Even after Jesus had performed many signs in their presence, they still would not believe in him. This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet: “Lord, who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?” For this reason they could not believe, because, as Isaiah says elsewhere: "He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, so they can neither see with their eyes, nor understand with their hearts, nor turn—and I would heal them.” Isaiah said this because he saw Jesus’ glory and spoke about him. Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him. Yet they would not openly acknowledge their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue for they loved human praise more than praise from God. ~ John 12:37 - 42 Sometimes I wonder if Jesus ever gets a real break from things, but then I begin to realize that this is the existence that God encounters on any given moment.
While the disciples were walking and experiencing the life and miracles of Jesus each day, and people would talk about what Jesus was doing, they still were so caught up in what the world wanted from them that they simply would not proclaim what Jesus was doing for fear of being treated differently. I remember how my doctor tried to explain an unexplainable result to treatment that I was receiving. She pulled out my chart and began to read, "Patient exhibits improvement, noting that anamoly of a cell has created the improved status." After hearing these words, I looked at her and responded, "By any chance is anamoly spelled M I R A C L E?" She looked at me and smiled, "Yes, something like that." Our ability to proclaim the miracles that God continues to provide as human successes has left us leaving God in the shadows while others stand in the light. John at one point shares, "Believe in the light while you have the light, so that you may become children of light. When he had finished speaking, Jesus left and hid himself from them." `(John 12:36) Jesus is tired. He keeps trying to get folks to recognize that what he is doing is the works of God through him, and people are simply not getting it. Well, at least they are not giving credit where credit is due. Even today when honors are given, when glory is given to God for the talent, success, or the ability, it is rarely seen as anything other than a line of words. By our own admission, we struggle to believe. Even for the disciples. Yet, while in our shadow, God is still God, and is waiting for us to welcome God into the light, often where we are the ones standing. Proclaim the miracles! Proclaim what God is doing in your life! That is how the world knows not just the power of God, but that God exists! Stay in God's grip! G. Todd Williams (c) 2018 While I was still in prayer, Gabriel, the man I had seen in the earlier vision, came to me in swift flight... He instructed me and said to me, "Daniel, I have now come to give you insight and understanding. As soon as you began to pray, an answer was given, which I have come to tell you, for you are highly esteemed. Therefore consider the message and understand the vision." ~ Daniel 9: 21-23 This morning as I was getting things together to start my day I found that a close friend of mine had shared something very personal. A child I have known since she was very young, and now a mother of three beautiful daughters, has disappeared.
Not literally disappeared, but stolen away by a bad relationship that has now filled her life with drugs and a series of bad decisions that has left the family torn and broken. Her mother has basically thrown her own hands into air, as if to surrender to the situation, declaring, "I give up." This is a situation that we seem to find happening in all areas of our society. None of us are immune to some kind of addiction. Maybe it doesn't resemble this situation, the fact that each of us understands the word "addiction" reminds us that we all suffer from something. Gabriel comes to Daniel as he begins to pray and shares, "You have already been given the answer." Even the person who suffers from some kind of addiction remembers a day when the addiction didn't exist. So often it is fear, or the idea of not being able to feel a certain way, that keeps us away from being able to take that first step to getting healthy. It's as if Gabriel is saying, "God already knows before you ask for help, and has a plan." So often though, we are quick to say, "Amen," and overlook or miss the answer. With such characters like Daniel, comes new understandings of how God works. While we know that Daniel faces lions who suddenly weren't hungry. A man Jonah get's swallowed by a fish and is not digested. Three men are tossed into a fiery furnace and walk away without as much as a tan. All of these situations are not just hard to wrap our minds around, but the fact that they survived leaves us asking ourselves, "What just happened?" I am reminded that God does not protect them from the situation happening. God doesn't sweep in and destroy everyone who seems to have a problem with these Biblical greats. Instead, they become Biblical greats because God protects them in the situation. So it is with us. For each of us, God has provided us with the answer to a situation long before it happens. Unfortunately it's not until it gets so bad that something happens that gets our attention to realize what the answer is. I lovingly refer to these as life's "speed bumps." Events that happen in our lives that cause us to slow down, or to stop what we are doing so that we may take time to listen. Often the addiction even prevents the person from seeing the road, or the pot