Shine...

“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth.” This morning's spiritual reflection from the United Church of Christ was written by Anthony Robinson who notes:

In Wendell Berry’s novel, Jayber Crow, the main character reflects on a favorite theme of preachers and teachers at the schools where he was sent as an orphan. “Everything bad was laid on the body, and everything good was credited to the soul. It scared me a little when I realized I saw it the other way around. If the soul and body were really divided, then it seemed to me that all the worst sins—hatred and anger and self-righteousness, even greed and lust— came from the soul. But these preachers I’m talking about all thought the soul could do no wrong, but always had its face washed and its pants on and was in agony over having to associate with flesh and the world. And yet these preachers believed in the resurrection of the body.” Far from being “in agony over having to associate with flesh and the world,” the Christmas story tells us that the Word was made flesh. Which means that here, in this world, amid its messiness and humanity, God has chosen to dwell and be revealed.

We celebrated Epiphany in worship today - and I found myself reflecting on how the Magi are an invitation for us to listen to what some of the other outsiders of the Lord are saying, too. Artists were the ones Tillich found speaking God's language after WWII and musicians caught my ear back in the days when our cities were burning and race hatred was naked. So it struck me as odd that all too often we who yearn to hear the Word of God inthe drama and order of the church are so deaf and afraid of the noise and wisdom that God's outsiders are sharing - especially when they are bearing the Word of the Lord in non-traditional forms.

I closed my message with a grunger tune and was blessed when a new friend said after worship: "Playing that Collective Soul song today spoke to me more than ALL the hymns and prayers and ceremony: God's light is still shining if we have eyes to see." Amen, dear brother, amen cuz all too often we church folk try to act holier than God and miss the Light the Lord God is already shinning. Glad we could experience some of it together today...