The Daily Grace
The Daily Grace

Your Attention, Please

Jun 24, 2018 | travel & adventure | 8 comments

 

 

God had my attention.

It was as if part of the message, itself, was Look here. I’d like to make this perfectly clear, and so He had it delivered by a handsome young preacher, a Princeton scholar who spoke with ease and an earnestness that was as disarming as it was charming. All 1100 of us in that Presbyterian Musician’s Conference congregation leaned forward as his Puerto Rican heritage story crescendoed.

I waited, and watched.

Diversity is not a problem we need to solve, he said.

BOOM there it was.

And this, which will be with me for my lifetime.

God’s truth is we are burdened with each other’s stories.

We prayed the Lord’s Prayer in seven different languages simultaneously, as a congregation, as a people connected, in love.

When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken.

Amen, I thought.

Amen, he said.

Amen, Amen, Amen, we sang.

 

XXOO

*Dr. Eric Barreto, Weyerhaeuser Associate Professor of New Testament at Princeton Theological Seminary

8 Comments

  1. Pat

    And the sunrise said it all!! How thrilling can that be!

    • Cathy

      Yes! Thanks for reading and commenting, Pat!

  2. Brad Majors

    I just love your comments on life.

    • Cathy

      Thank you. Time at Montreat is a wonderful, soul-filling gift.

  3. Wendy Reid

    Wonderful!

    • Cathy

      Hi, Wendy! 🙂

  4. Bill McElroy

    I hope you met our director of music, Lana Pollard. Sounds like a great time.

    Bill McElroy

    • Cathy

      I didn’t, unfortunately. But I will look out for her if I get to go again next year!

Cathy Rigg Headshot

Hi. I’m Cathy.

This is a blog about writing, creative living, and grace in the everyday. It’s my hope this little spot on the internet will be for you a place of quiet and reflection, a source for inspiration, and a reminder there’s beauty all around—we simply need to keep our hearts open to see it. Thank you for being here with me.

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