Reading Plan: 30 Days in Exodus

So many people have talked about the Church being "in exodus" or "in exile" right now in this time when we are unable to worship in our church buildings. Perhaps it is a bit overwrought at this point, but it did give me an excuse to read the book of Exodus again. 

What can we learn from the first exodus? What can we learn from God's people as they moved out of slavery and into freedom? What can we learn about the troubles that arose from that freedom? What can we learn about God's action in our world? 

Here you'll find a slightly intermediate reading plan (some of the days feel long and Exodus isn't as exciting near the end) for getting you through Exodus during this time of exile. If you haven't read the prequel (haha, Genesis), I recommend reading it first and you can find a reading plan for the bulk of it here: 28 Days with the Women of Genesis.

Part One: God’s rescue 

Day 1 - Exodus 1 & 2 - The Israelites are oppressed 

Day 2 - Exodus 3 - Moses at the burning bush 

Day 3 - Exodus 4 - Moses returns to Egypt 

Day 4 - Exodus 5 

Day 5 - Exodus 6 & 7:1-13 - The plagues 

Day 6 - Exodus 7:14-25 & 8 - More plagues 

Day 7 - Exodus 9 & 10 - More plagues 

Day 8 - Exodus 11 & 12 - The final plague & the first passover 

Day 9 - Exodus 13 - The Festival of Unleavened Bread 

Day 10 - Exodus 14 - Crossing the Red Sea 

Day 11 - Exodus 15 - The Song of Moses 

Day 12 - Exodus 16 & 17 - God provides

Day 13 - Exodus 18 

Day 14 - Exodus 19 

Part Two: The Covenant 

Day 15 - Exodus 20 - The Ten Commandments 

Day 16 - Exodus 21 - The laws 

Day 17 - Exodus 22 - More laws 

Day 18 - Exodus 23 - More laws 

Day 19 - Exodus 24 & 25 - The covenant & instructions

Day 20 - Exodus 26 - Blueprints 

Day 21 - Exodus 27 - More blueprints 

Day 22 - Exodus 28 - Vestments for the priesthood 

Day 23 - Exodus 29 - The ordination of priests

Day 24 - Exodus 30 & 31 - More instructions 

Day 25 - Exodus 32 - The golden calf 

Day 26 - Exodus 33 - Leaving Sinai 

Day 27 - Exodus 34 - The covenant is renewed  

Day 28 - Exodus 35 - Sabbath regulations 

Day 29 - Exodus 36, 37 & 38 - Construction of the tabernacle & equipment 

Day 30 - Exodus 39 & 40 - Making vestments & installing the equipment 

Questions for reflection: 

As you read, how do you understand God’s saving actions? Do they change? 

How does God appear to the Israelites? Where does God appear? 

Reclaiming our Stories: Hagar

By Sarah Locke

Read more of Hagar's story: Genesis 16; 21:1-21

The story of Hagar that we read in Genesis consists of three main acts. It is a difficult story to read for some, as it involves multiple layers of abuse.  

Act I - Sarai gives her slave-girl Hagar to Abram in order for Sarai to “obtain children by her” (Genesis 16:2) and Hagar becomes pregnant. Sarai becomes jealous, is cruel to Hagar, and Hagar runs away (Genesis 16:6). 

Act II - An angel of the Lord appears to Hagar and speaks directly with her, making an annunciation and giving a name to her child. God tells Hagar to return to Abram and Sarai. Hagar names the Lord, returns to Abram, and gives birth to Ishmael (Genesis 16:7-16). 

Act III - Sarah gives birth to Isaac and, after some time, sends Hagar and Ishmael away. God saves Hagar and Ishmael in the wilderness. God is with the boy as he grows up and Hagar finds him a wife in Egypt (Genesis 21:1-21). 

The first thing that I recognize about Hagar’s story is that I should not be the one reflecting on it and giving my own perspective. I am, for all intents and purposes, Sarai in this story. I have a comfortable home, I have privilege and status inherent in my ethnicity (whiteness for me, Hebrew for Sarai), I hold promises from God that I do not always understand or believe. Who am I to shed light on Hagar’s story? When people who look like me have spent the majority of history using, oppressing, and discarding women in positions like Hagar’s? 

