Piloting Faith: We all face moments that define us...
A Word for the Day...
Life is full of thresholds, boundary lines that we cross that mark a change in us. Some thresholds mark moments of our growth and maturing. When we move out of our childhood home and head out on our own, we are crossing a threshold into adulthood. Other lines may mark danger for us, as when we turn to alcohol to numb ourselves, saying "It's my way of relaxing at the end of the day." Other thresholds mark a metamorphosis, a fundamental change in who we are. When we have a child, we take on a new identity as "parent." When we lose a spouse, we cross a threshold of navigating the world as a widow(er).
Thresholds always point to change, a time for claiming responsibility for who we are and will be in the world.
Think about the thresholds you've crossed that have made you who you are today. What lessons did you learn about yourself? What surprised you? What devastated you? What did you learn that you can teach the rest of us?
- Rev. Cameron Trimble, author of Piloting Church: Helping Your Congregation Take Flight
One final thought: This week in churches across the world, we will look at the threshold moment for Jesus when he publically owned his identity as prophet, teacher, and healer. He used Isaiah's words from the Old Testament to help him name the change he was claiming in himself. He closes his teaching with "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” (Luke 4:21). "Today," he says, "I claim who I am, no apologies and no excuses."
It takes a lot of courage to cross these lines that shape our lives - to own fully who we are created to be. If you are a pastor reading this, help your people by reminding them that they are braver than they know. Then remind them that they are not alone.
Prayer for the Week
That you may have
the wisdom to know the story
to which God calls you,
the power to pursue it,
the courage to abide its mysteries,
and love in every step.
- from In the Sanctuary of Women, by Jan L. Richardson
