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| Welcome to our (in) courage community! |
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| Pat and Sarah |
Today's post is by Sarah Salinas
One Sunday earlier this Fall while I was sitting in church, the priest spoke about how he had noticed that his vision and even his hearing had declined over time. Often, he explained, we grow accustomed to these slight degradations of our senses and it goes frequently unnoticed- at least for some period of time- until something happens and we either A) realize that something has changed, or B) someone else or something else points this out to us.
How easy it is to start “living with” things that would otherwise be uncomfortable! We turn away from others’ expressions of love because we are afraid to let ourselves be receiving of their love, we hide our faces in shame from our friends and our families when we feel we have let them down, and most of all, we try to run away from God (He who sees everything) when we feel guilty for what we have done, or have failed to do.
It hit me the day after this happened, as I sat there in Mass, that I was not viewing others through Christ’s eyes. We are called to love and to serve each other, and to care for each other. As Christians, it is our duty to be servants for the Lord and for each other.
In the Bible we read stories of the church elders, and family heads who are by and through God’s wisdom able to show their entrusted flocks the way. These individuals were not just elders, they were mentors who led people towards God and used their experiences and faith to show others the way. That is why there is such emphasis placed on the genealogical dynasties of certain lines. Yes, the bloodlines were important, but within those bloodlines there was the tradition of intentional and prayerful mentoring, guidance, love and support within each respective community (sometimes for better or worse).
The definition of mentoring, according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, is a "guide or counselor (Merriam-Webster ,2012)." Given this much, the beauty of being called to community is that the mentoring we are capable to offer to others and enter into ourselves from other people has a higher purpose. This mentoring, friendship, guidance and counsel is indeed discipleship in its highest form, because the Holy Spirit is being invoked and invited into the relationship. And after all, where two or more are gathered, God is surely there.
Prayerfully, I ask now each day that the debris of the world never again separates me from my Eternal Father and that we be able to continue leading others to God, as we ourselves move with, through, and to God as well. He is after all, the best mentor any of us can ever hope for.
