The Bungee Cord. 5-13-24

Hello,

My 3-year-old grandson brought his dad (my son), his mom, his mom’s mom, and his dog to visit us this weekend. They live in Brooklyn on the 13th floor of an apartment building, so visiting our house is a visit to a completely different world than that in which he lives. We live out in the country with rolling hills and woods all around us. He lives in a cement world with traffic lights and high-rise buildings. When he comes to our house, he hears birds and see sunsets. In his neighborhood where a fire station and police station are across the street from him, he hears sirens and sees flashing lights. Brooklyn is a far different world than Stahlstown, Pa.

When he comes, it is a thrill to see his eyes delight in all the discoveries that he makes here. He watches with undeterred attention as a robin searches for worms. He goes on adventure walks with my wife to see if any blue birds have laid eggs in the dozen bluebird houses around our house. He builds bridges and circles of track for the Brillo (sp?) train to traverse. He checks out the mason bee houses that my wife has set up in the flower gardens. And on this visit he planted in our garden a bean plant that he started in his preschool. This visit, as are all of his visits, was a visit of discovery that opened his eyes to a world of wonder.

But more important than all the worldly discoveries that he made over the weekend, this weekend he discovered what is like to be loved by his “mama” and “yay yay”. (His mother is from China and the Chinese names for the father’s parents are “mama” and “yay yay”.). He discovered what it was like to have the complete attention of someone of whom he bears his name when he wants to play with cars and trucks. He discovered the feeling of sitting on his “mama’s” and “yay yay’s” lap and read books and laugh together. He discovered what it was like to be hugged with the unhindered love of his grandparents in the morning when he woke up and at night when he went to bed. He discovered the comfort of being picked up when he fell and feeling the truth of “it will be alright”.

Sure, we chat with him on facetime, and we send him notes and pictures. We tell him over the internet that we love him, but there is something about a visit that brings to life the love and thankfulness that his “mama” and “yay yay” have for him.

That is what Jesus is all about. Over the centuries, God told his people through the prophets that he loved them and would never forsake them (although the Bible tells us that sometimes God got really angry with his people and wondered what he had gotten himself into). But when God made his visit in Jesus, the love that God spoke of through the prophets came to life, making every day an adventure of discovery….not a discovery for God, but a discovery for the world. We, the world, saw God embrace the filthiest of people, and by his embrace their lives were changed. We, the world, felt what it was like to be so loved by God that it brought tears to God’s, Jesus’, face. We, the world, heard the comforting power that brings hope to the future, “Take up you mat and walk.” We, the world, felt an embrace coming from eternity when God, in Jesus, wrapped us in his outstretched arms on the cross and called us by name in his resurrection in the waters of Baptism. What a life changing visit of discovery is ours, the world’s, when God made his visit to us in Jesus.

And the wonder of it all is that God keeps on making that visit into my life and yours. Every Sunday when we gather in the Lord’s house Jesus’ words of forgiveness and mercy are re-spoken in our ears. He visits us with divine power to pick us up off of the ground when we have fallen in the past week. And most of all, he breaks down every barrier that might keep us from him in a way that no human hug can attain….he hugs us from the inside when we come to his table and communes with us.

If you haven’t been to worship in a while…or if you have gone every week of your life…there’s a discovery waiting for you….the discovery of a three-year-old who finds out what it feels like to be loved by his “mama” and “yay yay”. Actually more than that!

Have a great week.

God’s grace and peace, (ggap)

Pastor Jerry Nuernberger

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