“…but you shall be called priests of the Lord, you shall be named ministers of our God;…” Isiah 61:6

During the past few months there has been much discussion at church concerning ministry.  Small groups as well as the Wednesday night Lenten series have focused on gifts, call and ministry –none of which can be separated from the other.  Many people have been under the misguided notion that ministry is not about them, but only about those who are called into ordained ministry or church work.  Then there are those who believe in some way that we are all called but that some callings are higher than others.  Or some might believe that some callings mean that person is closer to God than others.   In my experience this is not true at all.   Let me tell you just a little about a few ministers in my life from whom I learn so much concerning God.

• ·         A social worker who tirelessly advocates for at risk and abused children.
• ·         An attorney who has made positive changes in a corrupt system.
• ·         A doctor who sees many people for no pay – understanding from where they come.
• ·         A teacher of special needs children.  She keeps doing it as there is such a need and she is fed.
• ·         One who prepares amazing food for not only the body but for the soul.
• ·         A priest who brings the Gospel to life within me.
• ·         A father who gives tirelessly to his children with unconditional love.
• ·         A psychologist who helps many come to peace with conflicts inside of them.
• ·         One who works with peacemaking and reconciliation.
• ·         A poet whose words help me to see God dancing in the world.
• ·         Friends who have begun an organization to raise money so that girls in Kenya can have an education, thus the promise of a brighter future.
• ·         One who finds homes for others and develops meaningful relationships with those she serves.
• ·         ___________________________________________________________________

This list could go on and on.  These are just a few examples of people who have shown me God.  I am different because my life has been touched by them.  We come to church to be reminded of who we are and to whom we belong.   We come to eat and drink of the holy meal of Christ.  We come to be empowered to go out into the world to be who we are called to be.

Spend a little time thinking about what piece of God’s vision is yours.  We are each given just a little of God’s vision to live out.  I can’t do that if I am trying to be like someone else.  Vocation or calling is about being our true self, to mature into the person in whom God delights.  Frederick Buechner says: “The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.”

What part of the vision has God imparted to you?  May we come together in this great family to search out this vision and be empowered through our shared meal and prayer to go out and bring Christ into the world!

Finding God at the Greyhound Station

Earlier today, Joe Mitchell and I took a couple to the Greyhound bus station to begin a 20-hour journey so that they could provide home care for the man's mother. We first met the couple on a Sunday morning in January or February, when the couple had come seeking food. Joe and I sat with the couple at breakfast and invited them to stay for services; they did. Sunday after Sunday, they returned for breakfast and the 11:00 service. As they told us one Sunday, they came seeking food for their stomachs but also received food for their souls.More than a few times, they told me how welcomed they felt at Christ Church. No one criticized them for showing up for a meal, for not belonging or for wearing worn clothing. No one criticized them for being an interracial couple in a mostly white church. He told they were amazed they never once heard while they were with us, a sermon that criticized their relationship or threatened them with damnation. Over the weeks of Sundays when they joined us for breakfast and worship, I noticed it became more and more difficult to get a seat at their table as parishioners joined them for a meal and conversation.

Life was not especially easy here for this couple. It seemed every time they took one step forward, life knocked them back two or three steps. Jobs for which the man had experience were nonexistent during the harsh winter. Her job required her to take two buses each morning and evening. "Affordable" housing in Lexington proved to be an oxymoron as I soon learned because being able to afford housing, groceries, utilities and daily bus fare while living in Lexington is a nearly impossible task. The Lexington/Fayette County Housing Authority literally has waiting lists of thousands of people. Subsidized housing developments require "application" fees ranging from $20-$35. Each location requires its own application and thus the fee. Some downtown neighborhoods, which look safe by day, become havens for gangs and drug dealers by night. When I was putting myself through college, I often ended up eating Spanish Rice for days on end when it looked as though my money and food were going to run out before I received my next paycheck. I thought I knew what it meant to be poor. I was so so wrong.

Right before Joe and I left our two friends at the bus station this afternoon,  we anointed and blessed each of them and then we prayed with and for them. Tears silently flowed down both my face and their's. A woman and her adult daughter came up to ask if we would pray with the young woman. When Joe asked what she wanted to pray about, she responded "everything". As we stood there praying with the young woman and our friends, I realized how blessed Joe and I had been by the love of God  which flowed through our two friends, who we were sending south. Driving back to the cathedral, I realized Joe and I had met Jesus and felt his glorious love at the Greyhound station.

Amen.