Dear Tab Family,
Today would have been my abuela’s 87th birthday. Elisa Gomez, my maternal grandmother and last living grandparent, passed away Monday morning after many years of living with dementia. I pray that she is with God playing, as Oscar (Pastor Katie and Heather’s son) would say.
Psalm 121:5 says that God is our keeper (shamar in Hebrew); God will keep or preserve or guard our life. Pastor Katie reminded us on Sunday that in life, God is with us; in death and in dying, God is with us; and in life beyond death, God is with us. God’s keeping has to do with our worthiness and our sacredness. Shamar is a word of blessing as well as promise: We are worthy of God’s love and God will keep us in life, in death and in life beyond death.
As the people of God, we are connected through the one body of Christ. In God’s love, which includes us all, we believe we are each other’s keeper. We believe our Christian liberty is rooted in our care for our neighbors — liberty that seeks the common good (I Cor 12:7). Our Christian liberty is rooted in radical love – the extent we are able to see one another as worthy of keeping. Sin entered the Bible when Cain killed his brother Abel – when one person acted as if another person was disposable. Pastor Katie said, “sin lurks at the door in all the moments when we refuse to see the life of another as worthy of keeping…How are we doing with seeing each other, even those who we struggle to love, as worthy of keeping?”
I loved my abuela, even when she rejected my queer identity and family. She loved the Lord with all her heart, spending many years of her life sharing the good news. In 2016, in a rare visit with my family, abuela apologized to me and my spouse for any harm she had caused me. In that moment my abuela was keeping me, preserving our relationship and our connection. I am grateful to God for that moment.
Others may not always validate our worthiness, because unfortunately we live in a culture and society that treats many of us and our siblings as disposable. We can rest assured that in life, in death and in life beyond death, God is with us and keeps us. And, we belong to a church community that lives into being keepers of one another, and keepers of the earth and all living things.
Warmly,
Sana DelCorazón
UTS Seminary Student & Member of Tabernacle United
To watch Pastor Katie’s full sermon from Sunday, please go here.
Reflection Questions
- How does it feel in your body to say out loud, “I am worthy of keeping?”
- What helps you see and treat others as worthy of keeping, especially those you struggle to love?
- What does it mean to not see each other as disposable or simply consumers? How does this inform your relationship with God and with the beloved community?
Please contact me with your reflection at lanenalinda@gmail.com. I want to hear from you!
By Jobe/Carnes
The Lord bless you
And keep you
May God’s face shine upon you
And be gracious to you
May God’s face turn toward you
And give you peace
Amen, amen, amen
Amen, amen, amen
May God’s presence go before you
And behind you, and beside you
All around you, and within you
God is with you, God is with you
In the morning, in the evening
In your coming, and your going
In your weeping, and rejoicing
God is for you, God is for you
Amen, amen, amen
Amen, amen, amen.