This is a story about me. But it’s also about you. Whether you’re married or single.
Today is our 29th wedding anniversary. And 28 years ago today was a bad day.
Our one year anniversary.
We were with family and friends at a cabin, high on a pine-filled shore overlooking a pristine lake in northern Wisconsin.
I saw something stunning and beautiful Saturday night at worship.
I saw the Church.
Not the church. Not the steeple or worship band or the red carpeting. But something illusive and shy, like a wobbly fawn that is often camouflaged in the underbrush of dead leaves, and can often collapse under weak, buckling knees.
It peeked out, and I caught a holy glimpse.
It’s common these days to hear the refrain, “I love Jesus but not the Church.” We get all worked up pointing to her hypocrisy and judgmentalism and ugly blemishes and bad habits. I’ve written before about how we’ve been hurt by her.
But I’m blessed to be part of a community of believers where Church-sitings, real Church-sitings, the kind Jesus talked about – the kind Jesus prayed for at the end of John 17 – thankfully aren’t that rare. And I had one the other night.
It was a simple thing really. I was sitting in the back of the sanctuary on the left and a few rows in front of me sat a woman my age (read “very young”) who was diagnosed a couple of years ago with Early-onset Alzheimer’s. She is blond and soft and round and absolutely full of child-like joy. Beside her sat her husband who is kind, and devoted.
In the middle of the sermon she got up and scooched out of the pew. I watched as she ambled to the back of the sanctuary past me and turned left along the back row.
Another woman sitting in the section one over, noticed who it was leaving, smiled brightly, popped up, and joined her walking out. A few minutes later the two of them returned. The “escort” gently guided her friend back to the correct pew and her husband, and went back to her own seat.
Like Jesus guiding one of His little lambs back to safety.
Such a very simple thing. But it made me cry. The beauty of it. The rightness of it.
Alzheimer’s or not, we all wander off from time to time and need someone to walk alongside of us and remind us where we belong don’t we?
The sermon continued, but the more powerful message was being played out in the pews.
The church was being the Church and so often that doesn’t get seen and celebrated for the wonder that it is.
When have you been inspired by seeing the church be the Church?
My family says I’m sheep-obsessed.
I’ve always been a sheep girl. I love the image of God as our shepherd in the Bible – patiently, gently taking care of us clumsy, clueless, grace-dependent, but usually well-meaning lumpy messes.
My family gives me a hard time because I’ve been known to chase sheep on several continents trying to get a good picture of, say “British sheep” as opposed to “Guatemalan sheep”. Last week outside Bethlehem I got this picture of what I called “Christmas sheep”.
Although the land is all built up with Israeli settlements, as I looked over the hills surrounding Bethlehem, it was easy to picture THE real shepherds two thousand years ago on Christmas eve in the quiet night, looking up at the same stars that blanket us today.
It made me think of a sermon I heard years ago on the Twenty-third Psalm. It really stuck with me, which is the mark of a good sermon, isn’t it?
Actually it was only on the first 5 words of the Psalm. The speaker, Max Lucado challenged listeners to choose which one of these words was their favorite…which was most important to them.
The (not “Some”, not “A”, not “one of many” )
Lord (The word used here is a verb – ACTIVE! The same word for Lord used with Moses – I AM)
is (present tense, not just “was” or “will be”)
my (personal!! not just “David’s” or “Paul’s” or “Billy Graham’s”)
shepherd (present, caring, and responsible for sheep 24/7. Sheep are totally dependent)
So, this morning, jet-lagged and just home from a long, intense trip, I’m thankful for a Shepherd-God who gently carries me.
What’s the most important word for you?
Which word would you choose as your favorite today?
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