Signs and Showings

“Philip said to him, ‘Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.’ Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his works.’” From John 14:1-14

I was at the Mustang Island Conference Center earlier this week to attend a diocesan meeting. While I was there I got an unsettling email. The content is not really the point, but it left me disoriented and unsure how to proceed. Luckily, I was at the beach. The ocean and walking along the shore (I rarely get in) help me see things I might otherwise miss. As I was walking and trying to absorb the news of the email, my eyes were constantly drawn upward as a line of pelicans flew by. If you've seen them, you know they fly in a formation which can be a line, or other arrangement. They look like a group of barnstorming jets on their way to a mission.

Early Christians often looked to the pelican as a symbol of Christ. Legend has it that a mother pelican will feed her children with her own blood if required. If you look at the back of our own beautiful nave you will see a stained-glass window with this image. My beloved chapel at Green Bough has a painting over the door as well of one. So, as I processed some difficult news, I felt the immediate accompaniment of those pelicans. It reminded me that I was not on my own, but that Christ was on the way. As I kept seeing those multiple birds I imagined all the people in my life who are Christ to me. They show me Christ on a regular basis and that is why I know I will have the resources I need to meet any challenge that comes. It doesn't remove the challenge, but it does remove the sense of isolation.

In John's gospel we are hearing parts of Jesus' Farewell Discourse. We often hear the first part of this passage at funerals. It brings comfort to know that there are many dwelling places for those we love and for ourselves at the end of our earthly pilgrimage. But I love hearing this passage in Easter season as well. It reminds us that new life is all around us in the present. We do not need to just rely on God in the future. There are showings of Christ all around. That is what Jesus is trying to remind Philip of as he processes the news of Jesus' leave-taking. He wants a road map. He wants a concrete explanation to guide him. Instead, Jesus points him toward the abundance he already has at his disposal. We might have to slow down enough to see the signs. But when we do, we will be reminded that we are not alone. The barnstorming pelicans in your life are on the way. And they will not leave you alone.

Peace, Beth +