By Heather Melton, UTO Staff Officer
During Lent some of you joined with me in reading “Uncommon Gratitude: Alleluia for All That Is” by Joan Chittister and Rowan Williams. There is a chapter in the book by Rowan Williams on saints that has stuck with me. Williams writes that “holiness is as little a characteristic of a person as light is of a window. Put the window in a particular place and the light comes through; put a person in a particular place and God comes through.” His point is that the saints are ordinary people who were willing to let the light of God’s love come pouring through them. This means that they don’t have to be perfect or without fault, they just have to be willing.
“God comes through.” I love this simple sentence because throughout my life I have watched Christians struggle to find a catchphrase that inspires. (I think we all remember the WWJD bracelets and “Keep Christ in Christmas.”) When I read the chapter on saints, I realized that perfection is not the goal of our faith, and it certainly isn’t found in our baptismal covenant that focuses on doing things with God’s help and trying again when we fail, but this idea of letting the light of God shine through us is. So how do we let God come through us? What does that look like?
I’ve been thinking about what it means to let God come through ever since reading that chapter. I’m not sure I have all the answers, but I do have some ideas. I think we let God come through when brave souls step forward to demand justice. God came through all the people who put their lives and health on the line to keep the rest of going during the pandemic. God came through the people who cared for the frontline workers. God came through the saints known and unknown. God comes through us when we are kind, curious, generous, and grateful. God comes through us when we try to do the right thing even when we feel quite small. God comes through us when chat with a stranger kindly at the grocery store, when we help out a friend, or when we bring a meal to someone. God comes through when follow Matthew 25 and feed the hungry, tend the sick, include the stranger, and visit the prisoner or support those who do that work.
This month I hope you’ll join me in looking for ways to let God come through you, like the light coming through our windows earlier and earlier each day. Let God come through when you thank people at the grocery store, coffee shop, or whenever you are out and about in your community. Let God come through when you volunteer to plant trees, visit at the senior center, or simply help someone you know is going through a hard time. Let God come through when you show kindness and gratitude toward yourself, because you are amazing and deserving of self-care and compassion. Thank you for all the ways all of you remind me of the love and compassion of God each time we come together to do this amazing work of UTO.
I am grateful for you and all the ways that God comes through you to me.