“I can see everything from here.” That is the statement I made as I stood atop Mount Mitchell’s dramatic summit which stands at 6,684 and is the highest point east of the Mississippi. It’s one of those places that stand apart from the ordinary, and you can’t help but feel the Holy. We have all, or at least I hope you have in your lifetime, experienced a moment such as this. It may not have come with a view of creation, or the booming voice of God, but a moment where the mysterious power of the Holy pervades everything.
For the youth I have worked with throughout the years, these moments often come at church camp or on mission trips. Unlike a mountaintop, these youth experience the Holy in downtown soup kitchens, lake-lined vespers areas, or mowing grass and painting fences. It’s a chance for them to step out of the hustle and bustle of life and connect with something greater than themselves. Time and time again, I have seen youth move from self to selfless, and through it all, gain a deeper understanding of God and their call in the world. Often on the cusp of returning home, the youth express a desire to stay. They don’t want to return to the person they were before leaving on the trip.
That’s the thing about holy moments. They leave us shaken, vulnerable, and changed. We can’t go back to the way things were, and we can’t stay in that moment forever. Brenè Brown says, “Vulnerability is not winning or losing; it’s having the courage to show up and be seen when we have no control over the outcome. Vulnerability is not weakness; it’s our greatest measure of courage…People who wade into discomfort and vulnerability and tell the truth about their stories are the real” heroes and sheroes.
In this new year, may we be open to and changed by the Holy moment’s life offers on the mountains and city streets we journey. May we have the strength to lean into the challenges God places before us, knowing that, through our faith, we don’t go alone. God has not left God’s people without guidance, without help, without hope ever. From Moses to Elijah to Daniel to Jesus, to the Good News of Mark, and including many more people of faith, we continually are helped to see the way of God in the world, as well as the promise of God’s future for all of us.
May we live into that future for ourselves and our world.
Youth of Geist Christian Church 