hole that is waiting to swallow up the person. Many of us are addicted to the human "rat race," and become so caught up in it, that we hardly even know what to ask God for. And when we do finally stop and ask, do we wait, or even take the time to hear the answer because we must move on, or ignore the answer because it will mean that we must change! It's as if we all understand the addiction to say, "Amen," so quickly that God is not even given the oppirtunity! So often when we do ask God about a situation, we are so quick on the "Amen" that we miss the answer. While I'm aware that overcoming an addiction is not always about listening to God. Sometimes it also takes the strength of others to help. Praying for all who seemed to be struggling with something this day, and praying that as they seek to change, theybare able to stop long enough to know that God has a plan, and the courage and strength to wait, rather than aimply closing with an "Amen," and still waiting. Stay in God's grip! G. Todd Williams (c) 2018 Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling white. Suddenly there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. Then Peter said to Jesus, "Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, I will make three dwellings here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud a voice said, "This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!" When the disciples heard this, they fell to the ground and were overcome by fear. But Jesus came and touched them, saying, "Get up and do not be afraid." And when they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus himself alone. As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus ordered them, "Tell no one about the vision until after the Son of Man has been raised from the dead." ~ Matthew 17:1-9 What is it about keeping up appearances? All throughout our lives we have moments when we don't look, or act, or seem like ourselves.
For Christ, he has just told the disciples, those that have seen him at his best and worst at this point, that he is going to die. And now everyone seems to be looking at him in a different way. I can remember the first time that I told someone that I had cancer. I'm not sure exactly what went through the person's mind, but I remember the look, and then I remember how I felt. It was as if I had just walked onto the pity bus route, and this was my first stop. I felt "different." Obviously I must have "looked" different. I was now seen as someone with something uniquely strange going on within and somehow, I was no longer the person I once was. The transfiguration of Christ is one that we find in three accounts within the Gospels. For that many writers to include the event in their own book, "something" definitely happened. Christ takes Peter, John and James and decides to go pray on the mountain. That seems pretty ordinary for this group. It must have been because we don't hear of other disciples asking if they can come along, and no one seems to be worried about where or what they are doing. At least nothing is recorded. The mountaintop experience this time, however, is climatic because as they pray, Christ seems to take on a new look, begins to shine brightly, and is joined by two of the greats within Biblical history. I'm unsure when I first noticed the first "change" in me when I began treatment for my illness. I don't know if it was how pale I became because I was no longer able to really be in the sun, or how my face began to draw in, as I continued to experience weight loss. I don't really remember, but it was several events that pointed to several differences occurring all at once in my life. Christ's change was nearly instantaneous. Although it doesn't say exactly how long the event lasted, it was as if this event not only changed Christ, but prepared those present to identify Christ in a new way. This friend, and Rabbi, or teacher, leader of this group of men, was suddenly different in some way. He shared in a moment with Moses and Elijah, two greats that every Hebrew man learned about beginning at an early age. And they saw them all! It is not recorded what the conversation was like between these greats, however, from the clouds above a voice is overheard and a proclamation of "This is my son whom I am proud of" is linked to the occasion. Things were suddenly different. For Peter, James and John, their lives would be different because they were the front row audience to this mountaintop experience. However, they are asked not to share of the experience until after Christ had died. What? For any of us, our mountaintop experiences, no matter how public or private, are experiences that change us. Do you honestly believe that these people looked and acted the same after this encounter? Would the other disciples who have spent hours walking dusty roads together and sleeping next to one another next to fires that provided warmth, didn't have a clue that "something" had happened? Do you really believe that our family doesn't recognize when we have had an event in our life that has effected us, emotionally, spiritually, or physically? The transfiguration of Christ effected everyone! It was as if the birth of the baby was marked by a star that now as the man, seemed to radiate from within for others to see! Remember generations earlier when Moses returned from spending time with God on the mountain. The people had to cover his face because it effected others who looked upon Moses! Our encounter with God changes us! "Don't tell anyone about this..." Right! Sometimes I think that this is part of the problem with these encounters. I understand