Today’s Lectionary Readings: Psalm 30; Jeremiah 31:1-14; Matthew 12:33-42; 1 Peter 5:1-5; Psalm 77
Each of us has had individuals in our lives that were crucial in our faith formation. What I’ve realized over the years is that the individuals who have had the most impact are not always the people you would expect. I’m a good example of that. If you were to ask me about the folks outside my immediate family that influenced my faith the most, I’d tell you about two women named Mary and Mary Lou (and you expected me to say “Mary and Martha” J). Mary was the woman at my home church who volunteered in the nursery for something like 40 years. She was a quiet, humble woman who was the first embodiment of faith that most of us who were born into the church encountered. She taught all of us about faith by giving us the best lesson possible – she showed us what it looked like on a daily basis. The other person that influenced my faith was Mary Lou. Mary Lou was a quiet, humble (do you see a pattern developing here) woman who made a practice of doing the thankless jobs that no one else wanted to do. When we needed another alto for the choir, Mary Lou stepped forward to sing. When we needed a cake for a special event, she would volunteer her professional skills and bake one. When we couldn’t find a volunteer to clean the church, Mary Lou quietly cleaned the church. Both of these women provided me with a model of leadership that has lasted my entire life. In so many ways, they embody the model of leadership given in today’s passage from 1 Peter. In that passage we were told that leaders are diligent, spontaneous (and not calculating), wanting to please God (and not humanity), and tender (not bossy). The qualities listed here don’t exactly fit well with our society’s notion of what it means to lead. And yet it is people who exemplify the qualities listed in 1 Peter that truly change the world – one life at a time! Today let us give thanks for those individuals in our lives who have helped show us what true leadership looks like. Now let’s go out and be that sort of leader in our own family, community, and world. Til next time…
Each of us has had individuals in our lives that were crucial in our faith formation. What I’ve realized over the years is that the individuals who have had the most impact are not always the people you would expect. I’m a good example of that. If you were to ask me about the folks outside my immediate family that influenced my faith the most, I’d tell you about two women named Mary and Mary Lou (and you expected me to say “Mary and Martha” J). Mary was the woman at my home church who volunteered in the nursery for something like 40 years. She was a quiet, humble woman who was the first embodiment of faith that most of us who were born into the church encountered. She taught all of us about faith by giving us the best lesson possible – she showed us what it looked like on a daily basis. The other person that influenced my faith was Mary Lou. Mary Lou was a quiet, humble (do you see a pattern developing here) woman who made a practice of doing the thankless jobs that no one else wanted to do. When we needed another alto for the choir, Mary Lou stepped forward to sing. When we needed a cake for a special event, she would volunteer her professional skills and bake one. When we couldn’t find a volunteer to clean the church, Mary Lou quietly cleaned the church. Both of these women provided me with a model of leadership that has lasted my entire life. In so many ways, they embody the model of leadership given in today’s passage from 1 Peter. In that passage we were told that leaders are diligent, spontaneous (and not calculating), wanting to please God (and not humanity), and tender (not bossy). The qualities listed here don’t exactly fit well with our society’s notion of what it means to lead. And yet it is people who exemplify the qualities listed in 1 Peter that truly change the world – one life at a time! Today let us give thanks for those individuals in our lives who have helped show us what true leadership looks like. Now let’s go out and be that sort of leader in our own family, community, and world. Til next time…
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