OK, nothing about dogs and snow geese today. (See previous posts)
Ever since my sabbatical pilgrimage, I have tried to end each day with “grace upon grace,” (John 1). It is a moment to reflect upon the day and see how God’s grace has been woven into it.
Grace upon grace: two of us pastors didn’t get the message that the rest were meeting for sermon text study at another church. So when we alone showed up and found out the others were elsewhere, we picked up our Bibles and went to Panera’s for coffee. Not only did we have good conversation about sermon and congregations, but we also talked with a neighbor at the next table (my collar gave me away) about the scripture for Sunday. We got to hear how she would preach it…ecumenical study.
Grace upon grace: I promised no snow geese, but the red-wing blackbirds and “poor Sam peabody” were back singing loudly in the field this morning.
Grace upon grace upon grace upon grace: At evening prayer tonight, people in the congregation volunteered to bring the candle forward and sing the prayers. Others told wonderful stories about their experiences of God’s compassion: money offered after a flood, a harp played in a cancer treatment, an opportunity to take the time to help a customer on the job and it being perceived gratefully as compassion, a unusual moment when two in a senior center prayed for peace because of their frustrations.
And this is why I am a pastor: to help people notice and verbalize how God is working in their lives. Grace upon grace; it was a full day, and I can’t stop loving God tonight.
Leave a Reply