that there always seems to be a reason why these events seem to be masked by the caution not to share. For us today, it makes us wonder "why" as the generations who know the "rest of the story." But for those who have these experiences today, where the living God meets and changes lives, the need for sharing needs to be the stories that we share with one another. These are not shameful! These are moments when God is being realized in the world! In a world where hope seems to be overwhelmed by hopelessness. The encounters can get a person labeled as "radical" and cause a person to refrain from sharing. I'm grateful for life narratives like that of Martin Luther King, Jr. who proclaimed that he had "been to the mountaintop!" Our ability to behold a living God is not just a promise, it is a reality for any of us! Being bold in our encounter, and bolder in our sharing! This is what makes us all different, and the world a different place. While I continue to live my life post-treatment, there is not a day that passes that I don't realize that I have been changed. Stay in God's grip! G. Todd Williams (c) 2018 And he said, “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground. He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows;dhe knows not how. The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. But when the grain is ripe, at once ehe puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”
~ Mark 4:26 - 29 I love walking on the beach at low tide. Along the Gulf where I live, rarely is the water clear enough to see below where I walk. With the water drawn back, there is literally miles of beach that I could only imagine what it looked like when the water washes over. It reminds me that there is so much about each of us that only God knows about. Only when things happen in our life do others have the opportunity to see deeper into our lives. The ability to become vulnerable can be frightening for some. For others it can be time-consuming finding ways to avoid being transparent to others. While there are those who are comfortable in their own shoes, and don't mind sharing openly. Mark attempts to share that our maturation is a normal process. Like the grass in the field, we grow as blades of grass, maturing, and then at some point we grow to full maturity and we are harvested. I love to watch a field of wheat in the summer sun as the wind creates waves like that of the Gulf. The current is reflected over the countryside, as golden shafts move in cadence with God as the orchestrator. Then the field is left in stubble once the harvest is complete, exposing what is below. So it is with us. We react and move to God's unceasing call to each of us. Our ability to react often is tempered by our own ability to shift and change. While some have built up thick outer layers, making it difficult to adapt and move, there are those who find comfort in being surrounded by community, so that when the storm comes, all are sustained by holding one another upright. Fields and beaches are funny like that, and so are human beings, but all are God's creation. And for that, I am grateful. Stay in God's grip! G. Todd Williams (c) 2018 Moses said to the Lord, "O Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue." The Lord said to him, "Who gave man his mouth?... Is it not I, the Lord? Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say." But Moses said, "O Lord, please send someone else to do it."
~ Exodus 4: 10-13 We plant flowers so that they may provide beauty. And like the flower, others see us in good times and in bad times. As I have often shared with others, "What you see is what you get." It is too hard for me personally to not be who I am, always. Jesus says, "No one lights a lamp to put it under a basket; they put it on the lamp-stand where it shines for everyone in the house" ~ (Matthew 5:14-15). There is even a children's song that shares for us to let our light shine. During the song we are reminded to, "Let it shine. Let it shine. Let it shine." We would like to think that our private and public life were two different things, but if we are seeking ways to live a more spiritual life, then these two must somehow become one. Anyone trying to live a spiritual life will soon discover that the most personal is the most universal, the most hidden is the most public, and the most solitary is the most communal. Can you imagine the world that we live if our vulnerabilties were present and known? That our inner most places of our own being was not masked, but transparent for all to witness? How different would the world be if our inner most motives were out in the open and all could see? I had someone tell me recently, "If you knew what I was thinking you would think I was crazy." I have yet to truly hear someone share from the heart and not be moved in some way. That is why our inner lives are lives for others. That is why our solitude is a gift to our community, and that is why our most secret thoughts affect our common life. The most inner light is a light for the world. Let's not have "double lives"; let us allow what we live in private to be known in public. Your light must be given a place to shine, so that the world might become a brighter place. Stay in God's grip! G. Todd Williams (c) 2018 "Come," he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. ~ Matthew 14:29 I've decided that I am so thankful that our faith isn't determined on whether we can step out onto the water or not. I mean, I know that I have faith that God is present, it's just that I don't know if I could do something like step out of a boat, and attempt what Peter did.
