The Best is Yet to Come - September 6
Today’s Readings: AM Psalm 41, 52; PM Psalm 44; 1 Kings 13:1-10; Phil. 1:1-11; Mark 15:40-47
“I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ.”
This past weekend, we had a wonderful gathering at Camp McDowell for the annual parish retreat. There was lots of time for porch conversations, bike riding, swimming, and hiking. I enjoy so much the fellowship that is a result of gathering an hour from home at a place that has become so special to many in our community.
On Sunday, our plan was to live stream our Sunday service from camp. Over the past 18 months, it feels like we at Saint Stephen’s have become pretty good at figuring out technology. Our typical Sunday mornings run with multiple cameras, a crew of trained volunteers, multiple microphones, and different variables that are too technical for most to name. Becky has been able to bring in speakers from all over the world into zoom chats and YouTube broadcasts having people gather in person and far away in the parish hall. We have been pretty confident that we know what we are doing, even possibly offering some of the very best in the church world. Which is why we were pretty confident, that even without much technology or planning, we could bring you quality church from Camp McDowell.
Thirty minutes before we were to go live, we resigned to the fact that there was no way to fix the lighting. We hadn’t planned for the bright windows and lack of powerful lighting that could create a balance to dimmish the quality of a camera shot. We set up anyway. About ten minutes before, we realized that we couldn’t connect our YouTube account to Vimeo to then share to YouTube as we had promised in the Saturday email. This took a good ten minutes of fiddling until the time was 10:15 a.m. and I was too worried that people wouldn’t be able to find the service online. We hit “Go Live” anyway, knowing that we would lose half of our audience or more, but it seemed necessary at the time.
Moments later, my phone vibrated to let me know we were connected to Facebook. I opened it to look at the picture, blurry and dark at best. The sounds seemed off too. The camera and speaker that had worked beautifully for a presentation in the spring was not designed for our Camp McDowell worship. That part was clear! And we went ahead with worship, albeit probably not our best technical moment in the history of Saint Stephen’s, and I hate that probably many missed an engaging worship service with their church family.
I share this story, because I was quickly humbled on Sunday and reminded that I don’t have it all figured out. I am guessing most of us are in the same boat, learning new things every day, far away from perfection (although you all are probably a little closer than me). If this is a fundamental way of being, of not being complete, why wouldn’t this apply not only to how we understand the world, but to how we understand ourselves as well?
As Paul writes the community in Philippi, he gives thanks for being connected to this new Christian community, and then he shares a rather remarkable insight, “that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ.” It is striking because Paul’s insight reminds us that we aren’t meant to be complete until the last day. Not only is God’s work transforming our very life, making us better and better each day, but we will never be complete until God’s very day.
We don’t have to get it all right. And maybe those others whose lives intersect with ours don’t have to either. What would happen if we were to believe God had begun something in their lives that was yet to be complete? Might explain and give grace to all of the rough edges? This might mean that the best is yet to come, and that our best selves are being made right now.
John+
Questions for Self-Reflection: What mistakes have you made lately? Did you think you were prepared? How does today’s reflection change your outlook?
Daily Challenge: Come up with three things that you would like to be better at. Now, name three things you have noticed improvement within your own self lately.