Dear Friends in Christ,

I had the privilege of traveling to Scotland with daughter Sarah last week just for the pleasure of it. I hadn't taken a trip of this size in some years. It gave me a chance to marvel over the number of people it takes to make a flight like that possible. Actually, I have only a limited idea: pilots, stewardesses, mechanics, baggage handlers, air traffic controllers, security screeners, customs agents, airline clerks, are the more obvious ones. But as I pondered a bit more, I realized there were custodians, business thinkers, supervisors, electricians, fuel truck drivers, weather forecasters, plane cleaning crews, airline meal makers, water system operators...more people actually involved than I could imagine! Just so I could hop on a plane and go on a great adventure!

I was also struck by how, in a few moments in an airport like O'hare, it's possible to rub shoulders with people from dozens of different countries and cultures. In a large international airport, it's easy to see the varieties and similarities of the whole human family.

One other thing I noticed was how so many of the workers were folks who were obviously immigrants to this nation. I'd guess that most of the airplane and airport cleaning crews were immigrants. It occurred to me my trip wasn't possible without them showing up for work! Actually,Christ my adventure trip depended on every one of those folks showing up and doing their job. And then it dawned on me: the kingdom of God is like that too!

For in the world that belongs to God, all kinds of folks are needed: not just preachers and Sunday School teachers, and musicians, but parents who bring their kids to worship; and people who care for their neighbors; and those who visit the sick; and cooks who share a meal; and workers who clean toilets, and advocates who challenge the status quo, and justice seekers who remind us of what is right and fair, and...the list goes on!

2,000 years ago, St. Paul wrote: "The gifts of God are present in each person, in some way, for the good of all." My big vacation trip reminded me of that large truth-which is also a wonderful promise! The gifts that are needed to make the world go 'round, or to make a society healthy, or to make the church 'work' are present. We just have to offer what we can, and welcome whatever others around us have to offer. Since, no matter our age or status, we are all called to be fellow workers in the kingdom of God, pray that we all can show up, and do the work that Christ needs us to do!

-Pastor Paul