What do you hear?
During my second combat deployment, one of my soldiers was devoutly religious. I had made him a promise that if at all possible I would accommodate his attendance and participation in worship activities if the base we were on allowed it. Ed and I did not see eye to eye on many things but I respected his wishes and covered for him many times. Bruce Almighty was a popular film during this time and while my soldiers were watching this film one day Ed said, “You know this is typical of many Christians?” I didn’t know what he meant but he offered me a reflection on how many people ask for signs from God, especially in times of need or crisis, and ignore the signs given to them. This conversation didn’t have any effect on me for years afterward but as I was transitioning out of an isolated lifestyle I became open to many possibilities. I decided that it was time to trust and have faith in God again.
One of the reasons I was drawn to the UCC was because of its slogan, “God is still speaking.” I believe that God still speaks in this world and is still working on God's creation. I believe that if we can be in a community of other people who are faithful, we read the scriptures, and we talk about them in the present we can begin to become open to the possibilities that God is still working in our world. I believe that if we can have that faith and trust in our Lord that God requires of us and we have the open mind and heart that Jesus asks us to have then we can see the signs of the mysterious workings of God around us. I hate confessing this in an ordination paper but I do not coordinate music with my choir or musical director and yet we sync with one another on Sunday and more often than not the hymns are more relevant to the scripture or tie into the sermon than either of us could have planned; I see this as the mysterious workings of the Holy Spirit speaking to and working through each of us and thus leading us into worship.