01-18-24

ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
January 18, 2024
So I stopped by Whole Foods on Tuesday afternoon. The sun was out, and the temperature had just gone above freezing. It felt good. As I came out of the store carrying one of my blue Cypress Creek bags filled with groceries, I stepped out of the shade of the entrance overhang just at the right moment for a piece of ice attached to the building to break away. It wasn’t big, maybe 3 inches in diameter, but it hit in the perfect place (that’s sort of up for discussion). I was wearing a jacket, but it was unzipped. Underneath, I had a long-sleeve shirt with a loose collar. You can probably guess where this is going, or, in the case of the ice, where it was going. That’s right—it brushed the back of my head and went right down the back of my shirt. I’m pretty sure some folks thought I was having a full-blown Pentecostal experience—a one-person revival in the parking lot of Whole Foods.

Years ago, Rev. John Humbert, who served as General Minister of our denomination, said in a sermon, “There are God moments that are so shocking that it reminds me of being a kid when someone threw a snowball at me and snow went inside my coat and shirt.” I can’t say my experience outside of Whole Foods was a religious experience, but I have known a few shocking moments in my life when the Spirit awakened me, made me uncomfortable, followed by some laughter, and then I moved on with life knowing that I was going to carry the residue of the experience with me for quite some time.

Awaken me, O God, to whatever will strengthen my faith. Awaken me, even when it might be a shock to my system. Amen.