09-10-23

ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
September 10, 2023
Are you ready to continue stretching? We are three weeks into this reflection on the words of the Apostle Paul, specifically how we are to be "Reaching out for the things ahead of us…" What do you believe God is putting before you? I’m not seeking vague or overly pious answers to that question. In real, practical things, what do you think God is putting before you? Do you think God might put before you a gift of mercy, specifically expressed in the idea that you show yourself a bit more kindness and grace? Maybe God is putting before you some thoughts about your grief and how the one you grieve for is at peace and desires for you to know that same peace. Or maybe it is a word of challenge about some anger you continue to hold in your heart, and God is pointing to Jesus as a reminder that you were not created for anger but for love—a love that begins with a love of self. I believe God is putting before us gifts that are all about the betterment of our lives and the life of the church, so that our individual lives and communal-life can better express the unconditional and limitless love of God to a hurting and fearful world. So often those gifts are sitting just beyond our grasp, in part because of hinderances and obstacles that we, others, or circumstances have put there. How can we better stretch and reach and take hold of what God is offering?

You are always seeking to bless us, O God, with your abundance of mercy, kindness, hope, joy, love and peace. These are among the gifts that help us to know and embrace the wholeness intended for our lives. You are both persistent and patient in providing such gifts, yet we remain challenged by all sorts of obstacles, some of them self-imposed and others coming from outside of us. Whatever the case, keep us reaching and stretching for all that you are putting before us. Amen.