Susan LaffertyIt hit me in a different way that day.
The gathering of family and friends to commission this latest group of sent ones. Newly trained. Now on their way. To places all over the globe.
It hit me when I saw the expressions. On parents’ faces.
Pride. Joy. Grief. And for some—uncertainty. Perhaps, even anger.
The time had come. For releasing their kids and grandkids. To travel across oceans and borders. Into a new and different life of serving in another culture.
Forgiven little? Loving little.
Simon invites Jesus to a meal in his home. Holding Him at arm’s length. Studying the Master.
And in the midst of critical scrutiny, he foregoes the most basic act of hospitality.
Washing the feet of his guest.
Fragments of divided hearts scatter. In the winds of social media.
Bits and pieces of pride. Rebellion. Hate. Anger.
And the very avenues that can draw people together, turn and twist. Break trust. Splinter relationships.
Slander and gossip crowd in.
Calculated deception.
Articulated for the very purpose of division and destruction.
