What is the Sign?
I reached a new milestone this past Thursday. It is not one that I’ve been looking forward to, but it’s here nonetheless. I woke up Thursday morning with severe pain in my elbow and I thought it must be just an injury. By Friday, I noticed a few more problems with my left arm, but since it was Labor Day weekend I had to wait until Tuesday to reach out to my doctor. Tuesday morning, when I visited with my doctor, I begin to tell him what I thought my problem was, but seeing how I have a graduate degree in theology and not in medicine, I decided to see what he thought was wrong with me. It turns out that I have shingles! What?!?! I thought that was something you only get when you’re old. Well, it turns out anyone who has had chickenpox before and is currently dealing with a lot of stress can get the shingles.
While I wasn’t looking forward to this milestone, it has taught me something that I didn’t consider before today. Sometimes things happen in our lives at unexpected times, and we have to learn to deal with them. As we continue in to our sermon series, The Journey Begins, I’ve been thinking about how along our paths we look for signs of God’s presence. Sometimes those signs are quite obvious like the words of a wise person or moment of discernment. Sometimes the sign comes, as it did in my case, in a way we never expected it.
Getting the shingles slowed me down to think about the ways I’ve allowed stress to consume my life recently. In the last few days, I’ve begun to think about what my priorities are, and how I should reorganize my life to live into my calling, and to be who I am called to be. What does that mean for me in the long term? Well, I’m not sure. But in the short term, I know I’m called to be a follower of Christ, a husband, a father, and a pastor and in that order. These are my priorities and will be my focus.
What signs can you be looking for to rediscover the presence of God and calling in life? In Exodus 12:1-14, God calls Moses and Aaron to participate in an event that we now know as the Passover. God instructs Moses and Aaron to take a lamb for each household. The lamb was to be without blemish, a year-old male, and to be slaughtered on the 14th day. Then they should take the lamb and roast it over fire and consume it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. After that, they would take the blood and put it on the two door post of the lintel of the houses in which they ate. The blood was to be a sign for them to put on the houses, so that when the Lord passed over, no plague would destroy them while in the land of Egypt.
The Passover tradition is one of the most important holidays in the Jewish faith. With its rich history and powerful symbolism, the Passover is an event that celebrates the Jewish people’s deliverance from slavery in Egypt. It is a time of reflection to consider the good things God has done in their lives. It is a sign that God is always present, even in the darkest moments. It is a celebration I believe Christians should embrace, because the power of the Passover is that it is a sign that God is always present.
Join us this Sunday for worship at 8:30 AM or 10:45 AM as we continue to look for the signs of God’s presence in our life and our calling.
In God’s grip.
Pastor Chuck Church
