May 19

We celebrated Mother’s Day recently, and one of the ways we honored our mothers was by passing out pink carnations.

                I noticed something about the carnations as they were sitting in the buckets waiting to be passed out. Most of the flowers were standing more or less upright in the buckets, but there were also a few that were bent over, as if they were bowed down with the weight of the world.

                I’m not really sure why, but something compelled me to reach out to those carnations and prop them up against their mates so that they were no longer bent (or at least, bent as much). Once I did that, they looked just like the others. The only difference was that they were propped up by their neighbors.

                As it is with carnations, so it should be with people. We, too, can reach out to others to prop them up and support them during whatever trials they may be facing. Sometimes, we’re the ones who need propping up.

                But that’s what living in a faith community is about. We have a grand support system at our disposal, if we choose to make use of it. We, as individuals, may think we can do things on our own, but after a while, everything becomes overwhelming, and we realize that we need people to prop us up. And when it works, it’s a thing of beauty.

                As it says in Ecclesiastes 4:9-10, “Two people are better than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble.” Verse 12b adds, “Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.” (NLT)

                As we move into Pentecost and beyond, may we always strive to remember that we are one faith community and that we can rely on each other to be our supports in times of need, and our friends in times of good, all under the direction of our Lord, Jesus.

Lord, we sometimes forget that we, as a church, are also a community. Grant us the opportunities to show support to those who are in need, and to accept help when we are the ones in need. In Your name we pray. Amen.