United Church of Warsaw

Thoughts from Kim… April 2008

Happy Easter! What a joy it is to emerge from the cocoon of Lent and winter into the light and life of Easter and spring. Christ is risen! New life and new beginnings are all around us – new opportunities and new possibilities abound.

How blessed we are to be children of the God who brings life from death and makes all things new. We are indeed an Easter people – people of the resurrection. This is our identity, and our calling. We are called to work with God to bring the blessing of new life into this world.

It is humbling to realize that much of how God works in the world is through God’s family – us! As much as we are blessed, so are we called to be a blessing to others. Just as we are loved, so are we called to love others – as we are forgiven, we are called to forgive others. God’s abundance of love and mercy is meant to flow through us to others – as individuals, and collectively as the church. We are not called to build dams within our soul or church to hold or hoard God’s abundance – it is meant to pass through us to others. The truly amazing thing is that the more we let go and allow God’s grace to flow through us, the more grace abounds! The more we share love and joy, compassion and mercy, the more there is!

Sadly, we do not always act as channels of God’s love and peace, and instead channel anger, bitterness, envy, judgment, and any number of poisons that wound others, and ourselves.

A phrase that has become part of our cultural landscape is: “you are channeling (insert person’s name). It is usually not meant as a compliment (like when I’m having a tirade about something and my son suggests that I am channeling a particular deceased family member who was known for being angry and judgmental)! The phrase often makes us laugh, but it belies a more serious reality – what do we channel? Are we bringing God’s love and peace, compassion and mercy into the world? Is the world a more just place because of what we do and say?

Or are we channels of something dark and destructive – something poisonous?

In this blessed season of Easter, we must ask these questions not only as individuals, but also as the church. This is the season of new life and new possibilities. May we allow ourselves to be channels of God’s abundant love and grace, and embrace the work God has given us to do here in Warsaw.

It is indeed time to get to work, for the Christian life is a bit like being a gardener. During the winter, when you cannot work the ground, you plan and dream about what you will do in the spring. Once spring arrives, it is time to get out and get to work. The same is true for us – let the work of being channels of God’s love begin! The harder we work now, the greater will be the harvest!

With love, Kim