Showing Up Can Be Life Altering For Us, Others, Even Our World

Two days ago our book group met at Margot’s to discuss What Grows In Weary Lands by Tish Harrison Warren, a book on Christian Resilience. Renewal and resilience are needed to grow, when the soil of our souls are depleted from burnout, or hopelessness.  Languishing lurks.  So, I need our  bookgroup. They  feed body, mind and soul through lunching, discussing and learning together.

Well, I don’t know about you, but I’m weary.  Tired of the rancor that permeates our culture, social media and The Church.  It’s easy to feel hopeless. But feelings, while real, aren’t the whole truth.   As for hope, G.K. Chesterton wrote,   “Exactly at the instant when hope ceases to be reasonable it begins to be useful.” (p.71 Warren’s book)  Need some hope?

Then,  yesterday, I read something Harold Bussell wrote for the Methodist Church he attends.   Harold took us on a tour  through “Understanding  the Theological Basis for our Architeture. ” It was informative and inspiring. But I lingered at the communion rail/altar.  Harold wrote, “The communion rail, altar rail, is where we alter our lives.” 

In the Baptist Church, where I grew up, we had altar calls.  After the sermon came a time  to respond to  God’s Words preached, read, sung or nudged by God’s Spirit.  So while we sang or the organist played, some came forward.  This was a sacred sliver of time,  when we chose to alter our ways at the altar. 

And those meaningful moments matter, like baptism, marriage, dedications, repentance, forgiveness and relinquishment. Sacred first and second chances at the altar,  alter our lives for Good, and infuse us and others with hope.