Wednesday, May 16, 2012

God sightings--the gifts pastors receive




I've talked about it before, but it is so true that I'll say it again.  Pastors receive amazing gifts from the people who sit in the pews.  They may not be intentional, but they are extremely beautiful.  I don't think they can be planned, they just happen.  In any case, these moments are memorable and I treasure them.


I think about the candlelit faces on Christmas Eve.  When I stand up to give the benediction and look out over all of those faces, sometimes stretching all the way to the back of the narthex, I see beautiful images of the light shining in the darkness, the Word becoming flesh, brothers and sisters created in the image of God.  Simply beautiful.


There are moments at the communion table when time seems to stop and I get a glimpse of God's time.  I see hands stretching out--old hands and young hands--to receive Christ's body.  I see our youngest ones beginning to understand that they have a place at God's table, that God's love is for all of us, that all are really, truly welcome.  I can't put a value on these moments.  I can only say they are beautiful.


Last Sunday, I had the opportunity to preach and preside at Faith Lutheran Church in Lakewood, Ohio.  The pastor told me when we talked earlier in the week that one of their members was celebrating her 95th birthday and that she would be there (probably in the third pew on the right) with her daughters.  I watched as she took communion, with bright pink fingernails, and a daughter on each side and found myself with tears in my eyes.  It was a moment overflowing with love--love of mother for her children, love of children for their mother, the love of God made manifest in a little bit of bread and wine. 


A little later, during the announcements, I watched as a huge smile grew on her face while we sang happy birthday to her.  We were singing to her, but that moment was a gift to me.  A reminder of the beauty of the body of Christ.  A reminder of the way that we are connected in baptism, made brothers and sisters in Christ, that our church is way bigger than the people we know and recognize from regular encounters.  It was a moment I will treasure.  A gift and a grace.


We can't always know when we will catch glimpses of God at work.  All we can do is trust that in the midst of the hustle and bustle of the world, God is at work, all around us.  Sometimes we catch glimpses of the grace and beauty and love in moments when we least expect it and sometimes in the places where we trust so fully in the promise that God will indeed be with us.  Beautiful beyond words and every day blessings.

1 comment:

  1. Thanks for sharing. What a neat experience to be part of...imagine everyone at the church service was touched by the love shown.

    Kathy

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