08-03-24

ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
August 3, 2024
I know it is a text usually associated with Christmas, but the words from John 1:14 ring true even in the heat of summer. John was writing about the eternal Word that was with God from the beginning, and he wrote:

“And the Word became flesh and lived among us…”

Some of you know that the phrase “lived among us” might not be the best translation of the original Greek. The Greek word describes the tent in which God would make an appearance during the wilderness years after the Exodus—the tent was called the Tabernacle. So maybe a better translation would be, “And the Word became flesh and pitched a tent among us…” God is everywhere, and for that reason, God is at the finish line (the destination or end point of our journey), but God shows up at every point along the journey. Jesus, the Living Word of God, becomes the enfleshing of that message. No matter how distant you might feel, no matter how forsaken your current circumstances might appear, no matter how completely impeded the path forward might look, God is not waiting for you somewhere else. God is with you! You may not see it in the moment, but faith is what we cling to when we cannot see.

Continue to grow within me a faith that glimpses your presence, O Living Word, for I know there will be periods of wilderness that will leave me feeling alone. As you pitch your tent alongside me, I pray for the capacity to take rest in your presence. Amen.