I always remind myself it was only one person out of an entire boat full of Jesus' followers who even dared to step out of the boat. The rest remained safe inside and watched. We all have our own individual reasons for believing in God. The same goes with the way that we express that belief. Jesus calling Peter out to walk on the waves was God's way of dealing with Peter. It just so happens he did it in front of a boat load of people. Our response to God's calling is not always meant to be a public display. I sat and listened to someone doubt their relationship with God, all because they never stood up, walked to the front of the church, and made a public confession that Jesus was their Savior. It was hard for the person to receive the comfort of knowing that the relationship was valid, all because he had to react to his faith in a specific way. I'm so glad that Peter's future as the cornerstone of the church wasn't dependent upon the day he began to sink like a rock, rather than being the rock that Jesus would claim he would build his church. The same goes for each one of us. The funny thing about faith is the fact it is based upon the belief in something that we can't see. It's knowing something exists, like the air we breathe, without thinking about it. While Peter begins to doubt his faith, and surely must have had a brain flash, "I can't walk on water," Jesus is already present to help pull him from the abyss. Like I shared earlier, I'm glad that my faith is not dependent upon my ability to get out of a boat and step onto the water, or by making a public declaration. It is the reminder that it is present and real, just like the air, and available to be lived out in our own personal ways. Stay in God's grip! G. Todd Williams (c) 2018 "Be still and know that I am God!"
~ Psalm 46:10 The Scriptures provide us with all kinds of examples of how God is present in the word. Often I have wondered what it must have been like to have been in the synagogue the day the boy, Jesus, walked in and began to tell the story that he had helped inspire. There he read from Isaiah: "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, for he has anointed me to bring good news to the afflicted. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives, sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim a year of favor from the Lord." (Luke 4:18-19) After he read from scripture, he then looked around and said, "This text is being fulfilled today even while you are listening." Imagine the look that people had on their faces! It becomes clear that the afflicted, the captives, the blind, and the oppressed are not people somewhere outside of the synagogue who, someday, will be liberated; they are the people who are listening. It's like John walking in again and proclaiming "The Kingdom of God is at hand" and it is here! In the hearing of Jesus speaking the word, God becomes present and heals! The Word of God is not a word to apply in our daily lives at some later date; it is a word to heal us through, and in, our listening here and now. The sacrament of the word becomes real and powerful. Utilizing the strength of scripture takes the word of God to a whole different level. We are reminded to hide the words within our hearts. In doing so, the word continues to become flesh and lives and breathes new life each day through each of us! May the words of our mouth and the meditations of our heart be living and real in the world today and always. Stay in God's grip! G. Todd Williams (c) 2018 "If the world hates you, be aware that it hated me before it hated you. If you belonged to the world, the world would love you as its own. Because you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world — therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, ‘Servants are not greater than their master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you; if they kept my word, they will keep yours also. But they will do all these things to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin. Whoever hates me hates my Father also. If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not have sin. But now they have seen and hated both me and my Father. It was to fulfill the word that is written in their law, ‘They hated me without a cause.’”
“When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who comes from the Father, he will testify on my behalf. You also are to testify because you have been with me from the beginning.” ~ John 15:18 - 27 One thing that we learn early in life is that we would rather be liked than disliked. As we grow older something changes. We then discover the difference between liking something or someone, or hating something or someone. Hate is something we all learn from someone or something. I have watched over the years as children have grown into adults, and for some, I see them now and have to ask myself, where did you learn to hate something so much? Christ reminds us that there were those who hated him. For me, it is somewhat hard to understand how someone could hate a God so much, while all I have ever known is a God who has only offered love. But that is how I perceive my relationship with Jesus. Not everyone has that same experience and understanding, and I think we all can understand how that could happen with the way the world is today. Years ago I met a very bitter man living on the streets of Houston who absolutely hated God. As a child his parents had basically abandoned him. His first love died at a very young age, and he became an alcoholic by the time he was 22 years old. He had lost job after job, and friends and family turned away from him. I met him one day while serving sandwiches on the street. I soon realized that he really didn't care for me either, because as a pastor, and I was talked about a God he felt had wronged him, and who he hated. Although he managed to show up each week for nearly two years, accepting food and some support, he never opened himself up. He had become a true cynic, and he eventually disappeared, carrying with him that same bitter hate, but also, I had hoped, another view of what the love of God might look like. While I had hoped that he would eventually realize that God was not responsible for his parents leaving, or the death of his first love, or even his own addiction. God was, however, still present, and seeking to have a relationship with him. So often we hinge our own relationship with God on our own experiences, good and bad, and those experiences directly impact how we view God. Jesus acknowledges that there are simply those who hate him. Let's face it, there was a lot of hate involved in the torture and death of Christ. There is no denying that what Jesus saw first hand was just how hateful humanity can be. Our love for God can sometimes be met by someone like the man I met on the street years ago. Our love for God should never be something that we are ashamed to admit. Seek the wisdom of your heart where God has placed a love that no amount of hate can ever destroy. Stay in God's grip! G. Todd Williams (c) 2018 "Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.”
