The Journey Begins...(again)

The Resurrection house interns have already been in Omaha two weeks. During this time we have spent many hours getting to know one another. Conversation topics have included baking, coffee, family dynamics, scripture readings, and which road will get us back to the house from our current location. Through sharing our past experiences, as well as taking part in new experiences together, we are well on our way to forming a close knit community. Fr. Jason mentioned we all seem to be on the same introvert scale. We laughed when we heard this, because we definitely agree. We talked about how we can all be in the same room, reading, and not talking to each other, and afterwards it feels like we've had a good bonding experience. We also do some actual socializing, which has primarily taken place while cooking and eating together. There is a reflection that was written by Jan Richardson for World Communion Sunday, which I have been thinking about quite a bit this week. It not only speaks to the literal Eucharist, but also to community:

And the table will be wide. And the welcome will be wide. And the arms will open wide to gather us in. And our hearts will open wide to receive. And we will come as children who trust there is enough. And we will come unhindered and free. And our aching will be met with bread. And our sorrow will be met with wine. And we will open our hands to the feast without shame. And we will turn toward each other without fear. And we will give up our appetite for despair. And we will taste and know of delight. And we will become bread for a hungering world. And we will become drink for those who thirst. And the blessed will become the blessing. And everywhere will be the feast.

I like many parts of this blessing, but this week I was focussed on the line, "And everywhere will be the feast." As part of our spiritual formation we will turn in reflections each week to Fr. Jason, and we will strive to answer the question, "Where is God in all this?" We will of course have specific instances and experiences which we can draw from to anwser this question, but it's also quite wonderful to reflect on the omnipresence of God. That through our struggles as well as our successes, God was, is, and will be present. In the baptism lesson from Godly play, we wonder aloud during the time when we light a candle for each person in the circle from the Christ candle, "Look how the light where all the light is coming from is not getting any smaller. I wonder how so much light can come from just one light?" How amazing it is that with open hearts this light can be manifest in the world around us, particularly in each other as we continue grow in community together.