Saying Yes

Sunday was another bright, warm morning, and I was able to start grounding on my walk to the church. I realized that last week I was so nervous, I couldn't do anything of the sort. It was so nice to walk up the steps and open the door, knowing some idea of what to expect.

It was a very different service, however. The pastor was in attendance, having been reassigned to the church for another year, and he brought a great deal of energy, along with a sense of majesty, to the proceedings. He spoke about being BACK, how as recently as Friday he was considering tendering his resignation, how there were going to be changes, how the gossip and the negativity were going to end. All very fascinating - how can there be this much drama with only 15 people in the church?

While I am curious about the political issues, I didn't let them distract me from my real goal: finding a connection with the divine again. I listened to the songs and readings, but what spoke to me most was the sermon. Titled "Are We Ready?" it focused on how we get in the way between ourselves and God. The pastor focused his remarks on this passage:

Isaiah 51

¹Hearken to me, ye that follow after righteousness, ye that seek the LORD: look unto the rock whence ye are hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence ye are digged.

²Look unto Abraham your father, and unto Sarah that bare you: for I called him alone, and blessed him, and increased him.

³For the LORD shall comfort Zion: he will comfort all her waste places; and he will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the LORD; joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody.

⁴Hearken unto me, my people; and give ear unto me, O my nation: for a law shall proceed from me, and I will make my judgment to rest for a light of the people.

⁵My righteousness is near; my salvation is gone forth, and mine arms shall judge the people; the isles shall wait upon me, and on mine arm shall they trust.

⁶Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath: for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment, and they that dwell therein shall die in like manner: but my salvation shall be for ever, and my righteousness shall not be abolished.

I particularly like the reference to Abraham and Sarah, who I have been thinking about in the last week. They are often cited in theological considerations of infertility, having waited for decades for children. They are often described as barren, like the desert in this passage.

I felt there was a lesson for me in my current situation of waiting. For a decade, my worklife has slowly become a desert - losing its meaning and rewards along the way. The promise is of fruitfulness, joy, and thanksgiving in exactly this place.

The pastor asked "Are you ready?" Yesterday, I wanted to say yes but hesitated. Today, if the question is whether I am ready for a change, ready to find that trickle of water bubbling up in this wasteland of work, ready to look forward to a Monday morning - the answer is Yes, I Am Ready!