~ John 14:1 -7 It's hard to believe how time continues to move on, and when we have lost someone close to us, how time changes. My stepmother was a dedicated elementary teacher, a fun-loving person, and an organizational queen. She would often leave notes for us, letting us know what she had planned for dinner, what to pick up from the store if she needed something, and even notes on notes about when bills needed to be placed in the mail. She absolutely loved her grandchildren. It was so funny, for someone who had never given birth to a child, the number of children through her years of teaching, two stepchildren, and then grandchildren, seemed to complete her life. Over a decade ago now, she learned that she had a rare blood disease that seemed to change without any real notice into leukemia, and she died. It was an absolute shock for many, including me. Although I had made several trips to see her during her treatments, nothing really prepared me for the phone call I received from my dad letting me know that she had died. To this day I can tell you exactly where I was, and what I was doing at that moment. When events in our lives happen that change us, we remember them. It's strange how the mind can sometimes team up with the heart to work through our grief. For the next year, when one of our children would do something interesting, or say something that made me want to share with her, I would even catch myself starting to pick up the phone and dial the number to home. Slowly over time, I realized that she was never going to answer the phone again. I can't imagine what it must have been like for those who watched Jesus die, be placed into the tomb, and then be told that he was gone. Grief has an interesting way of changing you. The disciples are so upset that when Jesus does once again appear to them, they only see a stranger. When they realize he has really risen, he disappears from their sight. I can't even begin to wonder what I would ask if I had been part of these initials visits by Jesus after rising from the dead. What would you ask, say, or do? Being who Jesus is, he tries to comfort those that he sees. Jesus has just been publicly beaten and crucified right in front of everyone! There is no denying, these people have just gone through a terrible experience, and the first thing Jesus says is not to let their hearts be troubled. It's like a friend saying, "It is okay" when your own world seems to be falling apart. He then tells those present that he has seen heaven, and that there is a great mansion, with many rooms. So many rooms that there is one for each of them... in fact, for all of humanity. Not just then, but even now, and in the future! I always seemed to be challenged after Easter as a pastor, because the "big day" had occurred. On Easter we told one another "He is Risen!" Well that is true, but Easter doesn't end there. There is more ministry, more lessons, and so much more to the story! He returns with the message of hope. Don't let your heart be troubled. You are going to be with me in heaven, and it is so much more than I can even begin to explain. While the Easter story is about the ONE who rose from the dead; the Easter story is also about our story with the ONE who came so we might experience life eternally. I cannot deny that I still experience grief when I have lost someone I love, I do embrace the risen Christ in the days following resurrection. Those, are perhaps the most important of all the days of Jesus' ministry, because those are the ones that teach us that there is so much more than just living and dying. Stay in God's grip! G. Todd Williams (c) 2018 "When the Lamb broke the seventh seal on the scroll, there was silence throughout heaven for about half an hour."
