Pastor's Reflection

Oh, these spring mornings! I relish them, as I am sure most of us do. With the early sunlight streaming in through the windows, and the plants outside growing fuller every day, it's a daily treat to just pause and soak it all in -- even when doing so reminds me that one of these days, I'd better wash those panes!

When I was a child, a song shared over and over with me in Sunday School was "Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam." One day, as a 4 or 5-year-old, standing in the living room of our very old house, I noticed specks of dust in the air, being illuminated by the sunlight coming in from the window. "Oh, I get it!" I thought to myself. "That's what a sunbeam is" -- something that surrounds plain old specks of dust so that they shine.

That moment has remained in my memory ever since. And on this Friday morning, as we prepare for two observances in Sunday worship -- the celebration of Pentecost, with the gift of the Holy Spirit being poured into the lives of ordinary people; and the observance of Memorial Day, when we remember people who gave beyond themselves to open up better life for others, it has come to my mind again. Though in so many ways we are "specks of dust," we are also invited by God's Spirit to live in, and give of ourselves from, the "Sunbeam" -- the Light of Christ's presence and love -- each day, and forever.