“Commit to Renewal: What You Cannot See” by The Rev. Stephanie Kendell
I hope this month’s commitment has meant as much to you as it has to me. I have been incorporating the three essential prayers of “Help,” “Thanks,” and, “Wow” into my everyday life. My favorite has been when I am caught off guard by something and I subconsciously say wow and then take a moment to realize that, that was a moment of prayer. Have you been changed by these little prayers? Let us know. This Sunday is the second Sunday of the month and it is always time of thanks for me, as YASS! will once again gather at The Pony Bar. We hope you will join us for this incredible time of fun and fellowship. Another ministry event that I know you will want to participate in is the free screening of The Rape of Recy Taylor on May 19th after worship. If you have any questions, please reach out to Rev. Sydney. As always, we hope to see you in person or online for our 11am worship where we always grow in faith and community.
There is a show that used to be on called Gilmore Girls. It is the story of a mother and her daughter living in a fictional town in New England. The mom, Lorelei, is meant to be a quirky character with a heart of gold, while the daughter, also named Lorelei (read quirky mom) but goes by Rory, is the more pragmatic and often sensible of the two. One of the show’s ongoing bits is that Lorelei can smell snow. She will wake up in the middle of the night or be walking on what looks like a clear evening, and she will let everyone know that snow is coming. It is a gift of using her senses to know something to be true beyond what is shown to you.
Lorelei’s intimate knowledge of pending snow on a clear day came to me while reading this week’s scripture of Christ feeding the disciples-the third time he has shown himself to them after the resurrection. See if you can tell in this passage from John chapter 21 what verse reminded me of Lorelei.
9 When they landed, they saw that a charcoal fire had been prepared, with fish and some bread already being grilled. 10 “Bring some of the fish you just caught,” Jesus told them. ” 11 Simon Peter went aboard and hauled ashore the net, which was loaded with huge fish-one hundred fifty-three of them. In spite of the great number, the net was not torn.
12 “Come and eat your meal,” Jesus told them.
None of the disciples dared to ask, “Who are you?” -they
knew it was the savior.
13 Jesus came over, took the bread and gave it to them,
and did the same with the fish. 14 This marked the third time
that Jesus had appeared to the disciples after being raised
from the dead. (John 21:9-14)
When the scripture says that no one had to ask who he was, they knew it was the savior, that is the moment Lorelei popped into my head. What scripture is telling us is that this person didn’t look like the Jesus the disciples knew. This person didn’t sound like the Jesus they knew. This person who appears to be a stranger to them, is yet someone they already know, someone they love, someone they trust. They didn’t need to say who are you? They also didn’t need to check with the others in their group. They looked beyond what was right in front of them and saw Jesus.
Truth is something that resides in the soul. Something that guides you and inspires you to be your best self. It is the knowing that what this world can be, is not what it is. It is seeing the trampled dirt and calling it fertile soil. It is the looking at a stranger and seeing your savior.
Friends, what truths do you know in your heart that you haven’t seen with your eye? How might you share them? What would happen if you do? May this week we take that chance and share our truth with someone who doesn’t know it. May we lovingly and with prayer receive someone else’s truth as well. For they may help you find shelter from a storm, and you may show them the love of our risen Christ.
Shalom Y’all,
Rev. Stephanie
A quick prayer for your week: Oh Lord, I know it’s you. Amen
