Every weekend I serve on team there is always a “God moment”, a very special time in the weekend where something is done, said, felt, sung, and so on. One year it was my taking the golf cart and chasing geese (kidding, but I did do that), another year it was something from a rollo, another time it was the huge weight a man left in the chapel after he confessed his sins. You get the idea! Sometimes, to me, the whole weekend is a God moment. I struggled again coming down off the mountain this past Sunday and Monday …I had a great weekend here in INKY serving on a Men’s weekend.
As you know there is the Saturday talk which our group calls “Day in the Life” and it is the details of the crucifixion of Jesus. Usually in INKY we do that talk in two parts: there is the more difficult stuff of his torture and death, Holy Communion, and then the more upbeat talk on how to live out that grace in everyday life through the sacraments and other ways. At chapel on Saturday a large crucifix is used on the altar that has a large cross and the body of Jesus on it.
On our team this year was a blind man named Phil. I have his permission to share this story. I brought him up to the altar as we all gathered around for Communion mid-way through the rollo. We all shared together, pilgrims and team, our thoughts and feelings on the life and death of Jesus. I invited Phil to physically experience the crucifix. Since he could not see, he put his hands all over the body of Jesus repeating “Oh, Jesus”, “Oh, Jesus” and it was a deeply touching moment for everyone. Tearfully, Phil led a prayer and we had Communion. It was sad time but a joyful one as well because we know that crucifix does not have the last word. God does1
The “God moment” of our lives was sometime on that first Sunday morning, perhaps we call it the first Easter! The tomb was not open so Jesus could get out, it was opened so we could go in! We go in and get our “God moment”, see the empty tomb, the clothes on the floor, and then we go out to follow the Lord. And, maybe, just maybe, we can take in other God moments along the way and provide God moments for others. Whether we can physically see, or not.
GLYASDI,
Pr. Doug
NLS SD
Eric is our current Webmaster and works on the NLS Communications Team. Raised in Judaism, he found Christ and the New Testament at age 16 in a Southern Baptist Church. He searched many denominations for the real church, only to find the Holy Spirit is present in all of them. He's worked for One for Israel, a group of native Israeli believers who are sharing the gospel in the holy land in Hebrew and is part of the only Hebrew speaking seminary in Israel.
