This week, I am on a Clergy Refreshment Retreat with old friends in Galena. And while this is a time of time of prayer and rest and reflection, it is also a time of joy and laughter and mutual mentoring.
I was struck this morning by the differing ways we set apart our quiet time for God. For example, one friend reads the Daily Office faithfully every day. Another sits in quiet contemplative prayer, and another is a yoga devotee. Different ministries, different ways of approaching God, and vastly different political stances. We are a motley crew.
But I'm also struck by our similarities. We all enjoy sharing a kitchen together and preparing common meals. We all love a good joke. We all wonder why Donald Trump is so far ahead in the polls. But the greatest similarity of all? That is that we each made an intentional choice to spend our lives serving God. A deliberate, definable choice.
In doing so we have discovered a wonderful gift. In spite of our vastly different pieties, liturgical styles, theological underpinnings, and political inclinations, Jesus is our common denominator. Our differences don't divide us; they interest us. Instead of shutting down, we strive to understand. It is a beautiful thing.
May it be so in all of our lives, in all of our churches, and in all of our nations that the peace of God, which passes all our understanding would guard our hearts and our minds forever.
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