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Monday, June 18th

 
Life is a motion picture not a snapshot. Why do we forget that so easily?

I'm having a fight with a man with whom I disagree. Every moment, I must remind myself that I am seeing a snapshot of someone who is afraid. His fear isn't bringing out the best in him (nor me, I suspect), but I would be very mistaken to believe that this is all he is. I have not seen all the footage of who he has been, and even he has not seen the reels that will record who he will be. For either of us to make a firm judgment based on this moment would be arrogant for me and premature for him.

As a church consultant, I often walk into an empty building and try to get a feel for the congregation that lives there. I note the symbols that are important and those that are not. I look at the carpet and how it is worn. Is it old, or is it well used? I try to figure out if they worship that giant organ in the center or if a beloved organist simply persuaded them at one time that this is what church was and always would be?

In the end, I remind myself that I am seeing only a snapshot. Even if my observations and assessment are absolutely accurate, it is only what is true at this very moment. I cannot evaluate the dozens, perhaps hundreds, of baptisms, weddings, and funerals that have filled the space over the years. While I am usually there to help a church have a future, it is impossible to know if they will make the changes that are needed or if their work is done. We see the present, and even that is seen through the lens of our own experiences.

Today is a snapshot of your life. If it was the only image someone had of you what would they think? Would they think you are the angry man yelling at other drivers? Would they think you are an unkind mother snapping at her children who just might store this as one of their memories of childhood? Would they think we are so self-absorbed that we feel we can spend our days on things that make us happy as if the world were created to serve our needs?
Snapshots can be dangerous, but they also might help us see the movie we are making and what it is that will flash before our eyes when we come to our end and some celestial voice says, “This is your life.”

Blessings,

Michael Piazza
President, Hope for Peace & Justice

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