What if… we discovered the Messiah is one of us?

Thank you to Ivy Chapel Member Rod Hertenstein, who recently shared his personal “What if” reflection with the congregation during worship.

The “why” of these “what if” moments is to imagine what is not, but could be. To dream, of spirit filled ways we could grow. This is hard. There’s a cost—making dreams real means commitment, follow through. Hard enough, but there’s something else we need now to name, something even more daunting, because most visionary dreams require of us the thing we most seek to avoid, even dread, and that, brothers and sisters, is CHANGE. Big dreams demand new attitudes, sometimes a radically altered perspective.

We resist this because we already have perspectives and attitudes. Many of us, and I am included, have been sharpening and grinding our personal perspectives, our personal attitudes on all things, for decades. We live in this private zone of comfort– DO NOT DISTURB.

The thing is, my “what if” this morning may disturb your perspective. When you first hear it, you may choose to dismiss it out of hand as “ridiculous, unbelievable.”

Well, here it is: “What if we were to discover that the Messiah is one of us.”

I know, it does sound impossible, but humor me a bit by hearing a story. This is told by Megan McKenna: “Once upon a time there was a wise abbot of a monastery who was the friend of an equally wise rabbi. This was in the old country, long ago, when times were always hard, but just then they were even worse. The abbot’s community was dwindling, and the faith life of his monks was fearful, weak and anxious. He went to his friend and wept. His friend, the Rabbi, comforted him, and said “there is something you need to know, my brother. We have long known in the Jewish community that the Messiah is one of you.” “

What,” exclaimed the abbot, “the Messiah is one of us? How can this be?”

The Rabbi insisted it was so. The abbot returned to his monastery wondering and praying, excited beyond words. He would walk down the halls, past a monk, wondering, is he the one. Sitting in chapel, praying, he would hear a voice and look intently at a face and wonder, is he the one. The abbot had always been kind, but now began to treat all of his brothers with profound kindness and awe, ever deeper respect, even reverence. Soon everyone noticed. One of the other brothers came to him and asked “ what had happened?”

The abbot told him what the rabbi had said. Soon the other monk was looking at his brothers differently, with deeper respect, kindness, awe, reverence. Word spread quickly: the Messiah is one of us. The monastery was suddenly full of life, worship, love and grace. The prayer life was rich, devoted, passionate. The services were alive and vibrant. Soon the surrounding villagers came to the services, listening and watching intently, and many joined the community of monks. After their novitiate, when they took their vows, they were told the mystery, the truth that their life was based upon, the source of their strength, the richness of their life together: The Messiah IS one of us.

The monastery grew and flourished in house after house, and the monks grew in wisdom and grace before each other and in the eyes of God.” So the story ends. Could it be our beginning? Jesus taught us that the kingdom of God is within us. We proclaim the Messiah is among us, and the church is the visible Body of Christ on earth.

What if it became our joy to discover glimmers, thru words and deeds, acts of love and sacrifices, glimpses of the Messiah in each other– visible today in one person, tomorrow in another, but always present among us. Call me a dreamer, but what if we turned away from the faults, fears and failings of each other, and focused, like a laser, only on the moments when glimmers of the Messiah emerge in one another. What if this became our passion?

What then might we become, might we do together as Ivy Chapel, the Body of Christ, where the Messiah IS one of us?

Leave your thoughts in the comments section.

News from Instituto El Rey

We received this letter from our friends, Earl and Sharon Washburn, from Instituto El Rey, a school in Honduras. Ivy Chapel is proud to offer support for Instituto El Rey. Several members of our organization are planning to visit the school this summer to support the good work they do.

Greetings to you from the beautiful Cangrejal River Valley of Honduras! We pray that you all are well and in good health, and that the peace of God that passes understanding fills you to overflowing!

During these days, we need the peace of God! It would seem that the world is full of negatives with all the turmoil going on around us in virtually every nation of the world and the uncertainty that that turmoil brings. The very foundations of nations are being shaken.

God brings to mind two scriptures. The first is found in Romans 8:28, “And we know that God works all things together for good to those who love God and to those who are called according to His purpose”.

The second is found in Proverbs 3:5-6 which is the scripture the Lord gave me at 1:00 am on New Year’s Day 2010, “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not unto your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths”.

So God promises , even during difficult times, that if we acknowledge Him in everything and walk in His purposes, He will work all things together for good!

Here at Instituto El Rey, God continues to move with purpose and power in the lives and hearts of the students and teachers! This year we have 169 students from 14 different villages scattered up and down the Cangrejal River Valley. One of our new 7th grade students begins walking over mountain paths at 4 am in order to reach the bus which arrives shortly after 6 am! By the way, two of our other students who have been getting up at 3:30 in the morning for almost 6 years now, will be graduating! For many of our students to attend IER is not without sacrifice!

