We, you and I, all of us, simple, ordinary (and beautiful!) human beings are gifted, called, knit, into God’s saving work in this world. Simple as we might be, were made to be God’s gift, God’s response to the needs of our fellow creatures in this world. In our own actions, in our own words, we are a sign of God’s never-ending love, not only for one another, but for this broken down, dying, lamenting world.

And when exhaustion, or physical or mental illness, or the forces of oppression hold one or a number of us down, we have one another gift: this community: this simple, beautiful, body of Christ to lament, to shout, to protest, to vote and help others vote, to wear a face covering, to simply be a sign of God’s grace, of strength, of hope, of love in this world. That as we make our way together, through the wilderness, in the midst of all that we cannot quite bear, God hears our cries, God responds in ways both big and small.