A Word from Wendy – Reflect
Just as water reflects the face, so one human heart reflects another. – Proverbs 27:19
Reflect on the statutes of the Lord, and meditate at all times on his commandments. It is he who will give insight to your mind, and your desire for wisdom will be granted. – Sirach 6:37
[Christ] is the reflection of God’s glory and the exact imprint of God’s very being – Hebrews 1:3a
In the days before our Epiphany worship on January 5, I spent time preparing the Star Gifts that would be given out in worship. I searched for the stars (and ended up with 2 different styles). I researched word lists. And, finally, I prepared each gift – choosing a word and transcribing it on a chosen star. It was a prayerful process, praying for the person who would receive the Star Gift, praying for the work God would do as we “followed our Star (Gift)”. Every once and a while, an errant thought would interrupt as I noticed a word that would be challenging for me, or one I hoped to receive.
I had to smile when I received my Star Gift and turned it over to reveal the word I was given: reflect. That one was definitely in the category of one I hoped to receive, and I even knew its meaning and application. It fit well with my New Year’s intention to continue with the spiritual disciplines of Advent, specifically journaling as a means of reflecting.
Over the following days and weeks, as my Star Gift regularly stared up at me from the back of my phone, I took my own advice, consulted a dictionary and did a search of Scripture to reveal the various ways my Word is incorporated in holy writ. Not surprisingly, there was more to my Star Gift than I had at first imagined. An expanded selection of journaling prompts to include in my Daily Examen began to form:
How have I reflected God’s grace, love, and mercy?
Have I reflected fear or anger or division or…?
How have my words and actions reflected my faith? And when did they not?
As a follower of Jesus, how have my words and actions reflected on him?
How is this scripture reflected in my life?
Indeed, as the magi recognized the gift and the invitation of the star of Bethlehem, and traveled great distances in search of the Christ child, so this Star Gift has been invitation to search for what God has to reveal to me as I follow the risen Christ in this new year.
It has been joy to hear your stories and reflections as you travel with your Star Gift, to see God guiding you, and to hear you reflecting on the journey of searching and discovering. Should you catch me staring off into space, I’ll likely be having a Mary-moment as I treasure the gifts of being your pastor and ponder them in my heart. [Luke 2: 19, adapted]
Grace and peace,
Pastor Wendy