Hi everyone,
Happy Lunar New Year! I don’t know how many of you out there acknowledge or recognise this event, but we took the kids out to a lion dance celebration for the first time in their lives yesterday. As fun as that was, it was really tiring. By the time we got home later in the evening, I was pretty pooped.
So when I woke up this morning for church, I’ll admit that I was pretty tired. Hearing the rain pitter patter against the house didn’t really fill me with much joy in getting up and starting the day. I dragged myself out of bed to get ready for worship. Even after I got to the church, I noticed that I was dragging my feet and going through the mundane motions of setting up. And I guess you can say I was a little grumpy.
But then everyone starting arriving. I caught a glimpse of the community to which we belong. I saw God residing in and through the relationships we share, and just being present in this space.
That lifted my spirit as it always does. I was reminded yet again that even in the tough days, God is with us in our fellowship, in our connecting with each other, in our community at large as we together gather, worship, and pray.
May God’s uplifting Spirit be upon you all through this rainy season!
Here are the readings for next week:
Genesis 9:8-17
Psalm 25:1-10
1 Peter 3:18-22
Mark 1:9-15
As bad as our days can be, Jesus had them as well. In this week’s gospel lesson we get the story of his temptation, the story we get every year for the 1st Sunday in Lent. But Mark’s version of the story is really quick and concise, and we get a very clear picture of the roller coaster ride that Jesus went though. I mean, he was baptised, declared God’s son, driven out in the wilderness and battled temptation, and then fellowshipped with the angels.
Talk about your roller coaster rides.
But through it all, Jesus wasn’t alone. Through it all, God was present with him. Through it all, Jesus was surrounded by community, relationship, and the host of saints.
We all have tough days. We all have days in which we don’t want to get up, don’t want to leave the house, don’t want to face the day. But let’s not forget that in even those days, God is with us, God holds us, God lifts us up with hands of care and support.
This doesn’t make those kinds of days go away, but it does help to make them more bearable, allowing us to see the abundant blessing we receive in spite of it all.
Thanks be to God! Have a great week, everyone!
Photo by Scribbling Geek on Unsplash