Month: May 2021

Last Sunday morning there were helium-filled balloons in the Narthex with doves at the bottom, symbolizing the Holy Spirit. It was a nice touch to go with the rest of the Pentecost decorations that morning, but by the time I began to set up for UMYF on Sunday afternoon, those balloons had floated all the way down the hallway. They were everywhere. Someone joked to me it was as if the little paper doves were flying them around the building. But I thought it went with the Pentecost theme beautifully.

Pastor Mitzi used the text of Romans 15:13 as the benediction on Sunday morning: “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you overflow with love and hope.” Okay, so these balloons were overflowing with lighter-than-air gas, and powered by the Soapstone air conditioning. But after the end of the worship services, they drifted to places only God could have foreseen. May we drift with his Spirit as well, knowing his joy and peace, overflowing with his love and hope, every time we are sent out.

Of all the things that have made people say “I want off this planet” over the last 15 months, I wasn’t expecting a gas shortage to be one of them. I suppose none of us expected any of this. But people hoarding gas sure doesn’t give me faith in humanity. Rev. Betsy Haas, Deacon at Kitty Hawk UMC had this to say about it, basing her devotional on John 17. I’m reminded of the Israelites in the desert, being provided daily Manna from heaven and yet still being unable to keep from hoarding. It turns out that even thousands of years ago we couldn’t really put our faith in humanity.

What the Israelites (and their spiritual descendants all the way to us) had to learn was that they could put their faith in God. God the Son told his disciples not to store up treasures on earth. God the Father had Moses tell his people not to store up food for even an extra day, except before the Sabbath. And while we all might be literally and metaphorically out of gas in the 17th month of 2020, may we take this opportunity to think outside ourselves, trust in God, gather just what we need, leave some in the pump, and maybe, just maybe, remember to do what Moses and Aaron hoped their followers would do in their time of crisis: each evening know that God has brought us through, and each morning see his glory.