The Bungee Cord 11-21-22

Hello,

Here’s one way to find out that you are old: when you see someone wearing a letter jacket and the number on their shoulder is “24”, and the to be worn on my shoulder of mine was “75”.

That is what happened this past Sunday as I was in the welcome area of the small church at which I worship and belong. A young gal walked in behind her grandmother who was walking slowly with the cane that she needed to get her around. The folks who were around me greeted the both of them, as I knew neither of them, and the grandmother indicated that the young gal with her was her grand-daughter (everyone else knew that but me) who had called her this morning and wondered if the grandmother was going to church as she would like to go along. The grand-daughter had a pleasant air to her, smiling and caring for her grandmother, and she was wearing the letter jacket of the local high school, and on her shoulder was the number “24”.

They went into the worship space, as did I. It was a cold day (wind chill 3 degrees) and so the attendance was more sparce than usual; 23 was the usher’s count. When worship was over everyone reconvened in the welcome space because it is the custom at this church to have cookies and coffee afterwards. As it happened the grandmother and grand-daughter were part of the group that remained. The grandmother was wrapped in conversation with the people of her generation, but I noticed the grand-daughter standing by herself, off to the side. Remembering what I learned years ago in a seminary class on ministry with high school aged folks, that when one high school boy was asked what the church could do to help him feel more welcome and part of things, he said, “I would just like to be treated as if I was there.”…..I walked up to the granddaughter and said, “I noticed that you have a high school letter jacket?”

She said, “Yes,” and told me her grade level. I responded that I knew someone in her grade from my previous parish. She knew that person, too. And then when I asked what she was involved in to have a letter jacket, she told me that she played softball. I asked he what position she played. “Pitcher,” she said.

“Oh,” I said with kinship in my heart, “When I was your age, I was a pitcher, too!” And that is when I told her that the number to be worn on my letter jacket was “75”.

She snickered.

The church, for all of its faults (and faults it has, after all it’s a group of sinners who need forgiveness, and that includes me) can me an amazing place. It can be a place where an agile high school girl can take her place next to a significantly challenged walking grandmother at the holy table of Communion. It can be a place where Harley motor cycle riders shake hands with the aged whose hands are fragile. It can be a place where the cry of a baby is welcomed with joy. It can be a place where a person who has just made a mess of their life is hugged and with that hug a fellow sinners says, “I am so glad that you are here.” It can be a place where the one who sits on the top of the hill with the weight of the world on their shoulders finds a few moments of peace. It can be a place where two who have wronged each other can shake hands and sincerely say, “The peace of the Lord be with you.” It can be a place where the words that come from the pulpit can break through the darkness of a person’s life with a ray of hope. It can be a place where death is deprived of the last word in a loved one’s life. It can be a place where a pitcher with a “75” on his shoulder finds something stronger than a baseball to have a reason to care about another pitcher with a “24” on her shoulder. It can be a place where life happens, where love happens, where joy happens, where hope happens, where forgiveness happens, and where peace happens……and it can be all of these things because it is a place where Jesus happens.

If you find yourself inclined not to go to church, for whatever reason, I hope this Bungee Cord has given you a slice of the pie that awaits you there. Awaits you there, not perfectly, but certainly whole-heartedly because Jesus is there and his love can do amazing things!

Have a great week.

God’s grace and peace, (ggap)

Pastor Jerry Nuernberger

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