~ Rev. 8:1 I have often wondered what was happening in heaven the moment that Christ declared, "It is finished." We don't always know what is happening in the land of eternity, where there is no more sadness. No more death. No more time. No more, no more... There are moments that rob us of words and of our breath. We encounter images each day that seem to rob us of our words, leaving us silent. Instead, the sound that we hear is of our spirit groaning. There are no words to express what the mood was like in the earthly hours that must have seemed like an eternity to Jesus. The taste of sweat, blood, and the dirt in which all humanity had been created from, filled his mouth until he cried out that he thirst as he hung, dying, before a crowd that was anything but silent. The skies grew dark, and heaven rumbled. But what was the mood of the great cloud of witnesses who worship God, the Creator of all, as the Son was crucified? It seems, that while our breath has been taken, we have managed to look to heaven and take what energy we have left to utter the words of Christ, "Why have you abandoned me?" There are no descriptions of what God was thinking in that moment. God is silent. Heaven was silent. For many of us, we can point to a time when we were left silent. I have to believe that in heaven, a place where eternity has no timeline, that moment will always serve as a milestone. Even in eternity. May we discover the sacredness of a moment this day, that leaves us simply standing in our steps. A moment that we meet God. May we be reminded that there was indeed a moment, when Jesus breathed his last breath, and in that moment, humanity and heaven were forever changed. Stay in God's grip... G. Todd Williams (c) 2018 "The Lord will guide you always, and satisfy your needs in [the parched] land, and will strengthen your frame. And you will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail." ~ Isaiah 58:11
Years ago, Helen Keller shared, "When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us." So often during the season of Lent we discover that we seem to adopt a mindset that we must spend our time "giving up something," or turning away from some habit. While this can be a positive thing for some, for others, it can also be the start of something else. God's desires for each of us include experiencing joy, happiness, and love, among other things. While some of our choices may keep us from fully realizing that these are essential touchstones of our faith, living out our faith does indeed also involve sacrifice, discipline but also restoration! The power of the cross leaves an image of suffering and death, and for some, that is often where the image of God ends. I have known people who feel that since Christ suffered, that somehow, they believe that by some circumstance, we too must suffer. On the same note, I also know people who hate this image, and that they can't wait until Easter morning to cry out to others, "He has risen." Both are important if we are going to experience the fullness of the Gospel. We must have death if there is going to be resurrection. We must have the resurrection if we are going to have eternity. While we continue to make our way through this season of Lent, don't find yourself getting caught in staring at doors that have been closed with new choices, or when turning back, also be sure to recognize the open window, allowing the light of God's love to shine. The restorative power of God is really what Lent is about. It is the still small voice within each of us, calling us to be who God wants us to be. Stay in God's grip! G. Todd Williams (c) 2018 And he said, “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground. He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows;he knows not how. The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”
~ Mark 4:26 - 29 Living along the Gulf, we witness many things as the tides rise and fall, as storms come and go, and just watching every wave as it uniquely washes upon the beach. Because I visit the Gulf near Galveston, where the Mississippi Delta waters often cloud our shoreline, rarely can you see to the bottom. So when the tide rolls out, and exposes the beach, there will be miles of shoreline that one can finally see. With the water drawn back, one can finally see clearly what the waves often hide. We are so like this shoreline. We develop layers, like the waves upon the sand, that prevent others from seeing us clearly. Only when we reveal, or become vulnerable, can others truly see what is happening in our life. The ability to become vulnerable can be frightening for some. Others it can be time-consuming finding ways to avoid being transparent to others, while there are some who are comfortable in their own shoes, and don't mind sharing openly. The Gospel writer, Mark, attempts to share that our maturation is a normal process. Like the grass in the field, we grow as blades of grass, maturing, and then at some point we reach full maturity and are harvested. I love to watch a field of wheat in the summer sun as the wind creates waves like that of the Gulf. The current is reflected over the countryside, as golden shafts move in cadence with God as the orchestrator. Then the field is left in stubble once the harvest is complete, exposing what is below. So it is with us. We react and move to God's unceasing call to each of us. Our ability to react is often tempered by our own ability to shift and change. While some have built up thick outer layers, making it difficult to adapt and move, there are those who find comfort in being surrounded by community, so that when the storm comes, all are sustained by holding one another upright. Fields and beaches are funny like that, and so are human beings, but all are God's creation. And for that, I am grateful. Stay in God's grip! G. Todd Williams (c) 2018 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. ~ Philippians 4:13 One of the things that I shared with a group yesterday as we prepared to receive ashes as part of our Ash Wednesday service is that Lent should also be about what we hope to become.
