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January 27, 2007

LIGHTBULB MOMENTS

“Having an epiphany,” is another way of describing that “lightbulb” sensation in your head when something new begins to make sense, or you see something old in a new way. “Oh yeah! Now I get it!” As you may know, our current church season, Epiphany is also known as the “Season of Light.”

During Epiphany the Church tells stories about the signs and teachings of Jesus’ early ministry: His first miracle at the wedding at Cana, His revolutionary teaching in the synagogue, the amazing catch of fish the disciples find when they “put down their nets” where Jesus points. The Beatitudes. We finish the season with the mystical story of the Transfiguration, when Jesus takes three of his disciples up to the mountaintop and reveals his true identity, suffused with a brilliant light. Come hear these stories told by the storytellers at the 9:10 service and hear them read at the other services as part of our Revised Common Lectionary. This theme of light points us in an outward direction. How can we shine our light of ministry? How can we reflect the beauty we have seen in the Nativity? Sometimes we first have to pay attention to God reaching out to us through the ordinary.

I had an experience like that today in an unexpected place. Our diocese requires that employees who work with children must be fingerprinted. So off I went with one of our new Sunday morning childcare providers to the San Mateo County Hall of Justice in Redwood City to be fingerprinted. She brought her 9 month old daughter with her, who was a charmer. It wasn’t long before I realized that it’s been a long time since I traveled with a baby; I had forgotten what showstoppers babies are. As we walked through security, and through the immense Hall of Justice in search of the fingerprinting unit, the very presence of a mother and baby together made a distinct impression. Security guards, people waiting in lines, people pacing outside the courtrooms, turned, smiled and waved. Seeing a loving mother and baby together provided a ray of “God-light,” of innocence and beauty, in that highly official and sterile setting.

It was an epiphany for me. Sometimes our very presence can be a blessing, and we do not know it. Often, we’re focused on what we’re doing, but at the same time we’re accomplishing something larger.

As parents, we have a unique close relationship with our own children. Being a parent also brings us deeper into the human family. God gives our children to us to rear, but God expects us to share them with the world. And, as I now see as a parent of teenagers, to let them go, and send them out and share their light with others. As I was reminded of that yet again, I experienced that “lightbulb” sensation….aha, now I get it!” Beth