Dear members and friends of Grace Baptist,

In the history of Alcoholics Anonymous, Bill W., and Dr. Bob are visiting a man named Bill D., a prominent attorney, a former city councilman, and a church vestryman.  Like most alcoholics, Bill D was better at talking than listening.  He droned about his drinking, his despair, and the utter ruin of his life.  Bill W. finally interrupted and explained that he and Dr. Bob had to give their “program” to someone else if they wanted to stay sober themselves.  They had to know if Bill D. was sure he wanted it.  In response, Bill D declared, “Yes, he wanted the program.”  However, when the two started talking to Bill D. about a “spiritual program” and a “High Power,” Bill D. shook his head.  “No, no,” he said emphatically.  “It’s too late for me.  I still believe in God, but I know mighty well that He doesn’t believe in me anymore.”  A few days later, when Dr. Bob asked Bill D. if he had abandoned his God, Bill D. responded with a great deal of quiet pain, “Gee, no, Doc, I don’t think so…but I sure feel that my God has abandoned me.”

That cry of abandonment describes what so many people experience in life.  They experience God as hiding from them.  They are like the Patriarch Jacob in our scripture for this Sunday’s worship service from Genesis 28:10-17.  In that passage, Jacob is on a journey.  He arrives at a nondescript place.  Nothing is expected.  But then in the middle of the night, the place and the person of Jacob is transformed by the coming of God, by God’s presence.

We often speak of the idea of “finding God.”  But what if it’s not so much a matter of “finding God” but being “found” by God?  How do we let ourselves be found by God, who we often perceive is “hidden?”

We’ll ponder this question as we listen to the Good News message in Genesis 28 this Sunday, which is also a communion Sunday.

See you then!

Pastor David