Perhaps all I can do is confront the harsh reality of this story and the ways in which it has been distorted throughout history. Perhaps I can allow space for Hagar to speak into her own story. 

This story is about two women pitted against one another, under the forces and pressures of a patriarchal society. But unlike we hear in this text, Hagar “foreigner” is not just some random slave woman. Many rabbinical commentators claim that Hagar is actually pharaoh's daughter, given to Sarai when she was part of the pharaoh's harem (Genesis 12:15). Some rabbis even say that Hagar’s true name is Keturah, and that when Sarah died Abraham sought her out, married her, and had six more children with her. 

It stands to reason that many rabbinical commentators regard Hagar with much more dignity than Paul, who uses Hagar as an example of being in bondage to the law, while Sarah is freed by grace (Galatians 4). Later Christians like Augustine, Aquinas, and Wycliffe continue to abuse an already abused woman, claiming that she is "unredeemed." Perhaps Christianity’s hatred toward Hagar has more to do with her part as the matriarch of the Islamic faith (the prophet Muhammed would come through Ishmael). 

Whatever the reason, Hagar has received very little sympathy and almost no voice in the Christian tradition. 

In fact, the only time that Hagar speaks in the entire Genesis narrative is when she is approached by a messenger of the Lord in the wilderness, stating that she is running away from her mistress and when she names God (Genesis 16:8, 13). Then God sends her back to her abusers. Read that again. God sends her back to her abusers. I imagine this is why Phyllis Trible includes this story in her book Texts of Terror-- not even God is on the side of the oppressed in this story.

This encounter with the divine is remarkable. Hagar is the first woman to receive an annunciation from God and “the only person in the Bible who named God... [and] the one doing the naming has a kind of power over the one who is named” (Rev. Dr. Lynn Japinga, Preaching the Women of the Old Testament). She is also the only woman to receive a divine promise of descendants. 

How is it that a woman with this much power in the wilderness, even power over God, is held captive and silenced in the bondage of Sarai and Abram? Perhaps this woman is more than a slave, perhaps she is the daughter of the Pharaoh, perhaps she is one who is seen by God and redeemed by the birth of her son. Perhaps we owe her the dignity of telling her story truthfully and fully every time we encounter it. 

Questions for reflection: 

Have you ever lost your voice or the ability to tell your own story? Has it ever been taken from you? 

What can we do to advocate for and amplify the voices of minorities and the historically oppressed? How can we tell stories more truthfully and fully?

Devote Ourselves to Prayer - Redeemer Episcopal Church

John 17:1-11 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

Jesus Prays for His Disciples

17 After Jesus had spoken these words, he looked up to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you,’ 2 since you have given him authority over all people, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. 3 And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. 4 I glorified you on earth by finishing the work that you gave me to do. 5 So now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had in your presence before the world existed.

6 “I have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. 7 Now they know that everything you have given me is from you; 8 for the words that you gave to me I have given to them, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. 9 I am asking on their behalf; I am not asking on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those whom you gave me, because they are yours. 10 All mine are yours, and yours are mine; and I have been glorified in them. 11 And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one.

_______

This sermon was preached and recorded for a certain context in a certain time (Redeemer Episcopal Church for the 7th Sunday in Easter), but we believe that God can and will speak outside of our own limitations. I hope that it can speak to you in whatever space you are in today. You can read the sermon below, listen to it at this link, and see the sermon preached at this link. 

Let us pray. God of in-between times, be with us now in our waiting. Comfort us in our prayer and call us to further devotion in this time, trusting in your promise of hope and peace. Amen. 

When I read all of the scripture for this morning— the first reading, the psalm, the epistle, and the gospel— I hear a common thread about difficult times, changing, and challenging times. 

In the Gospel text we just heard, Jesus prays for his disciples, his friends, for the last time before he is betrayed and handed over to the authorities. This are about to get really messy for everyone involved. They are about to lose their teacher to death on a cross. 

In Acts, we see another turbulent time for the disciples. They have once again found themselves without their teacher. 

