Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart…
Acts 2:37
Our lectionary passages for this weekend include this passage from the book of Acts about the early church. In this case, Peter and the eleven are testifying to the people of Israel that Jesus was the Messiah for whom they had been waiting. And it says that the words cut them to their heart.
Have you ever experienced this sensation?
It means knowing in the depths of your soul that something is true. There is no doubt. There might be some trepidation. But you know that everything has changed. And part of you knows that your world has just been set ablaze.
When this happened to you, did you let that sensation wash over you? Or did you quickly snuff it out?
The truth is that all of us who follow God, who follow Jesus, should have an experience like this at least once in our lives.
If you’re anything like me, it has happened repeatedly. Sometimes because I had lost my way. Other times to draw me further into a new direction God was taking me. Always, though, there was a sense of God’s work being alive in my life.
Frederick Buechner once wrote that “your vocation is where your greatest joy meets the world’s greatest need.” While he was speaking of our big vocation, this is also true of things that become our vocation for a time. The things that, though short-lived, can have an incredible impact on our future.
Now is the time for us to find our vocations. To look unabashedly at the world for all the places that there are needs not being met. To see what cuts us to our heart and sets our soul on fire. Then, to go out and do something about it.
That is my hope for you as we continue down this long road ahead.
Blessings, Pastor Janie
First Welcoming All 