Hello,
It’s a bear!
Last week I and my son were sitting alongside the stream at my brother-in-law’s house. He lives about 8 miles from us on a hillside acreage bordered by a cool, clear mountain stream. Sitting there amongst the trees, watching the water cascade over the rocks and stones, listening to the gurgling stream, and relaxing in the cool shade……well, it is a peace that can calm even the most stirred soul. It is easy to get lost in the serenity of it all, and the world almost goes away.
As I was chatting away with my son, I saw in the corner of my eye something move. I just caught the hind end of it as it passed behind the other side of the house. At first, I thought it was some big, black dog….but then I realized that there was no tail on it, and its hind end was higher than a dog’s.
“I think I just saw a bear,” I calmly told my son, hoping not to stir it. We quietly went into the house to see if we could see it, and sure enough, ten feet from the patio door, there it stood. Big and black. When I whispered to my son saying, “Its over here,” the bear heard me. It turned its head toward me, gave me a curious look, turned back with a sort of ho-hum expression, and slowly walked away
It was a bear! The first one that I have seen since we moved here 8 years ago. I have always been told that there are numerous bear living around here, but to this point I have not met the acquaintance of any of them. Spotting it, and having a close encounter with it brought a range of emotions. Excited to see this elusive creature. Amazed that something that big roams around me daily, I just don’t know it. Curious to see it’s behavior. Frightened, aware that it dwarfed me and I might look like a good dinner appetizer. And as it walked away, I was thrilled to experience the wonder of a close encounter with such a magnificent being.
I had to tell people. Share my excitement. “I saw a bear!”
Interestingly enough, the Bible often tells of times when folks have a close encounter with God, and when it happens, those whose experience is told is the same gambit as my visit with the bear. Over and over again in the New Testament, when people’s lives intersected with Jesus’ streams of emotions flowed in their hearts. Excited. Amazed. Curious. Afraid. Thrilled.
I find myself likewise awash in a multitude of emotion when God’s path and mine cross in close proximity. For me, it happens most often when I come to the Altar and receive Holy Communion, the bread and wine that carries Jesus’ promise of his presence. Excited to hold in my hands a morsel of divine love in a world where love is often hard to see. Amazed that something so mighty roams around me daily, but I am not always aware of it. Curious to see what God will do in my life with his love. Frightened to consider my absolute unworthiness of such an encounter……and when I leave the altar, I find myself thrilled to experience the wonder of such a close encounter with such a magnificent being….the Lord.
Like the encounter with the bear, my encounter with the Lord takes hold of my heart. I want to share the dent of grace that it has made in my life. But this I know, when I get up from the Altar, I who have been graced with this divine encounter, will never be the same. I will be more aware of God’s daily presence in my life. I will be more conscious of God’s love for me. And I will be empowered to treat those around me with renewed grace upon grace.
God is good at surprising us with close encounters with him, encounters that happen in a myriad of ways. I hope that the weekly Bungee Cord is at least a brief glimpse of such an encounter. A glimpse that changes your life. A glimpse that gives you hope and peace. A glimpse that sets you awash in joy, and you say…..”I saw the LORD!”
Have a great week.
God’s grace and peace, (ggap)
Pastor Jerry Nuernberger
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