First Week Redux

I just received the following in an email from Rev. Debra Jene Collum. She was one of three advisors of my small group for orientation week here at Luther. Her thoughts and questions may give a sense of what we talked about, debated, laughed at and so on...

Now that you have completed a week of seminary
Do you remember the day on the farm? The morning at the Coop?
Or has all the theology, bible, history and new words eclipsed it all?
Do you remember why you came to seminary? Do you remember your call?
Do you remember that this process of learning about God, humans, creation, redemption, grace
will have an impact on more than just your mind?

During First Week you all gave an amazing presentation that people are still talking about.
All centered on a lowly tomato.
You communicated very well that where that tomato had come from,
who grew it and why they grew it that particular way,
how it was delivered to market,
how it was marketed,
who choose to buy it,
and the transformation a tomato could have on a person’s understanding of their likes and dislikes
was profoundly important to the wellbeing of God’s creation.
And then you blessed the tomato reminding all that a tomato no matter where is came from
is all God’s doing in the end.

So it is with your life now, all of the details
what you are reading,
to whom you are listening,
what you are accepting as truth,
who you are counting on as allies and friends,
and the transformation of your life into a public servant of Jesus Christ
are profoundly important to the wellbeing of God’s church and creation.

But don’t ever forget in the whole process:
You are a child of God first and foremost,
and in the end, like the tomato it is and always will be God’s doing in the end.

Thanks Debra for refocusing me at the end of this busy second week!