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Cal's Pastoral Epistles
"He is Always in the Wings"
March 20, 2008
She handed me the brochure for the Connecticut Talent Jamboree and said,
"I finally made the big time! There I am on stage at the Miss America
Pageant." I took the brochure and looked at it but I didn't see her. I saw
Dana Daunis, Miss Connecticut 2007 as plain as day. I recognized the
photograph as being from the Pageant the night Dana won the talent
competition. My mind began racing to come up with what she trying to
say.
The light bulb came on over my head when I remembered that Patty May
was the vocal coach for the last three Miss Connecticuts. I smiled as I
recognized that she was saying that her work was being recognized in
Dana's victory as surely as if she had been on stage herself. When I said as
much, she very politely corrected me and told me to look again. She said,
"There I am. Right there."
Looking a second time, scanning the picture more closely, I suddenly saw
Patty standing there on stage. She was in the shadows. But she was there
in the picture as surely as Dana was. Patty went on to tell me that each
night the contestants got to have a family member or friend on stage as
they performed. It was a thrilling moment for Patty. Because she was
there, she was able to share that special moment with someone she cared
about. When it was announced that Dana had won the talent competition,
Patty could bask in the glow of being right there with her.
I think that is how Jesus feels when we reach those special moments in
life. The day we took our first steps Jesus rejoiced as if he was doing it
himself. When we got on the bus for the first day of school, he was there
with his hand on our mom's shoulder with a tear in his eye. When we
graduated from high school Jesus was looking on as proud as a peacock.
When we stood at the altar and said "I do" Jesus was there in the front row
feeling the love. When we stood in the delivery room and the doctor said,
"it's a boy!" or "it's a girl!" Jesus was ready to pass out the candy cigars to
everyone who would have one.
We don't always see him, but he is always there in the shadows when life
is happening. Jesus is there in our moments of greatest sorrow. When we
get a pink slip at work, he is standing right behind us. When the doctor
gives us the kind of news we have dreaded, he comes and sits with us. As
we sit at the bedside with a loved one who is dyeing, Jesus puts his arm
around us and gives us his shoulder to cry on. He knows and he cares.
Easter is here and this week we will celebrate the power of God's love.
The Apostle Paul once said that nothing can separate us from the love of
God. He goes down a long list of things and one by one declares that they
are impotent to stop God from being with us. He says boldly that neither
life nor death can stop him. The Apostle Paul understood that if the tomb
could not hold him, then we could be assured that God would always be
able to be there, waiting in the wings to embrace us and celebrate life. So
look again. If you didn't see God last time you looked, you weren't looking
hard enough. For he promised that he would never leave us. Ever. Period.
The empty tomb proves it. Hallelujah to the risen Lord!
God Bless! See you in church. Cal.
March 20, 2008
She handed me the brochure for the Connecticut Talent Jamboree and said,
"I finally made the big time! There I am on stage at the Miss America
Pageant." I took the brochure and looked at it but I didn't see her. I saw
Dana Daunis, Miss Connecticut 2007 as plain as day. I recognized the
photograph as being from the Pageant the night Dana won the talent
competition. My mind began racing to come up with what she trying to
say.
The light bulb came on over my head when I remembered that Patty May
was the vocal coach for the last three Miss Connecticuts. I smiled as I
recognized that she was saying that her work was being recognized in
Dana's victory as surely as if she had been on stage herself. When I said as
much, she very politely corrected me and told me to look again. She said,
"There I am. Right there."
Looking a second time, scanning the picture more closely, I suddenly saw
Patty standing there on stage. She was in the shadows. But she was there
in the picture as surely as Dana was. Patty went on to tell me that each
night the contestants got to have a family member or friend on stage as
they performed. It was a thrilling moment for Patty. Because she was
there, she was able to share that special moment with someone she cared
about. When it was announced that Dana had won the talent competition,
Patty could bask in the glow of being right there with her.
I think that is how Jesus feels when we reach those special moments in
life. The day we took our first steps Jesus rejoiced as if he was doing it
himself. When we got on the bus for the first day of school, he was there
with his hand on our mom's shoulder with a tear in his eye. When we
graduated from high school Jesus was looking on as proud as a peacock.
When we stood at the altar and said "I do" Jesus was there in the front row
feeling the love. When we stood in the delivery room and the doctor said,
"it's a boy!" or "it's a girl!" Jesus was ready to pass out the candy cigars to
everyone who would have one.
We don't always see him, but he is always there in the shadows when life
is happening. Jesus is there in our moments of greatest sorrow. When we
get a pink slip at work, he is standing right behind us. When the doctor
gives us the kind of news we have dreaded, he comes and sits with us. As
we sit at the bedside with a loved one who is dyeing, Jesus puts his arm
around us and gives us his shoulder to cry on. He knows and he cares.
Easter is here and this week we will celebrate the power of God's love.
The Apostle Paul once said that nothing can separate us from the love of
God. He goes down a long list of things and one by one declares that they
are impotent to stop God from being with us. He says boldly that neither
life nor death can stop him. The Apostle Paul understood that if the tomb
could not hold him, then we could be assured that God would always be
able to be there, waiting in the wings to embrace us and celebrate life. So
look again. If you didn't see God last time you looked, you weren't looking
hard enough. For he promised that he would never leave us. Ever. Period.
The empty tomb proves it. Hallelujah to the risen Lord!
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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