Go Out and Do It - December 4
Today’s Readings: AM Psalm 16, 17; PM Psalm 22; Isa. 3:8-15; 1 Thess. 4:1-12; Luke 20:41-21:4
Today’s Reflection
Now concerning love of the brothers and sisters, you do not need to have anyone write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another; and indeed you do love all the brothers and sisters throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, beloved, to do so more and more, to aspire to live quietly, to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we directed you, so that you may behave properly towards outsiders and be dependent on no one. 1 Thess. 4: 9-12
Our oldest daughter is very into Japanese pop culture, and one of the ways she has introduced that into our family is by sharing with us her love of Hayao Miyazaki’s classic Studio Ghibli films. On a quiet Sunday afternoon back in June, we watched one called Kiki’s Delivery Service, which really spoke to me then and it connects well with what we hear today in 1 Thessalonians 4: 9-12:: that we have all that we need for our own journeys and to live fully into the work that God has given each of us to do—which is to make this world a better place by loving those we meet along the way.
Kiki is a 13-year-old girl who lives with her parents, but there’s something a bit different about her life. Kiki’s mother is a witch—the good kind, whose work is to make potions that heal, like for the elderly neighbor who visits to get the potion that helps her arthritis. Kiki is also a good-witch-to-be, and ever since she turned 13 she has been waiting for the perfect night when she will take off on her flying broom to do something like a year abroad that’s required of all new witches as a rite of passage. And when we meet Kiki, the weather is right and the moon is full, and her family and friends joyfully send her out into the world, knowing that as she goes out on her quest she will land in just the right place where she can find her way and find her gifts.
And so, Kiki and her black cat Jiji set off, and they land in a beautiful seaside city, where Kiki is quickly overwhelmed by her initial task of finding a place to live and a means to provide for herself out in the big, wide world. Soon, she lands upon the idea of using her ability to fly on her broom--even though her broom-flying is still very wobbly--to open a delivery service. She meets a kindly bakery owner, Osono, and her husband, who allow her to live in the attic above their bakery in exchange for making deliveries for them and helping mind the bakery counter.
Kiki also makes deliveries for others in the community—and with some, she strikes up friendships, and something beautiful unfolds as they mutually support and show kindness to each other—as it did with the older ladies who called Kiki to deliver a homemade dish to a granddaughter’s birthday party on the other side of the city, or with the Bohemian artist who she delivers to at her cottage in the woods. But some of the people Kiki encounters, mainly other kids her age, see her as being too different and shun her, which (especially for a 13-year-old) makes her lose confidence in herself and she begins to lose her ability to fly and lose her ability to communicate with her cat, Jiji.
In the end, Kiki regains her ability to pilot her flying broom when she rises to the occasion to save her friend Tombo, who is literally holding on by a thread from a blimp that has crashed into a skyscraper. In that moment, Kiki regains her confidence in the gifts she has been given, and flies forward with great courage to save the life of her friend when no one else could. And from that moment on, Kiki moves forward on her quest—a quest to become a good witch with greater confidence that yes, she is fully ready to be the person—and in her case, the good witch—that she was created to be.
Like Kiki, God has sent each of us on our own quests to find our gifts, and then when we have found them, to fully live into the work that God has given each one of us to do—to make this world a better place for those we meet along the way. Now all that remains is for to us to go out and do it.
—Becky+
Questions for Self-Reflection
How might aspiring to live quietly, mind your own affairs, and work with your hands better enable you to share God’s love others?
Daily Challenge
Think of one concrete daily practice that will help you to live more quietly and peacefully with the people God has placed in your daily life, be they your family, colleagues, neighbors, or friends. Commit to this quiet, peace-promoting practice for the next few days. Notice what changes in you and in your interactions with the people in your daily life.