Ascension Day was this past Thursday, when Jesus was taken up into heaven to be with God the Father for eternity. 

Up until that time, Jesus was with his disciples again after being resurrected from the dead. What an incredible time that must have been for them, to have the fullness of joy after seeing their friend and teacher be killed. 

But now he is going to leave them again. After only being with them a short time.

This week in our lectionary season, Jesus has ascended to heaven and Pentecost has not yet come.

We heard last week that Jesus told his disciples that once he was gone, he would send the Paraclete— the advocate, friend, comforter, the Holy Spirit— to be with the disciples. But that happens next week. 

It’s in this in-between time where we find ourselves this morning.

This week… we wait. So there are ten days in our liturgical calendar where we wait again, like Holy Saturday, to see what God will do next. 

It strikes me that what the disciples do during this time is they constantly devote themselves to prayer. All together, Acts tells us, the disciples gathered in a room apart from everyone else and devoted themselves to prayer. 

It is not some new age way of worshiping that Father Wiley has called us to when he encourages us to create a worship space in our own homes for prayer and devotion. It is not bizarre that Heather, our formation director, and Hannah, our youth director, have encouraged us to pray with our families during this time, providing opportunities for faith formation in the midst of our work and family life. 

They are following the examples of the disciples. They are following the example of the first Christian church, the one that waited desperately for a time when they could safely go back into the world and proclaim the wonder and good news of Christ Jesus. It sounds familiar…

I imagine it was a long few days for them— as they waited to see what God would do next, clinging to the promises that Jesus had, indeed, fulfilled in the resurrection. And now clinging again to his promise that he would send someone else, a comforter, an advocate, a friend, to continue to guide us and give us wisdom. 

And in this long, difficult time, what do they do? They stay with one another and they devote themselves to prayer. They’re not praying because they believe it can solve some kind of problem. They probably aren’t even praying that Jesus come back or things go back to normal. They devote themselves to prayer because they know that when God feels far away, we pray. When God feels far away, we talk to God and feel closer. We talk to God and we ARE closer. We listen for God and feel comforted. Prayer is not some holy problem solver. It is a practice of putting ourselves deliberately and intentionally in the presence of God. In a time right after the disciples literally watched Jesus be raised to heaven, when he left them once again, what else are they supposed to do? 

We, too, are in a similar liminal space. I remember in the beginning of this season, thinking that this would only be a short time away from everyone. A few weeks, perhaps— maybe it would even be a sort of welcomed vacation for me. I hunkered down and began making preparations for when we would come back together. I began busying myself with all sorts of things. 

I don’t like feeling out of control, so I began finding problems I could solve on my own. Things I could do or fix. I told myself I would complete all of our house projects in these few weeks. I began staying up too late, distracting myself with mask-making and reading news articles. I was constantly looking for ways to spend my time so these couple of weeks would go by faster. I was constantly finding problems that I could solve in an effort to keep my mind away from the helplessness I was feeling. 

And then the weeks drew on and I began to realize that this would be a marathon instead of a sprint. And I began to notice myself drifting away from scripture, drifting away from my usual habits of prayer and devotion, drifting away from the assurances of God and God’s promises for us. I was busying myself in an effort to distance myself from God, thinking I could solve this pandemic on my own.  

So it feels appropriate that we are in this time in our church year and hear these stories of the disciples while we wait anxiously for government officials to give us more information, while we wonder what comes next for our careers, the economy, our health, and our church. I have found myself unsettled and wondering what, exactly, am I supposed to do while I wait? 

Well, what else are we supposed to do but follow the example of the first church and devote ourselves to prayer? To keep alert and to notice what God is doing next, clinging to the promise of the resurrection and the coming of the Holy Spirit. So that soon, we might emerge once again into the world, renewed in the Spirit once again, to proclaim the good news of Christ Jesus with new joy and hope on our lips. Amen. 

Reclaiming our Stories: Sarai/Sarah

By Mandy Achterberg 

Read more of Sarah's story: Genesis 12; 16; 17:5, 15; 18:10-15; 20; 21:1-21; 23:1-21 

Sarai is introduced through her lineage and connection as a descendant of Shem through her marriage to Abram. The first thing we learn about her is that she is Abram’s wife and the second is that she is barren. Nothing is noted about where she came from or who she is, but unlike many other women in the Old Testament, she has a name. Through nearly ten chapters the story of Sarai, who becomes Sarah, unravels before us. 

