Paddling Away

Last Sunday was a day full of exciting conversations and events around First UMC Lincoln.

In the morning we had several different ways to connect: we had roses and talk about all the Saints--those who have come before and those who are currently living and working in the church; one Sunday School class discussed the nature of marriage...and another talked about the importance of bread; we listened to  music from our own musicians and the visiting Huntington Trio from Nebraska Wesleyan; children played and studied and helped serve communion.   In the afternoon we opened our doors to the community and invited in friends and neighbors to a civil conversation about faith and immigration, beginning with children dancing and ending with dinner and discussion around tables; others in the building discussed the nature of prayer and eternity and others practiced the ancient form of reading scripture called Lectio Divina. When we turned out the lights and locked the doors about 7 p.m. we knew that we had experienced the grace of God in a hundred different ways; we were full to overflowing and grateful to let the love of God carry us home.

In the reading "Whitewater World!" from our devotional book this week,  Bishop Schnase reflects on his experience canoeing and kayaking in Central America. When his son asked "Why do we have to paddle when the river is pushing us downstream anyway?" the guide answered: "The only way we have any control over the direction we are going is for us to be moving just a little faster than the current below us. So we have to paddle constantly, or else we just get pushed along out of control." That's what we were doing all day on Sunday--we were paddling just a little bit faster than the water would carry us forward in worship, education, and community involvement.

Our lives are moving us along at a pretty good clip. If we are not paddling fast enough for us to negotiate the twists and turns in the river--not to mention the rapids--then we are likely to fall victim to swift water. As I was reading this devotion, I was reminded of my own canoeing days and particularly the day when my canoe tipped over, spilling me and all of my belongings into the river. Fortunately, I was with experienced adults who had helped me to pack most of my gear in plastic and had tied it into the canoe. While I was soaking wet, the day was sunny and I was able to dry out as we continued on down the river after we had captured my errant canoe. I lost my glasses in the water, which seemed like a small thing in comparison to what could have happened; however, I am extremely myopic and I became increasingly dependent on others to help me pitch my tent, do my chores, and guide my canoe for the rest of the week.

Because of my own experience paddling downstream, I understood what Schnase was suggesting when he wrote about the need to keep paddling in order to stay in control of the canoe. But because I had also had to contend with not being able to see anything past the tip of my nose, I know the importance of having an experienced guide and a community that can assist in a variety of circumstances. Continuing my week-long canoe and camping trip would have been impossible by myself, and the lesson has served me well negotiating in a society that puts high value on being self-sufficient.

One of the most terrifying things about traveling the river without my glasses was that I could not see any of the boulders that lay just below the surface of the rapidly moving water. Life lived at a fast pace can be just as scary because we often do not know of the dangers just below the surface in many of our situations. Traveling with companions can help us navigate beyond the danger with a guide encouraging us to "pull hard to the right!" or "all paddles to the left!"

That's the work we are doing here at First Church right now. We are paddling as though our lives depended upon it, working together to keep moving forward, straining for the "Shalom of God" (as some have re-named the Kingdom of God). With the love of God binding us together, let's keep paddling away, moving just a bit faster than the river beneath us!