The poet David Whyte writes that gratitude “is the understanding that millions of things come together and live together and mesh together and breathe together in order for us to take even one more breath of air, that the underlying gift of life and incarnation as a living, participating human being is a privilege, that we are miraculously part of something, rather than nothing.”
Another way to say that is to say that gratitude is the act of paying attention. Our lives are lived with divine intentionality when we are thankful for the gift of life itself. It’s also worth noting that such awareness stretches our capacity to be appreciative of others. A “something” of which we are a part is the joyful, frustrating, unwieldy, and gracious body of Christ we call the church.
This Sunday we will gather after worship in spaces throughout the Ministries Center to celebrate the numerous efforts of our church by our various councils, committees, ministries and missions. This Ministry Fair is an opportunity for all of us to pay attention to what God is up to in this place, and to perhaps even find a place where our own skills and interests might meet the needs of our work and witness.
Out of your own sense of gratitude, we hope you will make your way around the tables, eat lunch, and reflect on where you might be called to serve. Whyte says, “Thankfulness finds its full measure in generosity of presence, both through participation and witness.” If that’s true, then the work of gratitude is as responsive as it is reflective. And if that’s true, then I am going to need more clipboards for all the folks who will be signing up to engage even deeper in the life of our congregation.
See you Sunday.
