09-22-23

ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
September 22, 2023
There are moments in the life of the church when I am so overwhelmed by the amazing history, stories, and giftedness of people. Sometimes, simply in passing, we have absolutely no comprehension of someone’s life experiences that have shaped them. Years ago, I was invited to walk alongside a woman after she went into hospice care. She had many physical health problems, including lung cancer from years of smoking. At first glance, I probably made some judgments on who this woman was and what she had accomplished in life. Come to find out, she had played baseball in the All-American Girls Baseball League (the movie A League of Their Own was based on this baseball league), and after leaving baseball, she successfully climbed five of the seven tallest mountains in North and South America. She had lived life to the fullest, and though her body was weak, her spirit remained spunky and adventurous. In the life of the church, we too often miss the gifts that people are bringing to the mission and work of the church, simply because of our assumptions about the people we meet. In I Corinthians 12:7, we read, "To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good." How often is our "common good" not reaching its potential because certain gifts are not being used? And they are not being used because we have taken the time to get to know one another.

Give me ears to hear and the capacity to ask good questions, O God of the Universe. There is a richness found in the lives of those around us, and I pray that I have the capacity to be enriched by as much as I can. Amen.