September 14

Given the hectic pace of my schedule the last couple of days, I had a difficult time initially connecting with today’s lectionary passages (Psalms 136 & 129; Ezekiel 16:53-63; Luke 10:17-24; Revelation 19:1-10). What I had particularly been wrestling with was a brutal reality check about the challenges of living out one’s faith in peaceful and joy-filled ways in community. You see during my 3 month sabbatical I was able to consistently live in a place of peace and thanksgiving – so much so that at times I practically forgot there were other ways to live. Over the last couple weeks, however, I’ve been reminded there are indeed other ways to live. At times in my interactions with others, I’ve allowed myself to surrender my feelings of peace for feelings of fear by buying into other people’s issues. At others moments, my experience of thanksgiving has been drowned out by voices of demand. So what do I do with these initial frustrations? Well, several hours after first reading the lectionary passages, I came back to the readings and the answer emerged from Psalm 136. In that Psalm which spends a good deal of time recounting the experiences of the Israelites, there is a constant refrain that is drummed into our heads at the end of each and every line: “[God’s] love endures forever”. Twenty-four times in all is that simple phrase repeated. I guess that’s a huge piece of our calls to ministry. In the face of competing demands, agendas, ultimatums, and dis-ease, comes the call to embody that essential truth: “God’s love endures forever”. May we go forth today with a renewed commitment to maintain our focus on that transformative truth as our lives become anchored in that love – no matter what! Til next time…