Reflections #3

Stream of consciousness again - here goes nothing………………………

It felt so good to be back in the pulpit - 3 worship services in 2 days and not a bit tired. Think I’m gonna love supply - no, the relationships with the people aren’t the same but the appreciation in honest - and I guess I like feeling needed. And while I know that it is in service to God that I am doing all this - I like the warm fuzzies that come with it……………

…and so I’m sitting at the dinner table later today - the sun is streaming in through the windows and sliding glass doors and playing cat & mouse on the floor- the sun was brilliant today - clear air - sharp - crisp. Anyway the sun is reflected on the floor - and there are edges between the sun and the shadow. My sermon this morning was about reflection- reflecting on the empty tomb and the Christ that is and isn’t there ….

And I was reflecting…. Shadows aren’t the same as darkness - you can’t see anything when it is very dark - but you can still see in the shadows - not as much and not as clear, but still … but that sharp line between sun streaming and shadow simmering along side it, there is an edge. Kinda like the edge of understanding…

Kinda like where the disciples where on that day that Jesus appeared to them …they weren’t sure what they were seeing - a ghost? Jesus? Really? Seriously?

Well yeah……………….ghosts don’t eat and drink and we know Jesus did that a lot…with everyone, especially all those ’unimportant’ people - and even us - yes Jesus eats and drinks with us and feeds us with his very self.
The disciples were teetering on this edge of understanding - but eventually came around to at least believe - maybe they didn’t understand, but they did believe.

And maybe that’s where we are too, not quite understanding what this Jesus dude does for us, but believing nevertheless………………..

Is that good enough?? Well, for some it has to be: belief and faith are a mystery - neither are founded on facts or knowledge - but what we feel to be true- it is more about using all of our senses: sight, touch, smell, hearing. We see Jesus in our fellow brothers and sisters (well maybe sometimes) we touch Him when we reach out to others or they to us, we smell the clean air and the flowers and the raw earth, the doggy (ok, or kitty!) smell of our favorite animal companion, or we hear the words of scripture or song lyrics that resonate with us somehow. Or maybe it’s the presence of a friend at just the right moment in time………….

Reflecting - we do it all the time, sometimes without even being conscience of it.. We are always evaluating and trying to figure things out. But until that ‘something’ is reflected back to us we can’t see it - like we can’t see our own faces unless they are reflected back to us in something shiny. We don’t see Jesus unless He is reflected back to us at the edge between sunlight dancing on the floor and shadows playing cat & mouse.