Monday, January 04, 2010

A Glimpse

What if it all started with a glimpse? Just a single glimpse. Each of us granted one small apprehension of something transcendent …

Not a gaze, not even a look. Fleeting. Out of the corner of your eye.

And what if we were assured that our glimpse, as insignificant as it may seem, was indeed a glimpse of the living presence of Christ? A flicker of the Light of the World; a crumb of the Bread of Life.
It would catch our breath and bring the twitch of a thrilled smile to the corners of our lips. Our eyes would light and we would respond with a gasp of Aha! Our understanding would deepen incrementally as we dove a bit deeper into the identity of the divine.
And then … imagine it, if you dare … what if we were to gather together to share our glimpses with one another? Each impression collected with the others so that an ever fuller picture began to emerge. Each glimpse valued for its inherent worth, each piece mysteriously connected to the whole, supplementing, complimenting, critiquing, mutually shaping.
And (are you ready for this?) what if we were to call our collection of glimpses “church?” Not the I-have-it-and-you-don’t-but-don’t-worry-because-I’ll-give-it-to church, but rather a church that values each person’s glimpse because … just because.
What if it all started with a glimpse?

What is your glimpse of Christ this week? Come be church and share it.

1 comment:

Mom said...

One of your church members wrote of a glimpse in her Christmas letter. Sharon and Hilary were shopping and they approached a Salvation Army bell ringer. They explained to Hilary's little one that they would put some money in the kettle because Jesus wanted them to. Sharon then noted that the bell ringer looked kind of scruffy, like maybe he would be a recipient of the SA's help. The child walked up to the bell ringer, ready to put the coins in the kettle, and asked "Are you Jesus?" The grown-ups were quick to say someting like "Oh, no, that's not Jesus." But Sharon said as she walked away she wondered if maybe they had been wrong. Maybe the scruffy-looking bell ringer really was Jesus and they just had not recognized him.