Jesus was a channel of peace for the disciples. He modeled it, preached it, taught it, and lived it, and the words we have through the holy scriptures provide us with his words to follow today. After teaching and healing the great crowd that had come to hear and be healed, Jesus told his disciples,
“Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.
“Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled.
“Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.
Luke 6:20-21
Words that were probably not what the disciples expected to hear, as they were opposite what the world taught then, and certainly are inconsistent with the world’s expectations today. Yet this will not be the first time Jesus says some pretty radical things, as the story will unfold in the gospel lessons to come. Unexpected words of Jesus would continue to confront the expectations of the world, and through his words, the kingdom of God would break in.
This was a moment that was not supposed to happen to someone who has three Olympic medals, six world championship gold medals and 73 career race wins. This was one of those interruptions that take your breath away, and as many watched Olympic Alpine Skier Mikaela Shiffrin sitting there on the side of the course, we may have been taking deep breaths of our own with her. She looked so alone, broken, and defeated, from the pedestal so many of us – including me – had placed her on.
When I watched her sitting there with her hands forming a shelf across the top of her knees, so that she could place her head down, away from the cruelty of the course that disrupted her day, I saw the child on the playground who was left out and pushed out. When I watched Mikaela, I saw the man who had fulfilled his prison sentence and was not able to find a job because he could not escape the reality of checking that box – felon – on the job application. When I saw Mikaela, I saw myself, when I felt alone, broken, and defeated.
The above photo captured a peaceful moment for me as I drove back from Belhaven, after experiencing worship and fellowship with the good people of Trinity UMC. I was fascinated by how this canal stretched for as far as I could see, crossing acres upon acres of farmland between Wenona and Pantego. In my search to learn more about the area, I found a story about Rachel Stotesbury, and her reminiscing about the past and what it was like to live in this region of our beautiful district. Reflecting upon the Great Depression, here’s an excerpt:
“So many of the young people now take the attitude: I don’t need you. They think that they can make it on their own. But we all need somebody. I know before all this happened to me, seemed like, long into winter, you get that depressed feeling. You get to feeling like nobody cares.” [1]
Preach it, Rachel. Preach it.
When Mikaela Shiffrin sat alone alongside that ski slope last week, it hurt. When conflict interrupts our relationship with another, it hurts. When the immediacy of all the attention one receives after the death of a loved one fades away, it hurts. We can all empathize with Rachel’s words, when she says, “You get to feeling like nobody cares.” Yet Rachel quickly pivots in her next breath when she reminds us:
“But when Patsy up the road found out I was hurting, it wasn’t nothing before the whole neighborhood was calling. And my neighbor Harvey, he’s just as rough and tough, but he’s got a heart as big as outdoors. And I thought to myself, God forgive me for being so sorry for myself when everybody was just so good to me.” [1]
Amen, Rachel. Patsy and Harvey were channels of peace for Rachel. Where is the Holy Spirit nudging you to be a Patsy or Harvey? Where are we praying the words over someone who needs the assurance of the hope we have in Jesus, as we seek to be a channel of peace?
Make me a channel of your peace
Where there’s despair in life, let me bring hope
Where there is darkness, only light
And where there’s sadness, ever joy. [2]
Blessings, 
David
1. https://www.ncpedia.org/listening-to-history/stotesbury
2. No. 2171, The Faith We Sing.
If you would like to view past editions of Driving with David, follow this link:
https://beacondistrictnc.org/category/from-the-ds/