"A Team of Hope": A Reflection on The Second Reading for July 29th, 2018: Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Ephesians 4:1-6

1 I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2 with all lowliness and meekness, with patience, forbearing one another in love, 3 eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call, 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of us all, who is above all and through all and in all.

This week, our Church is holding our annual kids camp (aka VBS: Vacation Bible School). I was invited by the Director of Children’s Ministry to help out by running one of the stations. I’ve directed VBS at two different churches and I know how much humble and communal work goes into making the camp a success for both the kids and the team. Keeping over 100 kids happy and engaged while we preach the Good News to them can be difficult, but our team joyfully works together.

Through our baptism, we are called to be Priests, Prophets, and Kings. There are many times I forget that as an adopted child of God, I am no longer an ordinary person. My baptism changed something about who I am, permanently. Because of that baptism, I have been called to greatness. My broken human nature does not want me to be meek or lowly. It wants me to stand up tall and brag about my every accomplishment. My broken human nature does not want me to be kind or loving. It wants me to talk about what I deserve. There are many times in life when I have given in to that brokenness and indulged in selfish thoughts and behaviours. I have seen others as less worthy than me and treated them as tools for my own betterment rather than as children of God imbued with unassailable dignity and worth.

This week at VBS has been a great reminder of what a life worthy of the calling of my baptism should look like. This week, I have chosen to set aside other very worthy and important tasks, so that I can crouch down on my knees next to a child and ask them about their worries, fears, joys and victories. I have chosen to make a fool of myself for Christ and have jumped around, made lame jokes (sorry kids), and pushed myself past my own selfishness to put the kids first.

When we give our best to God, even when it feels like something lowly, He magnifies our offering. This week I had several campers who don’t normally come to Church, ask if they could join us every week. They felt welcome. We fearlessly spoke the name of Jesus. They saw our joy and were drawn to it like a magnet. When St. Paul speaks to the Ephesians about hope, I know what that looks like. It looks like kids falling in love with Jesus and desiring to be with the Body of Christ in fellowship and community more and more. The hope of our faith is that Jesus rescues us and makes us His family. ​

​Stephanie Potter

"When we give our best to God, even when it feels like something lowly, He magnifies our offering." - Stephanie Potter (Ora Reflections)