Sunday, August 29, 2010

Sunday Reflections

It's Sunday.  The day we worship at church and spend important time with our friends.  Some Sundays fall flat for me.  I get up, get everyone ready for church, race out the door, find a seat in the pew and think about 100 different things, then head back to the nursery to pick-up the girls, and leave.  I don't always connect spiritually with God at church.

But some Sundays are fantastically enlightening.  I feel the spirit moving among the people in the pews.  The word of God is read and preached and I connect with the people around me in a deep ways.

Today lots of positive, churchy things happened.  Parts of the sermon and the hymns and the conversations really moved me.  I'm moved by the incredible news of freedom and joy.

So, I thought I'd share 3 of my Sunday reflections with you.  2 are serious, 1 is adorable.

1.  While driving to church this morning, I listened to Christian radio.  A man was contrasting the reception he receives when we arrives late to his AA meeting and when we arrives late to church.  At church, he is hushed and frowned upon.  He shuffles into the pew and feels badly.  At AA, his friends stand and hug him and are thankful he has come again.  He wondered, "What if we all stood up at church and said, I'm Bob.  I'm a sinner.  Saved by grace."

That'd be cool.  The radio show reminded me of a book our friends wrote.  Called Grace in Addiction: What the Church Can Learn from Alcoholics Anonymous.  I've heard numerous testimonies where God has used AA and similar organizations to reach people.  It's a fantastic read.  Click here to see more.

2.  Yesterday we visited the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.  It's a stunning place of worship.  Simply put, it's the center of Catholic worship in our country.  And quote from St. Patrick caught my eye.  It was etched on the wall in a small chapel space.  The words physically surrounded me and their meaning hugged me.  Wrapped me up warm and tight, in a way that I never want to be let go.

Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ on my right, Christ on my left...

Such a physical picture of Christ's love.
To see the entire poem by St. Patrick, click here.  Simply beautiful.

3.  While walking in the Shrine, Cordelia kept squealing.  And jabbering a lot.  Eloise seriously scolded her, "Cordelia, shhhh, be quiet.  Jesus is sleeping."

We were tickled beyond words and successfully managed to not let her see us laugh.  And we most definitely did not correct her.  We have plenty of time for that later.

4.  Oh, and fourth, here's our actual reflection from today.  (I'm holding the peace sign.  Eloise has a thumbs up.)

6 comments:

Dorry said...

This post sums up the reasons I love your blog- honest, balanced, genuine and God-centered. <3

Alex and Emily said...

Thanks Dorry! That means a lot!

Molly said...

1) Does Jesus/God sleep? Does He at least get 1 day of rest a week?
2) Is Eloise in the "lower level" of one of those "double decker" strollers? And more importantly, if the answer is yes, does she like the low ride?

happy sunday and thanks for the st. patrick's quote. i guess if you get named as a saint you probably had a few good things to say.

Emily said...

I totally hear you about some Sundays falling flat. Today was sort of like that for me, partly because we got there pretty late.

By the way, I love that St. Patrick's quotation...I don't think we've ever sung the hymn that puts those words to music. It is the most incredible song. I think it is called St. Patrick's Breastplate.

Alex and Emily said...

Molly, thankfully God doesn't need to sleep. So amazing. And yes, Eloise is in the lower seat. She likes both options. As long as she gets to choose, she's happy.

Willa J, I'd love to hear/sing that song. Never heard it before!

Brooke Koroknay said...

After reading your first reflection, my eyes got wider and my vocal chords made a noise like, "HM?!" How true it is of AA to embrace fallen friends and the church to sometimes snub. The Koroknays are on board to embrace! :)