Sunday was different this week. Instead of preparing for worship and preaching, I was getting up at 5:45 am with my grandkids to watch their father, my son run a Triathalon. We had a great time but I must admit thinking that I was sad to miss church, especially on Trinity Sunday, since I am researching and writing on the Trinity in my sabbatical. Lucky for me, Joan had an ordination service to attend at 3 pm so I got a chance to worship in the afternoon. I heard a great sermon on Proverbs 31:1-9 entitled "Be a voice for those who have no voice". It was a good ordination sermon and a good sermon for me to hear as I thought about the outreach and advocacy ministry we do at Covenant. It was also a good sermon to remind me of the advocacy of Jesus for us in our lives even as he calls us to advocate for each other. I must admit my mind shifted to "Trinitarian Leadership" as I thought about the role of Christian leaders- first of all encountering the God who stands as advocate for us and then becoming an advocate for each other. I read Joseph Girzone's book "Trinity" as was impressed by a similar line of thought that he offered in the we must encounter the Triune God, be in community with God and each other, before we can presume to lead anyone else into community with God.
On a lighter side, I have a movie recommendation, "The Soloist", for anyone who is interested in "abiding witness". "The Soloist" is the story of a newspaper reporter who befriends a homeless virtuoso in an effort to write an article and raise awareness of the homeless situation in Los Angeles. he htinks he is doing the homeless person a favor and that he might be able to "fix" him. In the end (spoiler alert***don't read any further if you don't want the ending spoiled) it is the reporter who is changed and grows as a result of his encounter with the homeless man. He discovers that all people, including and especially the homeless, are children of God. He discovers that grace is messy and sometimes ambiguous.
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