What happens here is all about God!

We just completed the 1st quarter of classes, and there were 36 who achieved sobresaliente (A average); But just read this astounding statistic! — 147 out of 169 or 87% had perfect attendance, including 40 out of 44 7th graders!

Each year Sharon is required to hand-carry a list of our new students to the capital, Tegucigalpa. Last week she went to Tegucigalpa for that purpose and has an interesting story to share—

“When I travel to the big city I try to take advantage of the bookstores and visiting with our medical students (our IER graduates) when I finish with the government business. This year I found some exciting books for the school library and some good deals on school supplies. I spent time looking for some tables for the outdoor eating and classroom area. There are so many more products available there than we have in La Ceiba. My highlight was visiting with our medical students. They had told me of a classmate who graduated in 2007 who was in the hospital, but I had lost track of the situation. When I met with the kids they reminded me that Dalia was still in the hospital in grave condition. I said we need to go visit her. As 4 and 5th year medical students they have been doing their clinical rounds and have easy entry into the hospital. I had Melvin and Ana with me, then we met with Levi before going into Dalia’s room. To enter the hospital the kids sandwiched me in between their bodies showing their student medical ID’s–even though it was visiting hours I may have had difficulty entering. This particular public hospital is the last stop for people. They either come here to be cured or to die. I am not sure what I was prepared for or if I was prepared at all. When I passed through the gate the Biblical scene that came to my mind was the Pool at Bethesda-with many people crowded around waiting for the waters to move to be healed. Grey-skinned people in hospital beds and stretchers in the parking lot, on the entrance steps and in the lobby with their families. I just kept following the kids. We opted for the stairs, instead of the crowded elevator up to the 6th floor (even the stairs was crowded). Then to Dalia’s room. I could not recognize her, as she had been in bed for four months and had lost a lot of weight. I immediately made my way around the IV tubing and bent down to her ear. After telling her who I was and why I was there I looked at her face for any sign of emotion or recognition. I gave her the little roses we bought and took her hand. Then I looked up to see my kids–the medical students– and I lost it.–just as I am now. Melvin and Ana were talking to her, trying to encourage her and there was Levi in his lab coat looking at her charts. I was so proud of the IER kids doing their job, feeling her atrophied muscles and making their “diagnosis”. I felt for the medical students having to see one of their own age in such ill health and knowing that this was just the beginning of the career that they felt God had let them to. Meanwhile, I kept working with Dalia’s hand and soon felt her squeeze my thumb. Aha! a little beginning. As we continued to chat she began to squeeze my whole hand with more force. I was pleased when Ana told me that she looked improved and her mother said she had begun to eat a little solid food. We all knew that she needed to begin to use her muscles more than the little visit from the physical therapist. We encouraged her to do the leg exercises that she did with the therapist. I found a little stuffed lamb at the top of her bed and suggested that she could squeeze it and move her arm around whenever she could. To make it a little more fun, I suggested that she name the lamb. She decided to call it “Miss Sharon”. Well, with that I tried to keep my emotions together down the 6 floors and out the gate.

I had been to the medical hospital a few years ago (2007) to check on the transfering of classes from the university in La Ceiba to medical school in Tegucigalpa. On that visit I found a tree growing on a retaining wall. It was an older knarled tree and its roots had broken through the wall that was beside the sidewalk. I thought “ok kids, when you think life and studies are difficult just come and look at the tree for your inspiration”. So I found myself with wet eyes passing up the car to find the tree. I did not have to remind them of the tree. They had remembered. I believe Dalia is on the mend and that our visit encouraged her. Please pray for her, for her mental and physical strength and for her spiritual well-being!

Levi, Melvin and Ana are scholarshipped by some of you that will be reading this letter. Be encouraged and proud of your investment! They are IER graduates!!

Without your faithful support and prayers, IER would not exist and none of this would be possible! Thank you so very much!!

Have a most wonderful Easter as you celebrate our risen Lord and Savior, Jesus.

God bless you. We love you all.

Earl and Sharon Washburn

Administrators, IER

washburnier@yahoo.com

www.ierschool.org

Mark your Calendar – May 7 Rummage Sale

Spread the news: From 8 a.m. to noon on May 7, Ivy Chapel will host a rummage sale. Housewares, toys, electronics… you’ll find all kinds of treasures at incredible bargains. Proceeds will benefit Ivy’s youth programs.

Want to help out? Have something to donate? Collection begins May 1 and goes throughout the week. Drop us a line if you need more details.