People in the Park
Photo Courtesy of Neil Leftwich
Walking through a park in Phoenix recently I was blessed to see so many people enjoying themselves. It was a beautiful, sunny day after all.
Then, I saw something which humbled me.
A shirtless, child of God, surrounded by his worldly possessions, washing his socks in a water fountain.
I had this image in my mind as I read the following from Gannon Sims, the Director of Ministry Formation for Fresh Expressions US:
“In his instructions to the church at Colossae, Paul asks his readers to be watchful. Leadership trades more often in words like ‘vision’ and ‘future.’ These are not bad words. But sometimes our attempts to vision the future blur the world right before our eyes. Vision and future allude to coming events. They’re like marks on a trajectory. Watchfulness is more than that. It’s a constant state of being and becoming. When we watch we learn where the needs are and what questions to ask. We notice the patterns and movement in the sky as the sun touches the horizon and the world is aglow. Watchfulness tells us something about who we are and how we work. Even the most visionary among us must watch before determining the next steps.”
What children of God are we called to notice today?
Who are we called to “see”?
In all of this, how is the creative work of God within us stretching us to be a witness of justice and truth?
Our being and becoming brings us again and again into seasons of attentiveness to the “Holy” presence of God in the people all around us.
And God churns within us and calls us to seek not comfort, but rather the Kingdom of God (Matthew 6: 33).
“The kingdom of God is near, but how near? It is not easy to perceive this realm of light and life in a world so tortured by suffering. John’s Prologue offers a clue: The kingdom becomes flesh in the life of Jesus and in the lives of his followers.” — John S. Mogabgab (Weavings)
Thank you all for your good, diligent, watchful, and grace guided work in the name of Jesus the Christ.
Peace,
Neil
The Rev. Neil Leftwich serves as superintendent of the West District of the Desert Southwest Annual Conference. This post is republished with his permission from the conference website.