November 10, 2020

​Daily Lectionary Readings for Year A

Nehemiah 8:1-12

Do you remember someone reading you a bedtime story?  The words, their voice, the rhythm, the feel of someone reading to you is a great gift.  The shared time is more valuable than gold itself.  And, the way the story forms in the mind is the epitome of creativity.  Both the one who is telling the story, and the one receiving, are imagining faces and accents and scenery that all fill in the story and makes the spoken word three dimensional.  

Ezra stood on a wooden stage and read to the people.  Few had the education to read.  Reading was limited to priests and scribes whom the people relied upon to receive the written word.  As Ezra read, the people's hands rose in the air, tears fell from their faces.  They shouted, "Amen, Amen."  

In our day, worship is one of the few places we can go where someone reads to us.  Worship ignites our imagination and calls from us a response.  The liturgist reading the scripture, Jane Ellen blessing the children, Adrianne, Dave, and Sarah filling the room with music, the sermon, the prayers, the Spirit are all replications of this moment in Nehemiah when Ezra read the Word to the people.  Just thinking about this makes me miss Edna, shouting, "Amen, brother!"  Worship is a beautiful gift.  Sometimes it brings tears of joy and appreciation to our eyes.

Make sure you continue to worship.  At 10 am each Sunday we gather together as one body.  You can find the link to that livestream on our website.  And, we have all of our worship services, songs, and Children's Blessings at https://vimeo.com/showcase/wesleypark.  Just choose one and click "Start Watching."  Invite others to watch along with you and talk about the ways you are experiencing God, and give thanks.  

Today might be a good day to ask someone to read to you.  Find a bedtime story or a book that you love, and let the words that fill the air, your heart, and your mind, be a good gift to you.  Amen, sister.  Amen, brother.

Peace,
Dean