Called, gathered, enlightened and sustained

It's the season of family reunions.  All those relatives, many who live at great distances, some whose names are lost in memory, gather in one spot to drink coffee (and most times beer) and to eat 4 kinds of potato salad and try to catch up.  "My Lord how the children have grown!"  is a favorite refrain to each greeting.

It's all a bit awkward at the beginning....there are new in-laws to introduce and that search for a safe topic of mutual interest.  There's a lot of talk about sports teams and children's graduations, the weather and golf games, and if you happen to be related to me, Tim Hortons.  But if the stars align just right, and God smiles on your gathering, you will begin to share family stories....the buried treasure of every family.

There is the story about mom chasing the kids with water pistols on the first really hot day of the year.....in the house!  Then there is dad's love for anything plaid.  Great-grandma's sour cherry pie and Uncle Carl's crankiness.  There will be the detailed re-telling of someone's birth, and the sadness ladden story of where each one was when they heard of Great Grandpa's death. There are happy stories, funny stories, scary stories, and of course, sad stories as well.

It takes about 4 hours to get comfortable enough with one another to begin to tell the sad stories, and just possibly if everyone hangs in there long enough, you can get to those stories of conflict and crisis. If you get that far, you will have managed what many never do - to speak the truth about your lives together, your shared history, and have gained some insight into how meaning has been formed in you.

You might just take a moment, quietly, off to yourself, to realize that managing this life is beyond challenging; that the road is twisted and rocky and often dangerous; that having someone else know your story gives you strength and resilience; and in the end, there is so much for which to be grateful.

My daughter is taking the lead to plan our family's small reunion this summer.  I doubt that she has given a moment's thought to Martin Luther's explanation to the work of the Holy Spirit in his Small Catechism who 'calls, gathers, enlightens and sustains' the church.

Would we not paint our family reunions with a different color if we saw the Spirit moving among and through us to bring others to life.....to abundant life.......in the midst of joy and sorrow and evil and anger.........this Spirit works to sustain us.....in this frail collection of flawed human beings.......where we can practice being life for one another?

It is in the back yard, eating hamburgers and cole slaw, playing horseshoes or corn hole and waiting for the fireworks to start that the Spirit is working to call and gather God's holy people into one body...in Jesus' name, out of love, for the sake of each one.

Perhaps I need to re-think my approach to this year's hot dog extravaganza; it's a lot more holy than I realized.