Summer rest

For the past two weeks, I have been preaching on themes of preparation and how we welcome God. We've been looking at the story of God's arrival in the City of David, and how God lives, travels, and provides among us. There's much in this ancient story that feels so present to me this summer while holding the contradictions of increasing vaccination rates among some with increasing infection rates among others. How has God been with us throughout this time of trial? How has God travelled--or rather, stayed put--with us? What have we asked of God, and what do we need from God in order to continue giving to God? It's a tricky time, and the questions we have for each other and for the Almighty are ones that deserve our prayer and study.

One way that I am situating myself in all of this is in remembering who is the Creator and who is the created. Among the few things of which I am absolutely certain, the ultimate truth I hold is that God is God and I am not. My own certainty feels a faithful response to the first commandment's instruction of who God is and how we should prioritize God among all the priorities of our lives. As we begin to "re-open," there is a breath moving in how I am able to think back on the past 16 months and reflect upon the many things I thought I knew that turns out I didn't know it all, and the few things I had no idea I knew that wound up sustaining me day after day. Has the pandemic given you pause to reflect on your own priorities as well? On your own goals, or hopes, or all the things that so often eek out the place among all places that should be reserved for God? Maybe you had everything right and rightly prioritized previously. Maybe you found some moments of reordering and reflection to be valuable. Maybe our Creator who is always creating is still creating you.

Be well and take God-care this day, beloved. There is a Spirit of stillness moving in this place.

Pastor Will