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Cal's Pastoral Epistles
"God Has Walked In Our Shoes"
January 29, 2009
I want to give a big shout out to the Papa Gino and Friendlys Restaurants
on West Main Street this week. Both of them helped us raise money for our
Church's mission team which is heading to Mexico next month. We took
over the restaurants for a few hours and came away with a percentage of
the profits. Not only did they help us make a little bit of money, the events
also turned out to be a lot of fun for all who dropped in to eat.
It was the first time I ever participated in this kind of fundraiser. At
Friendlys I even spent an hour working as the host seating people. I never
realized how stressful that could be. I walked my first customers down the
aisle only to find that I didn't have a table big enough to accommodate their
party. Talk about embarrassing! I would have died if anyone got angry and
asked for the manager.
I was reminded how quickly we rush to judge other people. We often
expect perfection. We demand that they get it right the first time. The truth
is that most people try hard to do a good job with whatever they do. When
they don't do it up to "our" standards there is usually a pretty good reason
for it. They may be new on the job. There could be problems in another
area. Maybe they are just having a bad day.
I think all of us should have to walk in another person's shoes once in a
while. When I was working on my chaplaincy certification I had to start my
program by working as a nurse's aide for two and half days. I changed bed
pans, washed patients backs and feet, helped transfer patients from bed to
stretcher, and did all kinds of menial tasks. The thought behind this was that
through this experience I would gain an appreciation for both the hospital
staff and the patients I ministered too. That lesson stuck with me.
Believe it or not our faith tell us that God did the same thing in the
incarnation. In Christ, God came to earth to walk in our shoes for a time.
As the man born in Bethlehem and raised in Nazareth, Jesus experienced
temptation, frustration, hunger, weariness, pain, sorrow, friendship and
betrayal in his thirty three years among us. He did this so we can no longer
say that God doesn't understand.
The truth is that God understands perfectly well and that is why he is so
full of grace. He invites all of us to come to him so he can give us rest. He
invites us to trust him and in doing so to find our salvation in him. He calls
us closer so that he can remind us of his love and then invites us in to share
his joy.
So next time you stop by a restaurant to have lunch or dinner, think of
God and his desire to seat you at the table of grace. Accept the menu which
offers forgiveness, hope, new life and love. And rejoice in the fact that the
bill has already been paid by the host himself. Then enjoy your meal and be
blessed.
God Bless. See you in Church. Cal.
January 29, 2009
I want to give a big shout out to the Papa Gino and Friendlys Restaurants
on West Main Street this week. Both of them helped us raise money for our
Church's mission team which is heading to Mexico next month. We took
over the restaurants for a few hours and came away with a percentage of
the profits. Not only did they help us make a little bit of money, the events
also turned out to be a lot of fun for all who dropped in to eat.
It was the first time I ever participated in this kind of fundraiser. At
Friendlys I even spent an hour working as the host seating people. I never
realized how stressful that could be. I walked my first customers down the
aisle only to find that I didn't have a table big enough to accommodate their
party. Talk about embarrassing! I would have died if anyone got angry and
asked for the manager.
I was reminded how quickly we rush to judge other people. We often
expect perfection. We demand that they get it right the first time. The truth
is that most people try hard to do a good job with whatever they do. When
they don't do it up to "our" standards there is usually a pretty good reason
for it. They may be new on the job. There could be problems in another
area. Maybe they are just having a bad day.
I think all of us should have to walk in another person's shoes once in a
while. When I was working on my chaplaincy certification I had to start my
program by working as a nurse's aide for two and half days. I changed bed
pans, washed patients backs and feet, helped transfer patients from bed to
stretcher, and did all kinds of menial tasks. The thought behind this was that
through this experience I would gain an appreciation for both the hospital
staff and the patients I ministered too. That lesson stuck with me.
Believe it or not our faith tell us that God did the same thing in the
incarnation. In Christ, God came to earth to walk in our shoes for a time.
As the man born in Bethlehem and raised in Nazareth, Jesus experienced
temptation, frustration, hunger, weariness, pain, sorrow, friendship and
betrayal in his thirty three years among us. He did this so we can no longer
say that God doesn't understand.
The truth is that God understands perfectly well and that is why he is so
full of grace. He invites all of us to come to him so he can give us rest. He
invites us to trust him and in doing so to find our salvation in him. He calls
us closer so that he can remind us of his love and then invites us in to share
his joy.
So next time you stop by a restaurant to have lunch or dinner, think of
God and his desire to seat you at the table of grace. Accept the menu which
offers forgiveness, hope, new life and love. And rejoice in the fact that the
bill has already been paid by the host himself. Then enjoy your meal and be
blessed.
God Bless. See you in Church. Cal.
Pastor Cal Lord writes these weekly epistles to
help us see God in every day things.
help us see God in every day things.
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