WPBC Connectivity

A few weeks ago now Bonnie asked if I would consider contributing to a new iteration of Afterthoughts, a resource Peter Brown had developed as an interactive forum for reflection on Alan’s sermons in the context of our everyday lives. My initial response was ‘I’m far too busy for that’ . . .Oops, hey, where am I going anyway? So I said, ‘Sure.’ Having been a past contributor to that forum, I welcomed this new opportunity.

Connectivity: The state of being connected or interconnected

The concept of being in a state of interconnection, for me, is a defining characteristic of the church. I hope it works for you. As this is the first of what could be an ongoing series with many contributors, we thought we’d begin by saying that our hope is that this becomes an interactive forum. Your thoughts and ongoing participation are what will make this a part of our interconnectivity.

In thinking about Alan’s sermon from a few Sunday’s ago, I was struck by the fact that Jesus was teaching the disciples a new language. The words themselves were not new: hallowed, forgive, daily bread, deliverance—all words and concepts with which the group was familiar. Jesus in effect, recontextualized them. The new context of ABBA, a radical view of God as our intimate, loving father, language for prayer, and more importantly, for living.

As of the last few weeks we, too, are in the process of learning a new language. There are really no new words in this new language. We are familiar with terms like pandemic, isolation, quarantine, virus, vaccine and economic meltdown. When considered in the new context of Covid-19, they form a language with the potential to create a state of uncertainty, worry and frankly, for many, fear.

How are these languages converging for you? What are some ways we can stay present to the day in which we live and as Jesus implored us, focus on today and our daily bread without fear informing our thinking? How do we communicate to our children about what’s going on in a balanced way?

These are clearly uncharted waters, I hope you take some time to offer your thoughts, hopes and fears as well, as we do what we can to maintain our sense of interconnectivity.