Amy Oden
Church of the Resurrection Insights Blog
Hebrews 13:1-8
Where did we get the idea that God only deals in the spectacular? That God only speaks in lightning bolts or grandiose commands? The mundane details of our everyday lives hardly seem the stuff of divine activity. It’s not flashy or shocking or spectacular.
So it’s easy to miss the simple, loving invitations that come to us daily. As Darrell Holtz writes in today’s GPS on Hebrews 13, a messenger from God often isn’t the “angel” we expect, but rather those we encounter every day, those we don’t expect to bring a word from God: spouses, co-workers, leaders, people mistreated or imprisoned.
Most days this doesn’t seem to rise to the level of–ta da!–“divine revelation.” It’s hard to believe it counts as a message from God. I’m still learning that the simple, humble invitations that come my way every day are the Holy One inviting me into abundant life: the hurt I see on a loved one’s face, the colleague who sees something in me that I didn’t see in myself, a friend’s words that challenge my worldview. Not spectacular, yet each speaks a word of Life, holy and true.
“God comes to you disguised as your life,” says Paula D’Arcy. We don’t have to wait for something spectacular or shocking. God is already here. What if today you listen for holy wisdom speaking into your life, through family members, co-workers, drive-through cashiers and outsiders? What if today you are that angel, the messenger of God, speaking into others’ lives a word of hope or peace?