An Inkling
Last fall, in preparation for the grand finale worship
service of St. Giles’ 75th anniversary, I wanted to find out how
they ordered worship in 1937, when our church began, and to shape our service
that way. So I went to the seminary
library in search of examples.
When I inquired at the desk, their eyes grew wide, and
they sent me to the Reference Librarian, Paula Skreslet, saying, “she’ll
know.” And sure enough, she did! She led me back into the voluminous archives,
went to just the right section, and in a moment had an order of worship from
St. Giles’ first year – just what I needed.
Any of the librarians could have shown me how to find
something via a computer search of catalogued books, articles, etc. But Paula was the one who knew where to find an uncatalogued needle in a whole row of haystacks! What a gift – to be able to find the right knowledge
at the right moment from a vast archive!
This was a woman who had lingered long in that treasure store of
resources, and who, thus, knew her way around.
I was reminded of that this week when I was praying
through Jesus’ Kingdom parables, and came to this one: “He said, ‘Then you see how every student well-trained in God’s
kingdom is like the owner of a general store who can put his hands on anything
you need, old or new, exactly when you need it.’” (Mt. 13:52 in The Message.)
In a world where the haystacks
of information are growing exponentially, one of the joys of Kingdom living is
that it comes with the promise of timely wisdom from the vast treasures of
God’s truth. The Spirit himself
gradually shows us how to find our way around the central store of that truth,
the scripture. And like with Paula, as
we linger in its midst and learn to love it, the Spirit forms in us a knack for
finding the right word at the right time, making God’s ancient truth newly
relevant in our lives. Even Google can’t
do that!
Thanks Paula!
Keith
