This Sunday is Laity Sunday, an annual worship service led by people in the congregation. It is an acknowledgement that we are all ministers, all invited to be part of God’s work here on earth. The theme for this year is presence: God’s abiding and constant presence, an intimate presence, a personal presence, a presence that knows your name. These ideas are embodied in the Exodus 33:12-23 scripture, which is part of the lectionary for Sunday. In that story, Moses is asking God to show him what to do, show him all of God’s glory so that Moses can gain strength for the task ahead. And how does God respond? How will God equip Moses for the job? God says, “I will make my goodness pass right in front of you.”
God’s presence, that is what we seek. To know and be known can get us through a lot, through the difficult days ahead, through our questions and fears and uncertainty about the future. To walk in the confidence that we are known by God, that God walks with us as we go, is a reassuring first step. On Sunday, we will be blessed to have Sue DiMarzo give a message based on these ideas in the scripture readings.
I pray that you understand that God knows each of us by name, and in God’s sight we have found favor. Our minds cannot comprehend the vision of God’s glory or the vastness of God’s love, but filled with God’s goodness, we will be equipped for the job ahead. Filled with God’s goodness, the impossible becomes possible. Amen.
Laura Myers
Lay Leader