Have you noticed? The days are growing shorter. The heat of the day Is a little less intense. There Is even a bit of crispness to the early morning hours. Yes, as unbelievable as it may seem, the summer is drawing to a close. The autumnal season is coming upon us. I say unbelievable because these past months have been novel in our lives. We have been quarantined at home. Our wardrobes now include masks. We stand apart and think twice about any outings we might embark upon. So the days have passed and Fall is just around the corner.
In the midst of all of this, I am reminded of the closing words of Matthew’s Gospel: “And lo I am with you always, even to the end of the ages.” That is the promise of our God. Amid the changes and chances of this earthly life, where everything grows old, and everything changes, there is one constant. There is one dependable, one constant, one unfailing foundation. No matter how things around us may change, our God is steady and our God’s love and grace surround us, always. As followers of Christ, as God’s beloved, we are called to live our lives in witness to that abiding presence.
I am sure that you have exchanged the banter about lights in the refrigerator. You know the query: “When you close the refrigerator door, does the light stay on?”
Try as you might, as slowly as you close or open the door unless there is a problem with the bulb, the light stays on. You may not always see it, but the light is on. On a more theological level, there is the quotation, “I believe in the sun even when it’s not shining.”
That quotation was found written on the wall of a camp during the Holocaust. The point of both of these – the light in a refrigerator or that great light that lightens our world – is that our God is with us always, even when we do not recognize that divine presence. Our lifelong task, though, is to seek to be more and more aware of God’s abiding love and grace. As we see God’s abiding steady presence, we are then called to share that light so that those who we encounter are also drawn to that same God.
Enjoy the changing of the seasons. Those crisp, fall days will be welcome. In the midst of these and all changes also take comfort in the changeless presence and grace of our God.
Faithfully,
The Rev. Sarah Nelson