Equipped

Today’s Readings - AM Psalm 25; Isa. 44:6-8,21-23; Eph. 4:1-16; Mark 3:7-19a

When I worked with people with disabilities a great deal of the staff, I supervised were people who are highly skilled at what they do and incredibly caring however they held no credentials that spoke to their qualifications. As their supervisor I stressed to them that they were professionals in my eyes, just as qualified as anyone who had a certificate or degree and as such, I wanted them to think as highly of themselves as I thought of them. To believe that they had untold gifts to share.

We all have abilities, gifts, some we’ve mastered and some we’re still discovering. For some it’s instinctual, some love to teach, or lead youth, care for others or are a natural at organizing events. When Jesus called the twelve apostles, he knew none of these men had been trained as “fishers of me.” However, he also instinctively knew they were capable of amazing, hard things, tasks that would stretch them to their limits and for some, past what they believed they were capable of attaining. When I was preparing for my stem cell transplant, one of my daughters gave me several slips of paper that held encouraging, uplifting messages. I wasn’t sure what lay ahead of me or if I would survive. The one message I remember and still hold dear was this, “You are braver than you know and stronger than you can possibly imagine.” It still brings tears to my eyes. I needed someone to tell me I was capable of facing this demon and winning, no matter what it took, regardless of how hard I knew it would be.

We are each called by Jesus Christ to be an apostle of sorts. None of us knows exactly what we’re capable of but we can rest assured that God knows and has prepared us for what lies ahead. Today is one of the most important days in our country’s history. Unlike many presidential inaugurations, the road to this one has been paved with more division and hate-filled speech than I can ever remember. Paul’s letter to the church in Ephesus is a timely message for us today: “14We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine, . . . 15But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16from whom the whole body, joined and knitted together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body’s growth in building itself up in love.” We can, as apostles of Christ, choose to do our part in easing the divisions, finding inroads to the disagreements, and practicing patience, “building ourselves (and our neighbors) up in love.” Because each of us, like the saints, have been equipped by Christ “for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ.” May we each be blessed with the spirit of truth and the courage to profess it.

Faithfully,

Sally+

Questions for reflection

When was the last time you seriously considered what your passions, your talents are? Have you gotten into a rut? Volunteering without enjoying it? Why not consider re-evaluating what you do and investigating what truly brings you joy?