Some believe it is only GREAT POWER that can hold evil in check. But that is not what I have found. I have found that it is the small every day deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay, small acts of kindness and love. ~ Gandalf
The world is a mess, and you are the answer, but you are not the answer alone. English translations obscure this truth: the “you” of the Bible is plural.
God knows, one person, pious and gentle, will not make the world gasp in wonder. But together we become a blazing light, where every glimmer matters.
“Christ has no body now, but yours.
No hands, no feet on earth, but yours.
Yours are the eyes through which
Christ looks compassion into the world.
Yours are the feet
with which Christ walks to do good.
Yours are the hands
with which Christ blesses the world,” Teresa of Avila claimed.
But “yours” means “ours” in a way many of us find uncomfortable.
You implies a new identity
I am an American, white female, introvert, scholar, wife, parent, grandparent. I have political preferences and inherited biases, but in Christ, I die to them all. My new identity trumps every other, and at the same time redeems each one.
God knows, our nation needs more citizens who are Christ-followers first, who bow to no party but his. God knows, we need more open-armed mothers, able to hug all children close. God knows, this broken world will be mended when his church abandons its rights, and takes up the cross–the self-forgetting, other-embracing, joy-filled way of Christ.
Not only on our own, but together.
Matthew 5:13-15; Philippians 2:15; Colossians 3:1-4; 1 Peter 2:9
Where have you been Christ’s hands and feet, together?
In our series, An Alphabet Adagio, we are savoring the story of the Bible, our story, alphabetically. Next week: Z Is For Zoe: Live The End Of The Story.
Photograph by Melanie Hunt
4 replies on “Y Is For: You Is A Plural Word”
I’m sad and excited that we’re on “Y”. Sad because it means this wonderful series is coming to an end, excited to see how you write “Z”! Thank you, Janet for your beautiful and challenging words.
Thank you, Sharol. Even moving more slowly than intended, we eventually get there! Just like life, Zoe–see you at Z!
The grace of God has me in community (That truly is a miracle!). I’m part of the collective “y’all”. And .. When I’m alone, I’m not really alone .. The Lord is with me!
When I have “been the hands and feet of Christ, together”, is while serving “on mission”.
“On mission” may be traveling to another country – to provide food and Christmas gifts for the poorest of the poor, or venturing to help a recently widowed neighbor in need. None of these things can I do on my own, or in my own strength. It is purely by grace.
I love that God has work for us to do that we can’t do on our own, in our own strength!
We are part of the “y’all”, on mission – with Christ in us to be the hope of glory, all-y’all!
Amen to that, Ginny! Thank you.