Ramblings on a Journey The Reverend Kathy Peters June 21, 2013 A word of caution about this reflection: as always (!) it is only “ramblings” about my journey of faith, not a “to do” list for your journey! It is my hope that I might spark a thought or a reflection or an insight that will be helpful to you on your own journey of faith. Feel free to pass it on if you think it might be helpful to anyone else! If you would like to respond directly please do so at [email protected]. Psalm 22:19-28 But you, O LORD, do not be far away! O my help, come quickly to my aid! Deliver my soul from the sword, my life from the power of the dog! Save me from the mouth of the lion! From the horns of the wild oxen you have rescued me. I will tell of your name to my brothers and sisters; in the midst of the congregation I will praise you: You who fear the LORD, praise him! All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him; stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel! For he did not despise or abhor the affliction of the afflicted; he did not hide his face from me, but heard when I cried to him. From you comes my praise in the great congregation; my vows I will pay before those who fear him. The poor shall eat and be satisfied; those who seek him shall praise the LORD. May your hearts live for ever! All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the LORD; and all the families of the nations shall worship before him. For dominion belongs to the LORD, and he rules over the nations. Someone asked me if I have “recovered” from my trip and my unspoken response was “I hope not!” I have however seen my first “glaze over”. After I had been talking about my time in Columbia for about ten minutes, I could see the unmistakable eyes- go -dull look that told me I needed to wrap it up. (It was not a church member!!) Folks are kind but the reality of being in a place of such poverty and despair is beyond the scope of many people’s experience. My friend Charlie Kuchenbrod just returned from a mission trip to the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribal Reservation in South Dakota with Simply Smiles. The same place that Diane Adams, Jordan Adams Sack and I are going to in August with the Deep River Church. Charlie does get it and he wrote the following: ….What is wrong with us? What is wrong with me? Our institutions have failed. Some good people have worked hard, no doubt, maybe others not so much…… Yet, praise God, there are people who keep hope alive. People who know that the past cannot be changed, but the future can be. People with faith that love will make a difference. People with compassion. We need to be more like them. I need to be more like them. We all belong to God. Us and them? Feh! There is only us. Compassion, yes. Social justice, yes! We can do more. I can do more. Will we? Will I? God help us, please (Spirit Calendar June 17, 2013 ctucc.org) Charlie Kuchenbrod, Associate Conference Minister for Endowment Ministries for the Connecticut Conference, UCC.) The good news for me is that first of all that God will help us and God does indeed have dominion over all the earth…thanks be to God!...it is not all up to me! I am remembering that poem that I loved so much in college: You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. (Desiderata by Max Ehrmann 1927) And secondly, there are good and wonderful people in this world who do work for peace and justice and strive each day to bring hope to their little corner of the world. And thirdly, I too can praise God in the midst of the people I meet, in the midst of the congregation; in the midst of my world…whether folks glaze over or not, I can continue to witness to what I have seen. I can continue to work for justice and peace in Columbia and in my own world. I am not alone! God and others are with me. On this beautiful first day of summer I choose hope over despair with the assurance that God has my back, gently pushing me along when I need to be pushed, giving me a back rub when I am tired and just too weary to go on and never far away when the “horns" of a wild world seek to overwhelm. May this broken heart that moves me into ever deeper care, live forever. “And when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left, your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, ‘This is the way; walk in it.’ “(Isaiah 30:21)
Posted on: Fri, 21 Jun 2013 13:38:08 +0000
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