Arise, shine; for your light has come,
and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.
--Isaiah 60:1 (NRSV)
On June 6, 1993, I was in California, Missouri for a candidating sermon. At the early worship at Salem United Church of Christ, the sky grew increasingly dark. Ominous clouds tinted green, began to appear on the horizon. As we drove the five miles through the countryside back to the town of California, huge droplets started to smash into the windshield. When we arrived at the United Church of Christ of California for the service a few minutes later, the rain was like a waterfall. We were soaked by the time we arrived inside.
Once inside, it was apparent that this was no ordinary summer Sunday. People were literally sweeping water that had surged into the fellowship hall on the first floor. There was a line of members each pushing the water forward to the next with soggy brooms. The power had gone off throughout the community by this time. I remember meeting Mary, an eighty-year old with a walker who was being helped up the stairs to the sanctuary. The sanctuary was dimly lit with candles that had been collected throughout the building. The pipe organ sat silent. The PA system was gone. The front doors were propped open, and the sounds of vehicles, sloshing through the waters,echoed through the sanctuary throughout the service. It was a strange, holy time.
And there was a simple act of kindness toward the visiting minister. Lou, a member of the Search Committee, provided me with a plastic flashlight so that I could see to read the scripture and my sermon notes. Later, after I arrived to begin my ministry, she presented me with the same flashlight. This time it had an engraved band around it that read, "May you always have light."
I think about that flashlight in this Epiphany time--and especially, I ponder the blessing that Lou provided--a blessing for a lifetime. "May you always have light." It is the blessing of Epiphany this holy season of light--God's light for the world. A star that shines brightly in the night sky. Jesus, the Light of the world, who bestows that same title on his church.
In the midst of dark and confusing days in Christ's ministry, when we but dimly see, but still fervently hope: May you always have light.
In moments of despair about the condition of our country and the misdirected priorities of those elected to govern, May you always have light. (And may you always have the courage to stand up and speak out.)
In the face of desperate cries of the poor and broken ones and the silences of those who have lost their voice and their inability to speak up for themselves, "May you always have light."
May you always have light!
I am grateful to Lou for the blessing in my journey.
I am grateful to God who makes it so!
and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.
--Isaiah 60:1 (NRSV)
On June 6, 1993, I was in California, Missouri for a candidating sermon. At the early worship at Salem United Church of Christ, the sky grew increasingly dark. Ominous clouds tinted green, began to appear on the horizon. As we drove the five miles through the countryside back to the town of California, huge droplets started to smash into the windshield. When we arrived at the United Church of Christ of California for the service a few minutes later, the rain was like a waterfall. We were soaked by the time we arrived inside.
Once inside, it was apparent that this was no ordinary summer Sunday. People were literally sweeping water that had surged into the fellowship hall on the first floor. There was a line of members each pushing the water forward to the next with soggy brooms. The power had gone off throughout the community by this time. I remember meeting Mary, an eighty-year old with a walker who was being helped up the stairs to the sanctuary. The sanctuary was dimly lit with candles that had been collected throughout the building. The pipe organ sat silent. The PA system was gone. The front doors were propped open, and the sounds of vehicles, sloshing through the waters,echoed through the sanctuary throughout the service. It was a strange, holy time.
And there was a simple act of kindness toward the visiting minister. Lou, a member of the Search Committee, provided me with a plastic flashlight so that I could see to read the scripture and my sermon notes. Later, after I arrived to begin my ministry, she presented me with the same flashlight. This time it had an engraved band around it that read, "May you always have light."
I think about that flashlight in this Epiphany time--and especially, I ponder the blessing that Lou provided--a blessing for a lifetime. "May you always have light." It is the blessing of Epiphany this holy season of light--God's light for the world. A star that shines brightly in the night sky. Jesus, the Light of the world, who bestows that same title on his church.
In the midst of dark and confusing days in Christ's ministry, when we but dimly see, but still fervently hope: May you always have light.
In moments of despair about the condition of our country and the misdirected priorities of those elected to govern, May you always have light. (And may you always have the courage to stand up and speak out.)
In the face of desperate cries of the poor and broken ones and the silences of those who have lost their voice and their inability to speak up for themselves, "May you always have light."
May you always have light!
I am grateful to Lou for the blessing in my journey.
I am grateful to God who makes it so!
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