Hi. Wassup?
One of the other places at which I was
involved in a search process was just a little east of Buffalo on the
shore of Lake Erie. During our site visit we were given the
obligatory tour of the two churches (it was a two-point call). As we
were being taken through one church I noticed a large mailbox in the
narthex. I had never seen a mailbox in a narthex before, so I asked
our tour guide what it was for.
She explained that they had a program
for the Sunday school children where they could write letters to God.
They would put their letters in the mailbox and then either she or
the priest would answer them. She told me it was a way for the kids
to ask any and all questions without feeling pressured, and without
the possibility of being ridiculed in public. She also told us that
they got all kinds of questions from, “Do I have to drink the wine
at Communion?” to, “Why do people have to die?”
We thought this was a great idea and
were either a) looking forward to seeing it in practice should we end
up in New York, or b) looking forward to implementing a similar
program should we end up elsewhere.
We obviously ended up elsewhere, and
shortly after I arrived I told Margaret about it and asked her to
find a way to get it going. After getting through the Christmas
season, she was able to concentrate more fully on the Letters to God
program and dropped the first set of letters to my office this past
Monday. One of the first letters included this gem, “Hi. Wassup?”
So, God . . . Wassup?
Wassup is that there were three new
people adopted into the household and this branch of the family tree.
Wassup is that there were a whole lot
of people on hand to witness that event and pledge their support for
these newest family members.
Wassup is there are still far too many
people being victimized, abused, and neglected in the name of God.
Wassup is that far too many people are
working to bend God's will to their own, rather than their will to
God's.
Wassup is that too many people see no
problem with Monday through Friday behaviors that conflict with
Sunday statements of belief.
Wassup is that in the good and the bad,
in the celebratory and the sorrowful, in the winning and losing, God
is with us. The trick is to discern the difference between what God
wants and what we want. And that takes a good bit of patience and a
lot of time to listen.
So, God . . . Wassup?
Amen.
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