It often happens that one member of my family stays up late because he is “wandering and creating.” This causes me anxiety. I worry that he does not sleep enough. I worry that he does not keep a schedule that affords him a “regular life.” I have concern that what he says and does often sounds “dreamy” and on the border of what is considered “wise behavior for one at his stage of life.”
He has a friend and they often work together on projects of their own creation. Sometimes they post them for others to see. Sometimes they leave them on the kitchen counter so that when I come down, early in the morning for my quiet writing and knitting time, there is a surprise waiting for me.
Sunday in worship we will read a scene which is recorded in the Gospel of Mark 1:1-8. The scene recounts the story of a man named John who was baptizing people in the river Jordan. At the time, he was a popular figure. Many believers thought John the Baptizer was paving the way for God to come and bring a new king for the people. This caused them to worry about their own behavior and so, in order that they would be ready when this new King arrived, the people came forward to confess the ways they had been unfaithful to God and to be washed clean in the Jordan River.
One among those coming forward was Jesus. I imagine him as “one of the many.” Not special. No golden halo hovering over his head.
The ways in which God prepares us for “that which is coming” can be surprising to say the least. The ways in which God partners with different characters to enter our lives is creative and at times, disconcerting. God does things God’s way. I am not saying that my “lego creating, stay up all night pacing the house” teenage son is God. However, I do find that he has some of the characteristics of other of God’s partners. Those characters who I least expect to do something productive, let alone stunning with their lives. God is like that. And this morning, I was quite stunned with an overnight creation:
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