At first, I was reluctant to take on the story of Sarah. When other theologians speak of her, one of two things happen. The first is that she is lifted up and revered as being a mother of the faith, one who heard God speak, and demonstrated faith as a partner to Abraham. The second is that she is fraught with scandal, who laughed at and lied to God, and that she became complicit in the abuse of another woman. Rarely are both discussed together. As I reflect on Sarah I want to hold all of her, even the parts we don’t want to look at, even when they are in tension with who we want Sarah to be for us. 

The first thing I noticed is that Sarah herself is not unfamiliar with the harm and violence that patriarchy causes women. She would have been owned by her father, who likely received payment for her hand in marriage. She is barren and seen as useless. This is perhaps why Abram seems to have no qualms “giving” her in marriage to Pharaoh to protect his own life. Of course, when Pharaoh learns of this trickery, he sends them both away. The slimy thing here is that Abram gets to keep his spoils of offering his wife to another man. 

After this we get the story of God making a covenant with Abram, and even though he is childless – which Abram makes quite a gripe about – God promises Abram that he will have as many descendants as there are stars in the sky. As he continues to be childless, I imagine that Sarai heard these complaints of his nearest heir being Elizer of Damascus. I imagine she felt the pressure to fulfill a role as a wife. I imagine she felt the pressure to help make God’s promise come to be. There is no way she can see herself as bearing a child, so she does what she thinks she needs to do to save the dreams of her husband and offers her Egyptian slave, Hagar. Ultimately doing so much harm, and usurping God’s plan in the process!

But all of this does not change God’s plan for Sarah to be included in the birthing of a great people. Sure, it complicates things, and the situation is complex! She is old and barren and has already worked it out so that Abraham will have an heir in Ishmael. Yet, God’s promises remained true and Sarah gave birth to Isaac. Sarah remains a faithful participant in God’s story with humanity.

I am reminded of many things in my reflection. First is that hurt people, hurt people. When we are hurt and hurting, we tend to be reactive and are unable to see how our actions may harm others. The second is, we are immensely capable of being both sinner and saint. Sarah’s complicity in the harm of Hagar does not negate her from the promise of God, but it also dramatically changed their relationship. I wonder if Sarah’s harsh treatment of Hagar tells us more about Sarah’s reaction to her own brokenness, putting the hoped for thing before the faithful thing. 

But I am left with a renewed compassion for Sarah, and a reminder to acknowledge the ways we have been harmed by other humans and to remember that God is a God who does not ask us to sacrifice relationships or life to fulfill the things that God promises. 

How have hurt and trauma impacted your life negatively? How has hurt and trauma revealed an inner resilience, or led you to make an impact in the world? Where do you find God’s promises revealed? What reminds you of God’s promises?

Reclaiming our Stories: Noah's Wife

By Rev. Victoria (PV) Hamilton - Retired ELCA Pastor

Read more of Noah’s Wife's story: Genesis 6:5-22, Chapters 7 & 8

This text is the story of Noah and his call and journey, in what is known as The Flood Story.

Noah is a righteous man and is seen by God as the right person to execute God’s plan. God is very unhappy with humankind at this stage in history and is thinking of destroying ALL of earth and anything living; humans, animal and vegetation too. But, Noah has God’s heartstrings and God’s plan includes Noah carrying out that plan. Building an ark, gathering his family, male and female animals (for reproduction) as well as vegetation. He and his family, his wife (6:18), sons and their wives would be the only humans on board. The waters came for 40 days (7:17-24) and remained 150 days (7:24). At the end of the flood, the earth was ‘clean’ with new vegetation, the animals on the ark and Noah with his family were then to inhabit the earth. 

As I read this account that was very familiar to me, my senses/spirit, became somewhat agitated because this was Noah’s story. If this was to be a reflection for and about women, this was such a weak account. In fact, I know I’ve read over and missed that Noah had a wife!!  

