Finding Your Place

On a balmy morning in early June of 2012 near Richmond, Virginia I met a strange woman. She stuck out her hand to greet me, but instead of saying her name she said, "Hello. I'm a foot. What are you?" We were at Roslyn Center, a beautiful place of retreat, at a preaching program for seminarians from across the Episcopal Church, and this loon just so happened to be in my group. At first, her presence was off putting. Who wants to develop new methods of sharing God's Good News with someone who introduces herself as a foot? However, the theme for the event was Preaching Paul, and she had immersed herself in the image of the Body of Christ. Then, oddly enough by the end of the week our entire small group was claiming our individual identities as parts that work together in Christ's living Body.

Sometimes I still wonder, what is my place? What member of the body am I? Am I something important like a hand, or am I something superfluous like an appendix? Could I be something grand like an eye, or am I just an eyelash? Nose, or nose hair? One of the most difficult things any of us ever attempt to do is to find our place within this world. Almost everyone wonders where he fits into the human family. And, every Christian at some point in her life journey wants to know what members she constitutes within the Body of Christ; however, if it is such a crucial and universal task to find one's place in the body how is it possible that so many people continue to wonder, "Where's my place?" Saint Paul's image of the body still gives us an individual and a collective hope of fitting into something bigger, but how do we do this? Perhaps, right now is the perfect time to continue your exploration of how it is that you personally live as part of the whole.

Every part of our year at St. John's provides a different rhythm. Fall gives order with new offerings fitting into the routine of the school year (and football season). Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany provide crescendo like build up to God's Incarnation. Lent provides for greater discipleship in preparation for the joys of Easter. Then, as the school year ends we celebrate the accomplishments of those making transitions. After all of this summer can feel like a "throw away" season when the members are spread out across not just the state but the globe. We may feel that we are not on the same page, which means this is the perfect period to develop your own spirituality. "But how?" you say. I am so happy you asked.

Pick up a book. May I recommend Jabbok by Bishop Kee Sloan? Evan's Monday morning class will begin covering that on July 25th. Come to the Sunday morning articles class. If you have ever wondered how your Faith intersects with culture and society, this class in which we discuss current news topics through the lens of our discipleship can provide clarity. Go on a retreat. St. Mary's Sewanee offers fantastic times of restoration and discernment just an hour and a half from Decatur. If you are interested in another way of seeing how you fit into the Body of Christ try the Enneagram Conference up at Camp Kanuga in October. St. John's is also planning a parents retreat to Gulf Shores this fall, so retreat opportunities abound. Try praying differently. Have you always read the Forward Day-By-Day, but you do not like the style of the current contributors? Read Morning Prayer instead or Richard Rohr's daily meditations. Serve and give. Still not sure how you fit into the Body of Christ? Try a new volunteering opportunity at the CCC clothing closet, stop by PACT to see if they need some help at their front desk, or pack a bag of non-perishable food items that you can offer to someone who is in need. Give financially to the work of God in this world by contributing to a ministry that is meeting a cause close to your heart. Ways to find your place are as numerous as members in the body!

Although I still wonder which part I am in the Body of Christ something tells me that I will always be pondering my place. As much as the ambiguity unsettles me, this not knowing gives me and us an opportunity. In each stage of life God gifts us the challenge of wondering again who we are, what our gifts are, and what our place in this world is. In response we get to trust in God and have faith, just as God is Faithful. Trying some new discipline this summer allows us to wonder in this season and beyond about who we are. As you make new discoveries in your discernment share these insights with me and with others for the eye cannot say to the ear I do not need you, and individual discernment enhances our collective ministry. Saint Paul still reminds us that we are One Body for we all partake in the one bread and we all are made to share the same cup. As you find your place in this body do not be afraid to share who you are, even if you may be a foot!