Hi everyone,

A little while ago, I was working on something that one of the kids broke. I forget what it was, but some electronic toy of some kind. As I sat there with my precision tools trying to figure this thing out, our daughter (who was quietly watching from the other side of the room) asked me, “dad, who taught you how to fix things?”

I was taken aback, to be honest, but I just answered, “I’m just too cheap to pay someone else to do it.”

While that might be very true, I think the amount of information that is readily available to us, all the do-it-yourself videos we can find online, and the amazing tools we can have at our disposal, really do foster that self-reliance on fixing things ourselves. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that, but I wonder if that somehow has gotten us to look more inward, to no longer rely on our community to be our strength where we might fall short, and to shut off those who might be happy to help (paid or not).

I’m not just talking about fixing our little trinkets and such, but even with bigger things like when we need real advice, when we feel alone up against the world, or when we’re in danger of doing more harm than good by doing it ourselves.

The thing is, we are part of a bigger community. A bigger family than our nuclear family. A body that welcomes all.

Here are the readings for next week:
Isaiah 49:1-7
Psalm 40:1-11
1 Corinthians 1:1-9
John 1:29-42
And a video of them being read:

“Behold, the Lamb of God!”

Imagine saying these words to your friends, only to see your friends ditch you and go for this Lamb. As upsetting as that image might seem, that is exactly what happens to John the baptizer as he recognises Jesus for who Jesus is and points that out to his followers.

But it wasn’t willy nilly. John knew exactly what he was doing. He accepted and trusted that Jesus is someone who could do the job. Someone who could fill in those cracks. Someone who could “fix” things… maybe not by taking them away but at least reframing them for us that we’d continue to be able to see the hope, the peace, the love in whatever it is we are going through.

And while I quipped that John was ditched by his friends, I actually think they were joined together even more than ever. Joined by the grace of God. Joined in the community that welcomes all. Joined as the very real body of Christ, where we can find strength in our weakness, support in our shortcomings, and love in the areas that we just can’t fix ourselves.

What a gift it is for us all, to be part of this family of God!

Thanks be to God! Have a great week, everyone!