In this account Noah’s ‘wife’ is mentioned 5 different times. 5 times only! 6:18, she’ll get to go on the ark, 7:7,13 she’s on the ark, 8:16, she’s there when the waters subside and 7:18, she went off the ark with the others. 

How many times in your life have you felt overlooked? Do people know your name? How do you think you’re seen by others? Do You feel your worth? Are you considered ‘wife’ or ‘mom’ or  ‘neighbor’ or ‘so and so’s something or other or simply ‘friend,' just because of the company you keep? How are you able to be that multi-talented woman, that I know you are, putting your encouragement and presence in your family, job or community and feel whole? Do you feel whole? Are you just going through the motions of life or what others think you should do and be? What makes you stick around in your present circumstance? Do you feel respect for yourself, as solely ‘presence’?

This text, is prevalent even in today’s society, in one form or another. I may have sensitive eyes/heart, as an almost 69 year old woman who hasn’t always, and may still not, have been heard or seen. In my early years, I chose to be a “house executive," better known as housewife, to raise my children. (long story)  Today, I will tell you that was and is the best ‘job’ I’ve EVER had. Those that may seem silent or less than, have a zillion ways they are contributing to life and to society, just as Noah’s wife did. She was a valuable part of her household and God saw fit for her to accompany her husband on the journey God had called him too. She too, had been called! 

Never doubt who you are and why. Let’s make a practice to listen to God and ask for God's leading in the life God has call us too. We are not to journey through life alone. Remember: I am somebody, ‘cause God don’t make no junk! You, my sister, are beautiful and wonderfully made.

Side Note: Noah’s wife had a name. Her name was NAAMAH (which means "the beautiful") according to Jewish tradition. 

Reclaiming our Stories: Eve

by Sarah Locke

Read more of Eve's story: Genesis 1; 2; 3:1-23; 4:1-15 

"The man named his wife Eve, because she was the mother of all living. And the Lord God made garments of skins for the man and for his wife, and clothed them" (Genesis 3:20-21). 

There is a lot that can be said about the story of Eve. In fact, a lot has already been said about Eve, and generally speaking, it has not been favorable to her or the rest of her sex. But what seems to be the very end of Eve’s story is my favorite part. She would become “the mother of all the living,” so her name would literally mean “to give life.” 

Unlike Adam, who is made from the soil and would toil in the soil, Eve was made from the living and brings forth life into all the world. Her name, even without knowing all the details of the narrative, tells the story of a woman who will go forth into the world, providing for the world, abiding in God’s command to be fruitful and multiply, creating as God first created. 

Even before I became pregnant with our son, my husband and I talked endlessly about names. We looked up meanings of names, thought of people we admired, and went back and forth until we settled on something that felt right. Eventually we decided on Bennet Alexander. Bennet is the surname of my favorite literary family from Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. It also means “blessed.” Alexander is my brother’s middle name and means “defender,” making Bennet Alexander a “blessed defender,” something we hope he will grow into some day. 

Regardless of how we read these stories in Genesis— as history, as allegory, or as truth— this is strong encouragement to women throughout the world who are given the names of their ancestors. May it give courage to those who are named into a legacy, those whose names carry the weight of thousands of women before them, and those whose names hold deep and abiding meaning for the namers. Eve would give life to all living. Even us. Especially us. 

What is the story of your name? Does it have significant meaning? Does it hold a certain power or give you a certain power? If you could choose meaning for your name (and you can), what would you choose? Who would you be? How does your name give life to all living?

Good Shepherd Sunday - Redeemer Episcopal Church

John 10:1-10 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

Jesus the Good Shepherd

10 “Very truly, I tell you, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold by the gate but climbs in by another way is a thief and a bandit. 2 The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5 They will not follow a stranger, but they will run from him because they do not know the voice of strangers.” 6 Jesus used this figure of speech with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.

7 So again Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. 8 All who came before me are thieves and bandits; but the sheep did not listen to them. 9 I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.

_____________

This sermon was preached by me for a certain context in a certain time. But I believe it can speak to others and I hope that it speaks to you by the power of the Holy Spirit. You can read the sermon below, listen to it at this link, or you can watch the video of my sermon being preached from University of North Florida's campus at this link. 

