To Bee or Not to Bee
Google helped me with the steps of drawing this little bee!
Welcome to Word for the Week, the series in which I:
share my experience of hearing God’s Word in Mass last weekend,
explore what I believe the Lord is calling me to do about that Word, and
ask how this Word might impact your life, as well.
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Two Sundays ago, it was great to be back in church! The prior couple of weeks, I stayed home from Mass, first because I was sick, and the next week because the kids were sick. Oftentimes, my Word for the Week comes from the first reading or the psalm, but this one was from the Gospel.
The verse that stood out to me used to be my “go-to” scripture passage, in my teens. It’s one that inspired my first recorded album, and I used to share this message with youth groups and churches across West Michigan when I first began my music ministry:
“You are the light of the world... your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father." -Matthew 5:14,16
When I asked the Lord about this word, I didn’t hear anything specific. But several things happened to help me realize that the Lord was asking me to be still.
First, David and I turned down an exciting concert event, because it was three weeks before the end of my sabbatical.
Secondly, I told my friend Paul that I feel like I'm in a perpetual “Holy Saturday” moment right now. He told me about an episode of the Bible Project podcast that applied to what I shared.
Namely, there’s this story in the Bible where the Isrealites have successfully left Egypt, and they come to the edge of the Red Sea. But then Pharaoh changes his mind and chases after them with chariots and warriors. So we see the Chosen People, with the sea on one side and God’s presence as a “pillar of fire” between them and Pharaoh.
Moses tells the people, "The LORD will fight for you; you have only to keep still.” -Exodus 14:14
Paul shared, as he has heard on the podcast, how there was no way out. It’s not like there was a hidden path that a spy found to walk through. Rather, in a foreshadowing of the Resurrection, God made a way where there was no way.
These reflections stayed with me during the week. Then, on Friday night, I met with my women’s small group to discuss theology.
Every time we meet, we choose one word to sum up the message of our meeting. This time, the word was, “Be.” One of the discussion questions was, “Do you struggle with being versus doing?”
I found myself realizing that in this season, it’s not a struggle for me to simply be. And instead of writing the word on the white board like we normally do at the end of our meetings, I drew a picture of a bee, instead. Because it's fun!
In closing, I’ll share part of the song of victory that Miriam, Moses’ cousin, sang when God made a way out of this desperate situation for the Chosen People. He parted the Red Sea so they could walk through and then he closed the waters over their enemies.
"Sing to the LORD, for he is gloriously triumphant; horse and chariot he has cast into the sea." -Exodus 14:21
I’m not precisely sure what all of this has to do with being a light to the world. But I think the message that I can leave with you, is that sometimes in order to shine God’s light, we need only be.
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