Today (December 27) I was returning home for lunch, and had
pulled partway into the garage when I remembered that I had forgotten to pick
up the lunch meat for my sandwich. So I
threw the car in reverse, quickly backed out, and before I knew it my front
bumper was dragging the ground! It had
caught on the edge of the garage, and pulled almost entirely off, dangling by a
couple screws on the driver’s side.
Hmmm.
It’s amazing what a moment of carelessness can accomplish if
you don’t put your mind to it. There was
only minor damage to the garage door, but the car looked pitiful. So after talking to the body shop, getting an
estimate, they gave me the good news.
The car can be repaired!
I can’t repair the car by my own efforts. I don’t have the skills, or the
knowledge. But there is a place I can
take it where it can get the care it needs.
There is someone there who can repair it. Bad things happen. Sometimes they happen because we’re careless,
and sometimes they happen regardless of precautions. And sometimes we need to visit the repair
shop. But things can be repaired!
I’m not necessarily talking about cars here. People are the same way. We make messes of our lives, encounter
brokenness in our relationships, and lose our way. And frequently, we don’t have the skills or
the knowledge to repair our lives by ourselves.
But things can be repaired. And
church is a place we can go where this can happen.
This past year, 2016, has not been one of my favorite years. Our congregation has lost some good people,
and we face difficult challenges as we enter the coming year. But the start of a new year should be a time
of hope for all people of faith. We have
nothing to deal with that, by the power of God, is beyond repair. Jesus
Christ can and does make us whole, and his ability to repair lives is one of
the things that proves who he really is.
Now when Jesus had finished
instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and proclaim
his message in their cities. 2When
John heard in prison what the Messiah was doing, he sent word by his
disciples 3and said to him,
"Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?" 4Jesus answered them, "Go and
tell John what you hear and see: 5the
blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf
hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them. 6And blessed is anyone who takes
no offense at me." (Matthew 11:1-6 NRSV)
Jesus still makes us whole.
This year I hope you will commit yourself to visiting the repair shop
that is Maple Avenue
United Methodist
Church, invite your friends and
neighbors, and together we’ll allow Jesus to prove himself once more.
However 2017 unfolds, I have this hope. Regardless of the bumps and dents in our
lives, things can be repaired.
God Bless You This New Year!
David Rockhill
