Meditation for January 19, 2016

God of love, grant us the gift of unity so that we may serve you with joy and share your love with all. This we ask in the name of your Son Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. 

Hebrews 5:11 About this we have much to say that is hard to explain, since you have become dull in understanding.

Dr. Haskell taught a great class on early American history. I enjoyed the class. I went to every lecture and took notes and did all the reading. Still, when it came time to take tests, I never made better than a B. That, in the end, is a decent grade, but until this class, I had almost always been able to get an A if I worked hard enough. Not this time.

Occasionally in church, I feel like the dull one, as if there’s something about faith that I just can’t quite grasp. But maybe it’s not simply that I’m not trying hard enough. Maybe I’m not ready to hear some of the lessons in the Bible.

I learned a lot from Dr. Haskell’s class. If I took the class now that I’m older, a subtler thinker, a better listener, I might be able to get an A. It doesn’t really matter. What mattered was that I showed up and listened and studied. I likewise continue to show up in church, to listen and study, and trust that God grades with great generosity.

O God, by whom the meek are guided in judgment, and light rises up in darkness for the godly: Grant us, in all our doubts and uncertainties, the grace to ask what you would have us to do, that the Spirit of wisdom may save us from all false choices, and that in your light we may see light, and in your straight path may not stumble; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.