Today is Good Shepherd Sunday.

It is the day that we celebrate the beautiful analogy of Jesus being a shepherd, and us being his sheep. The image of Jesus holding, tending, or protecting his sheep is probably one of the most popular depictions of Jesus. I’m sure you can think of one of these images right away. 

There is a lot that can be expanded on in this analogy of the Good Shepherd— we heard about gates and thieves, bandits, and pastures. In other texts we hear about goats and sheep being separated, in the 23rd psalm we hear about green pastures and still waters, comfort and a cup that runneth over. 

I am so thankful to be a part of this community that cares deeply for Jesus’ sheep.

And especially the most vulnerable of the sheep among us.

Including our college students, who we don’t always realize are some of the most vulnerable. Young adults, in general, are often forgotten in congregations because it seems they have little to offer— they’re usually not great at tithing, they are often too busy to volunteer their time, perhaps they travel too much to be consistent in attending. But I’m thankful for you and our community who values them so much that you would be a partner with us in campus ministry. 

In this text and in others, there is a lot that is said about the sheep knowing the voice of the shepherd and I think a lot of us do know the shepherd’s voice— those of us who have grown up in the church or grown into the church, we do know the shepherd’s voice and even if we wandered for a while, we would still be able to hear the shepherd’s voice. It’s familiar to us, comforting, and something we could never forget. When you’ve lived your life so fully enveloped in the shepherd’s voice, it is almost a part of who you are, it’s wrapped up in your identity. 

That’s how I grew up. We were an every-Sunday, every volunteer activity, confirmation is required type of family. The church was very much a part of the rhythm of our family’s routine. And I valued having that foundation when I went to college and began wandering a bit in my faith. 

But many of our college students didn’t grow up that way. They weren’t born into the pasture of church community and they only started hearing about the shepherd once they were older. 

Or perhaps they did grow up in the church and began to wander as time went on. Perhaps the shepherd’s voice is only a distant memory to them by the time they came to college. 

We have a lot of students graduating right now— graduating from high school and college. There are students all across the United States finishing up exams this week, those who are missing graduation, and those who will begin online internship programs soon. Our high school students are beginning to gear up for those exams, receive scholarship news and are beginning to think about where they will go in the fall. Everyone is in a time of transition right now. 

The time period between high school and starting a family is often referred to as the lost years or the unreachable years to the church. But it’s not, really. It’s a time when God is doing really incredible things in young peoples’ lives. It’s a time of big questions, lots of doubting, and sometimes pushing back against what they have been taught for many years. It’s a time for wandering and wondering. And that’s why campus ministry is so vital to this transition time. Young people who are involved in campus ministry are twice as likely to become involved in a congregation once they graduate. 

And our students might not remember the sound of Jesus’ voice calling to them. But we hear from this text that Jesus knows each of them by name. When they wander, God pursues them. As they move away from their familiar circles and begin to ask big questions and have big doubts, Jesus is right there beside them, continuing to call them back to him. 

It was right in the middle of this time of wandering and wonder in my own life when God called me, through campus ministry, to seminary and lit a deep passion for God’s people inside my soul and gave me a desire to serve. 

I mention all of this about our students being in transition, because what they are feeling right now is also what we are feeling. We are facing a lot of transition right now too. Perhaps this time is one in which we can relate most fully to our young adults. Because just like them, many of us are asking big hard questions right now, we are doubting the goodness and sometimes even the presence of God. We are wondering and wandering. But the still waters that God promises to us are present in our baptism. We have already been named and claimed as God’s children. We can take comfort in knowing that Jesus continues to tend to us, creating a refuge for us in green pastures. Our good shepherd will never tire of looking for us, no matter how far we wander off. Our shepherd continues with us to revive our souls and guide us along right pathways. 

It is, of course, vitally important that we know Jesus’ voice, that we know the call of our savior. But it is even more important to remember that God knows us. God created us and calls us beloved. God adores us. And wants us to stay near. And as our students wander, and even as we wander, God is pursuing us and gathering us back into community with one another. And when we arrive here again, we will be even more full of joy for the reunion. Amen.