We talk about Lent as a spiritual, inward journey, often filled with the idea that we are to sacrifice, or surrender something during the weeks leading up to Good Friday and Easter Sunday, but there is so much more! I reminded folks that Lent is also about changing into what you hope to become. While Jesus was walking the path towards the cross, he was also in pursuit of something greater. The resurrection. It's never too early to consider the resurrection. It's the reminder that while death cannot hold the Savior, the things that paralyze us, or keep us from being who God wants us to be, is also part of our journey. Our Lenten journey reminds us that God is forever creating and recreating. Our lives can and should be reflective of that amazing journey as well. So instead of thinking of what you are surrendering, consider who God is calling you to be! Stay in God's grip! G. Todd Williams (c) 2018 Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. ~ 2 Peter 1:2 Most mornings I start my day by spending time in prayer and writing. This morning was much different. My phone rang just a little after 4 am. I learned an infant had died. I struggled to gather a pencil and paper to take down the information, and then a half hour later, I was on the road.
There are many things that go through your mind when you are faced with the unknown like this. "What will I find?" "What words will I possibly offer," and "Lord, I need You to be very present for me now." While I listened to the parents talk of their special child, and how the child simply brought joy to their lives, I shared, "What a blessing you have been. You provided love to a child who only knew love her entire life." The idea of only knowing love is what God desires for each of us. On this day devoted to love, as well as, the day that we begin our Lenten journey, the idea of unconditional love surrounds us. After leaving the family, I then traveled to our office in Northwest Houston where I spent time placing ashes on the foreheads of coworkers, reminding them "from dust we were created, and to dust we shall return." I was then off to the funeral of a dear person who had lived nearly ten decades. Again, the message was about love. When the service was over, her casket was lowered into the ground, where tonight she will once again lay next to her husband that she slept next to for over seventy years. As I made my way home, the news of another tragic shooting in a school has left me asking God, "What will we discover next?" "What words can we offer to one another and to those who have lost their children?" "Lord, what can we do?" I'm tired, and I wish that I had the words to find ways to express grace and mercy, as promised in the words of the 23rd Psalm. It is simply one of those days, where the shadow of several valleys try to overshadow the light, but I must remember that the light cannot be overcome, and that God is loving us all through each of these situations. Stay in God's grip! G. Todd Williams (c) 2018 He went a little farther on, threw himself face downward on the ground, and prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, take this cup of suffering from me! Yet not what I want, but what you want." ~ Matthew 26:39 I understand why we celebrate the day before Ash Wednesday the way we do. It's as if we are aware that something is about to change, and we fill our life with all that we can in order to avoid the reality.
This morning I sat with a family and listened as they shared about their mother. "She was just at church on Sunday, and we have plans to go visit family next month. We just didn't expect her to be like this today." I get it. Lent is a time in the life of the church, and our own personal journey, when we realize that everything can change in a moment. Lent is a journey inward, and is marked by ashes. It is the outward sign for others to know our condition. You might say it's the symptom to our diagnosis. I remember the first time the dosctor told me, "I think it might be cancer." I suddenly felt different, and my mind went to a different place. As I plan to place ashes on the foreheads of friends and coworkers tomorrow, I recognize that the words, "From dust you were created, and to dust you shall return," are the words of the diagnosis. None of us are immune to the reality that at some point our mortality will be overcome by eternity. Lent is the time that we are given the opportunity to consider what we would like for our life, or for that matter, our spiritual journey, to look like. The ashes and the words spoken are God's way of reminding us that things will be different, and that we are being called to a higher calling by reflecting and changing our paths. While we celebrate, and eat, attend parties, and throw beads, we are hoping to somehow avoid tomorrow. I am reminded that even Christ went off and prayed that the cup being prepared, the events that were about to unfold, might pass by him. In Christ's humanity, the dust that he possessed would at some point no longer hold the plan that God had for all of humanity, including you and I. There is something about to change. Are you ready? Stay in God's grip! G. Todd Williams (c) 2018 |
AuthorRev. G. Todd Williams is the author of the book, "Remember Me When..." and is a former hospice chaplain and pastor. Archives
February 2024
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