Sometimes the work we did so happily before — creating content, leading groups, writing lessons, and then offering it in person to watch people engage with it — now feels like effort tossed out onto the ocean of the internet with little way to know if any of it made any difference. And then came this.
In my experience of growing up and working in churches like this one, I have found that we are sometimes shy about naming the work of the Holy Spirit, feeling a little less comfortable with the God who comes in tongues of fire than God the Creator, or in Jesus. In Family Sunday School this week, we encourage our adults to listen to the stories, understandings, and testaments of children and teenagers for when they’ve seen and felt God’s presence.
As we celebrate this weekend all those who have been mothers to us, by birth or by choice, as well as all those who care for and nurture others in our world, I hope we can recognize the sacredness — the Christlikeness — in that action and honor all who display the image of God in the world around us.
In the time of the prophet Jeremiah, the Israelites were living in Babylonian exile. They had lost their homes, their temples, everything about their normal lives that they had taken for granted. Isolated, lost, and in a strange new world, they turned to Jeremiah to bring them a message from God.
To Aidan, Ben, Thomas, Sam, Claire, Michael, Rachel, Aidan, Christian, Landry, John, Katie, Allie, Jacob, Journey, and the rest of the Class of 2020. The story is just beginning, I am so incredibly confident that the best is yet to come.
“From now on, brothers and sisters, if anything is excellent and if anything is admirable, focus your thoughts on these things: all that is true, all that is holy, all that is just, all that is pure, all that is lovely, and all that is worthy of praise.”
When I read that question I can’t help but think about the Zoom and Facetime calls I’ve had, where we’ve talked about projections, peak dates, unemployment rates, and how if someone overheard and asked what we were talking about I might very well respond in just the same way. And, just like those disciples, the heaviness in our hearts caused by all that has happened means we may need to be a little more intentional in learning to recognize him.
Studies show that both children and adults learn best through storytelling, and for thousands of years, our faith tradition was only passed down through stories! So this week, we’re telling the story of the resurrection and encouraging you to act it out as a family.
God has shown us what perfect love is in Jesus, and that love didn’t sweep in and solve problems, it didn’t tell us we didn’t have it so bad, or to make the most of the situation. That love came and walked alongside and prayed alongside and suffered alongside.
Something does not have to be big or loud or fancy to be sacred. Holiness doesn’t rest in the décor, or formality of a place. We build sanctuaries and play organs and gather in beautiful buildings and wear nice clothes to remind ourselves of the greatness of our God, and our need for one another, not because that is where God lives.
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