adapt to terrestrial life or follow its instincts onto the shrinking sea ice?
Unlike the polar bears, we have more than instinct and blind faith. Our Creator reminds us that endurance is born of trust. Even in the Arctic, where silence reigns
â
With the warming of our own spiritual climate, we are left wondering how to navigate the modern world. We drift, unanchored, wondering where to set our foundations.
â
and the cold tests all, the polar bear endures the changing climate through its trust in the return of sea ice. We must hold fast through the thaw and trust that the Lord will sustain those who stand firm.
Biblical BALANCE
Yvette Shin
Itâs Sunday at 3 p.m. Iâm in bed, in my pajamas, under the covers mindlessly watching YouTube, happy to let the algorithm choose whatâs up next. After a particularly long week, I am physically and mentally spent. Too tired to think about dinner, I watch others eat instead. My eyes close as Karissa gushes about her latest NYC food craving. Within minutes, I am sound asleep.
continued
âSabbath is a balance of work and rest that
This semester, Seed members decided that the theme of our Tuesday discussions would be âFinding Balance.â Going to bed hungry and exhausted in front of a screen in the middle of the afternoon is, needless to say, the opposite of balance. Thankfully, God provided guidelines for how to achieve just that. The Bible talks about balance in several ways.
ââShalomâ has become both a greeting and a blessing.â
orderAfter six days of bringing order out of chaos, God rested on the seventh day and commanded us to do the same. More than an event on our weekly schedules, Sabbath is a balance of work and rest that optimizes our lives. When we prioritize our studies or our jobs at the expense of our relationships or our health, we invite chaos. Long story short, forget the all-nighters and workaholic lifestyle. Sleep well, take breaks, and get your spiritual rest by worshipping God on the Sabbath.
perfection optimizes our lives.â
The concept of âshalomâ (peace) covers balance in various forms, from personal well-being to financial restitution. Because of this, itâs no surprise that âshalomâ has become both a greeting and a blessing to confer upon others. What does âshalomâ peace look like now? Itâs when youâre caught up with your reading, your papers are almost written, and youâre ready for finals. Realistic? Maybe not. But academic âshalomâ is a goal worth striving for.
Jesus taught His disciples, âBe perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfectâ (Matthew 5:48 NIV). Here, âperfectâ means âcomplete, mature,â inferring a progression toward godly character. It means turning the other cheek, going the extra mile, and loving oneâs enemies, going beyond mere reconciliation to selfless love and sacrifice. As a busy student, itâs difficult to put others first. But school is no excuse to stop showing Godâs sacrificial love to someone who really needs it.
âBe perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.â
Overall, balance has less to do with our schedules and more to do with our relationship with God, with others, and with ourselves. Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice on the cross to achieve balance with me, encouraging me to seek balance in every area of life. Though I may occasionally have a sleepy, hungry Sunday, as long as I make the effort to get enough rest, keep up with my work, and love others sacrificially, I am on my way to true Biblical balance.
TH I N N
DEâSadly, fate had made me good, not great.â Phil Knight, Shoedog
It wasnât enough to rest upon good, a pale virtue flaunting itself as if itâs fairer than banal mediocracy. For good only meant good enough. Nor was it enough to be great. I had to exist as greater, an unuttered stipulation for greater than. I needed to not only rise but to press others down, for what is victory if not bought with anotherâs defeat? Victorious, I crowned myself with warring pride and was justified by self-righteousness.
Slowly, time and faith have stripped me of these merits, casting away ambition which enjoyed the company of folly and vanity. Watching this, I rejoiced, âGod has given me peace; He has poured mercy over the fevered soul.â
I have long prayed for peace; now that it is served, I should take delight in it. But peace, if it is holy, should be sweet; and this stillness tastes bitter and laden, like light stifled by dust. Yes, my ravenous desire no longer gnaws, but I am not left filled.
So I am left in doubt.
Am I one who has been granted peace or was it war thatâs been taken from me?
Am I tasting the bitterness of lost pride, imagining it devouring the very feast of my purpose?
Am I a fool for crying out as the wings of sin were cut away by God, as though holiness is a wound?
And worst of all, am I one who surrendered what I once was, not understanding who I was giving up?
The Voice of the POWERFUL or the powerless ?
A Perspective on the Mission of the Modern Church
Anonymous Contributor
Thispast Independence Day, Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe published a statement calling the Episcopal Church to a new posture toward government and authority. Bishop Rowe begins by noting that the Episcopal Church has historically been the church of Founding Fathers and presidents, of the rich and powerful. But there are pitfalls to this relationship. âWhen religious institutions like ours enjoy easy coexistence with earthly power, our traditions and inherited sys-
tems can become useless for interpreting what is happening around us.â Repenting of the churchâs complicity in colonialism, slavery, and racism, Bishop Rowe calls us to choose another path: Reject Empire, defend the marginalized, and be the prophetic voice of resistance crying out in the wilderness.
One of the most powerful modern voices in calling the church to prophetic resistance is Walter Brueggemann, who passed away just one month before Bishop Roweâs statement. In The Prophetic Imagination, Brueggemann argues that God calls us to an âalternative communityâ against the empires of Egypt, Babylon, and Rome. But beyond the criticisms of these empires is a critique of Godâs own people co-opting Godâs message for their own empires, from the ancient Israelites invoking God and the Temple for injustice (Jeremiah 7:1-15) to our own âcontemporary American churchâ that is âso largely encultured to the American ethos of consumerism that it has little power to believe or act.â While speaking truth to power is a key part of prophetic ministry, Brueggemann doesnât end with criticismâprophetic resistance culminates in compassion and hope. On compassion,
Brueggemann calls us to emulate Christ, who has a heart for those rejected by the strict boundaries of Empire: âTheir hurt came from being declared outside the realm of the normal, and Jesus engages with them in a situation of abnormality.â On hope, Brueggemann calls us to imagine a subversive future in which the entrenched powers and principalities are uprooted. It is said that it is easier to imagine the end of the world than the end of our current economic system. To hope is to imagine and work toward a better future beyond these limitations.
In his closing remarks, Bishop Rowe characterizes the temptation Christians have faced since the very beginning: âWe are now being faced with a series of choices between the demands of the federal government and the teachings of Jesus.â Jesus himself faced this temptation in the wilderness when Satan presented him with the kingdoms of the earth (Matthew 4:8-10). But, as Bishop Rowe concludes, â... that is no choice at all.â We cannot confess, âChrist is Lord,â while we pledge, âWe have no king but Caesar.â As Christians, we must always choose Christâs compassion for the marginalized and hope in the world to come.
CRAMPING
Rebekah Shin
I am waiting for a question, I am waiting for a pause, I am waiting for something to say.
I think youâre waiting for some concern, Or for some congratulatory remarks; I think youâre waiting for me to reciprocate.
But Iâm waiting to see if I can get a smile as big as yours, To dwell in that green grass And see if I find it worthy.
While youâre walking on the travelator And Iâm running to keep up, I have to question just how easy it is to stop.
But even if you stop, You just keep going, Away and away.
Something about sadness brings people together, more so than happiness.
Yet, we recalibrate, And you hopped back on. Hurry, hurry.
How fortunate to have that which does not require some degree of pain in order to be.
