The Cacophony of Life

Easter Sunday morning, 45 of us gathered in the cool morning air of the amphitheater to greet the dawn and remember that Jesus is alive. As we worshipped, the world awoke around us. The fragile glow of the sun strengthened into true morning light and the woods became alive with the sound of birds. Dozens of different calls joined our own to confess the life and new creation of God pulsing all around and within us. Thinking back, I have no idea what birds were present. They were mostly hidden and hard to see and I don't know their voices will enough to tell them apart. I bet, though, that someone in our church neighborhood could tell each and every call apart. She is blind and, as with many who lose access to one sense, her sense of hearing has grown much stronger. Her skills are so great she can even differentiate between the dozens of different locust species that inhabit Middle Georgia just by the different calls, screeches, clicks, and whistles they make! This woman delights now in listening and knowing the subtle differences between the creatures around us. What is simply the cacophony of life to me becomes intimate knowledge of who and what lives all around in the Shirly Hills neighborhood.

Sometimes—often—I feel like I can't see what lies ahead for the future of the church. By this I mean churches as institutions, especially here in the West, not simply the future of Highland Hills. I believe the church, as the entity of people seeking to follow and be transformed by Jesus, will always be with us, but I don't think churches will look like they do now 50 or 100 years into the future. In many ways I feel blind. Yet blindness may be an opportunity if we choose to lean into it. Perhaps with lack of sight comes the chance to grow my and our listening. Perhaps this is a chance to hear together, as Elijah did, the still small voice of God in the tempest of our world right now.

Next Wednesday, April 15th, we are holding our first Dawnings listening session. This time is not simply open to everyone, but it needs the participation of everyone. Together we will work to listen to how God has been moving and at work within our own stories. As we reflect on our own encounters with God, perhaps we will get just a bit better at discerning how the Bride of Christ might be dressed in the years ahead. I hope you will join us, for God has certainly been speaking.