Lists

I love to make lists!  I most often have a to-do list in hand, on my phone, and stuck on the side of the fridge.  The list keeps me motivated and organized.  It keeps me on task and helps to make sure I don’t forget something important.  These lists are for me.  They are not meant to be shared or even understand by another person. 

One of the most hurtful days in my life happened the spring of my junior year of high school.  I had decided to run for student body president and found myself running unopposed.  I walked into school one morning, to find friends and classmates signing a petition to add another name to the ballot.  Each class I walked into that day, I was confronted with people passing the petition, and I heard the whispers as more and more names were added to the list.

I think of other lists:  the roster of those who made the team or an invitation list for a party.  These lists include those who are in and those who are out.  As I think about these kinds of lists, I remember the joy and excitement of making the list and the heartache of being excluded.   As Christ followers, we are called to let go of the security of our lists and go into the streets to make sure the invitation spans as far and wide as possible.  We have a responsibility to make sure that all perspectives are represented, to ensure that all are heard and have voice, and to make room for everyone around the table. 

The last few days I have seen several lists that appear to divide and promote an agenda.  I love the United Methodist Church, and I believe in our polity.  My prayer is that as Western North Carolina prepares to vote for clergy and lay delegates to represent our conference at our world-wide decision making event in 2016, that we will seek inspiration from the Holy Spirit and allow God to call forth our delegation.  Ultimately, I hope that God’s list will become our list.   

So Many Questions

Life is filled with questions.  I was told once that a 4 year old child asks an average of 437 questions a day.  At that time the Queen house had twin four year olds, and I remember saying to the person, “I can believe it, and we have it times two.”  874 questions a day…. is a lot of questions!  

 

Just as life is filled with questions, so is God’s word.  The first question in the whole Bible occurs as God walks through the Garden searching for Adam and Eve and asks, “Where are you?”  This frequently asked question is echoed throughout scripture where it seems humanity is the object of divine attention.  In the New Testament, Mary and Joseph search for Jesus and Jesus responds with a question/answer, “Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s House?”  Perhaps the ultimate answer to this biblical question is that we have already been found. 

As Wesleyans we would do well to remember that we don’t just go out and find God.  God always finds us first.  Whether we have done right or wrong, there is no end to God’s seeking us in love.  Questions are the start of a genuine conversation with the Creator.  Our conversation with God does not start from scratch. God has already begun it. We just need to plug into the conversation that is already going on.  God asks: 

Who do you say I AM?

            Do you love more than these?

            Do you want to be well?

            Why do you worry? 

My friend Dianne tells a story of getting lost in a large department store.  As her mother looked at rack after rack of dresses, Dianne wandered out of her mother’s sight, or at least she thought.  Dianne walked to a sales clerk and told the woman.  “I am lost.  I can’t find my mother.”  The nice clerk called her mom’s name over the intercom and her mother came running, wrapping her arms around Dianne, picking her up and hugging her.  “I have been searching all over for you.  And I wasn’t going to stop until you were safe in my arms.” 

The good news for us is that God is searching and pursuing us in much the same way.  In the chaos of life, we are invited to remember, to respond, and to rest knowing we have already been found.  Across North Carolina many children are in the midst End of Grade and End of Course testing.  Teachers are overwhelmed with the assessments and students are anxious about knowing the right answer.  I know many United Methodist clergy and lay persons who will enter this environment to serve as proctors, and I pray their presence conveys the ultimate answer to any question.  Immanuel is here.  God is with us.  We have been found.