Hello,
Across the table from me this past Saturday at a wedding reception that
I attended was a woman in her mid eighties. She was soft spoken, and carried
with her an air of gentleness and compassion. She was kept busy talking to children, grandchildren I
suspect, to whom she listened with life and death attention. The noise of the room overwhelmed her
conversation with the children, so I don’t know what they talked about, but
whatever it was I am sure that the children felt as though their conversation
was the only thing of any importance in the world.
Next to her was an 89 year old man who had just come home from a walking
tour of the Mayan Pyramids in South America. One day they walked for 6 miles to see the sites. The woman commented that as much as she
might want to do such a thing, she was not able because of Stenosis of her
spine that caused her such pain that she often struggled to get out of bed. “I
just pray to God,” she said, “that I can at least make it to church every
Sunday.”
In some cultures the words of the
elderly are considered wisdom to hold on to. Though not always so thought of in our culture, as I watched
her interact with those around her and the peace, grace, and thankfulness that
they gathered in when they were with her, I believed that I was hearing words
that were well worth taking into my life as wisdom.
Of course the wisdom of the world would tell us that there are many
other things of import that when time is short, when travel is difficult, when
money is tight, or when one has spinal stenosis are worth our every effort to
be there. But I wonder if
attending the Super Bowl plants a seed of peace in a person’s life that become
a shelter against the howling storms of life? I wonder if catching every episode of a sitcom can warm
one’s life with grace that overcomes the meanness of the world? I wonder if winning a soccer
championship can hold a person together with thankfulness when the world seems
to be falling apart?
I suspect that very few of us, including me, might say as that woman
said of her struggle with Spinal Stenosis, “I just pray to God that I can at
least make it to church every Sunday.”
But if I remember that whether I go to church every Sunday or on a rare
Sunday, God will love me no more or no less (He sent his Son to die for
me. How much more could he love
me?)….if I remember that God doesn’t invite me to his house to teach me how to
be a good person (There’s plenty of places that I can go to learn how to be
good.), but rather to create me anew as a person of God….if I remember that I
don’t go to church and give my offering to keep the doors open and pay the light
bill, but instead go to express my thankfulness for all God has done for me,
none of it earned, none of it deserved….you know what….those words that that
80+ year old woman said seem to make a lot of sense, and carry great wisdom.
So, stepping into this week….not knowing what will try and capture my
time, get in my way, or seek to convince me of its ultimate importance….I pray
to God that I can at least make it to church this Sunday.
Have a great week.
God’s grace and peace,
Pastor Jerry Nuernberger
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