Jeanette Renouf

“Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?” Job 38:4

Dear friends,

I had expected to be traveling on a pilgrimage to western Ireland this week. To visit friends in England and family in Jersey, the Channel Islands. One of my grandsons graduated from high school in June, in Connecticut. I had expected to be at his graduation. Each summer I teach at a retreat center in Massachusetts but this summer I was in Tucson, teaching by Zoom on my computer. My grandson had looked forward to his senior year in high school, to competing in cross-country races, to senior prom and to graduation. None of that happened. Next week he hopefully begins his freshman year at Tufts University. None of this has been as we expected. As I listen to others it seems to be a familiar story.

Like Job in today’s lesson, we had thought that in some ways we were in charge of our lives and our future. Like many others we have been reminded that a power greater than ours is, and always has been, in charge. In case we didn’t get the lesson from the pandemic there have also been forest fires, hurricanes, tropical storms, and civil unrest to remind us that we are not in control of our future.

The film, “Tree of Life” started with the quote from today’s lesson in Job. It is used to set the context of the film and remind us that we are not in charge of the world and what happens. God created a world that provides for all our needs. Our part of the covenant is to care for that wonderful gift, including one another.

Today’s psalm (55) is one of lament and the other lessons speak of times of civil unrest, of disbelief, of questioning what is true. All of which speak to us and the times in which we live. Walter Brueggemann in his book Virus As A Summons to Faith reminds us that we reap what we sow in a world governed by a creator...in a world that is not tamed by our best knowledge. He notes that we humans have been on a spree of self-indulgence and exploitation of creation with little regard for our neighbor. He continues, that restoration is not a return to oppression but the promise, covenant ...a new historical possibility. Birth is usually a painful process and if we are birthing something new, pain may well be part of the journey. However, we know we are not traveling alone. We travel with one another and with Christ as we look toward the light of God’s love for us and for creation.

Jeanette Renouf, SCHC