Nathanael said to him, ‘Can anything good come out of Nazareth?’ Philip said to him, ‘Come and see.’ (John 1:46)
As Jesus calls His disciples, we often remember the stories
of those who were first called; how quickly they dropped everything and off
they went.
However, Nathaniel shows some initial reluctance.
From Nathaniel’s perspective - formed by what it meant to
be “a good Jew” - Nazareth was on the wrong side of the tracks in the midst of
the wrong area surrounded by the wrong people.
And now he learns that God’s Chosen One was coming from
someplace nobody would have chosen as a start for goodness. Recently we had 28 tomato cages stolen from our Community Garden. Part of our garden is being used by Redemption House homeless shelter to teach people to grow and cook vegetables; these cages were for them.
Our disappointment is understandable and in circumstances like
this it can be tough to find any goodness.
On the off-chance they might show up at a weekend yard sale
we posted the theft on the Facebook page ‘Prineville Free…Sell…Trade’ and asked
people to be on the lookout.
Nearly 40 people replied! Many offering encouragement and prayers…and
then somebody offered their unused cages…and then another…and another…and
another…and then came a suggestion for a tomato-cage-making-party.
This all got us to dreaming – if we build the cages at the
church we could roll out the gas grill…throw on some hamburgers and hot dogs…add
a couple of easy side dishes…a couple of new members have offered to help…hmmm…
We’ll see what happens, but it sounds like a party may be coming
out of someplace where we didn’t think there was any goodness.
This a fabulous way to describe God’s Spirit at work.
Join us Sundays at 10AM as we look for God’s goodness in
those 'other places.'This a fabulous way to describe God’s Spirit at work.
Together We Serve, Pastor Mike
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