24/7 Streaming
And all this time…the river flowed…endlessly to the sea…
One of my favorite songs from the 1990’s is Sting’s “All This Time.” A catchy tune, it’s a classic example of Sting’s love of pairing sad words with upbeat tunes, and vice versa. He wrote All This Time following the death of his father. So the music soars – but the lyrics are about grief, mortality and time. All this time…the river flowed is Sting recognizing how life moves forward, even after a profound loss. He finds comfort in the steady flow of time.
This imagery carries some truth for us in the church. Our congregation – any community of faith – is not a static assembly, but a moving river – a sacred gathering of grace where generations have waded in for a season, bringing their unique gifts, before the current of life carries them on. People move into our community and move out; we celebrate new births and deep losses. Buildings change, our staff changes – even the ways we gather has evolved. Navigating these transitions can be challenging; but this is what living bodies do. We move with the currents of the Spirit. The river flows…
ELCA Pastor Nadia Bolz-Weber once said that in worship we “step into the stream of the faithful that was flowing long before you got there, and will flow long after you leave.” Who are the faithful that make up your river? Our river? The sinners and saints who sat where we sit – who sang and prayed and looked to God for their strength and their hope? Who encouraged us by their witness? Who reminded us that the Spirit has and will always be flowing? Who has only recently arrived? Who is still to come? What a gift it is to wade into these waters.
Amid all the changes, in our congregation and our lives, may we find comfort in God’s long faithfulness (Psalm 119:90) and the river that flows on. May this same Spirit who has always been (and will always be) continue to hold us and guide us downstream.
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