Hello St. John’s Family,
Within the Leight household, September is a month full of special days. Early September marks our wedding anniversary and mid-September marks the birthdays of two very special people in my life. (I will not divulge names or ages, as I highly value my life). This September, though, also brings the highly anticipated (at least by me) return of Slow Horses, a guilty-pleasure TV series that has me hooked.
Overall, we aren’t a family who watches a lot of TV. My wife is very excited that Law and Order SVU is back, as she has a standing Thursday night appointment with Captain Olivia Benson. Recent months also featured frequent viewing of The Summer I Turned Pretty – which I acknowledge I was drawn into – yet that didn’t really connect. Number one, I never turned pretty, hence I struggle to relate; and number two, the characters are absolutely infuriating. But I digress… other than the Philly sports teams, we do not view a whole lot of TV. Slow Horses though, is my exception.
For those unfamiliar, Slow Horses is based on the Slough House British spy novels by Mick Herron that chronicle a group of misfit and cast-off agents in MI5, the security branch of the British Military Intelligence agency. The “Slow Horses” are agents that have been “banished” to Slough House because they have messed up in a major way and are viewed as incompetent and unreliable. Every Slow Horse agent has a significant flaw (some have multiple flaws!), and many are crude, foul-mouthed, hold little regard for agency procedures… are the antithesis of a “good” agent. Yet these misfits frequently do very good work while displaying an almost endearing quality – at least when their flaw doesn’t get in the way. The funny thing is that all the “good” agents at The Park (Headquarters of MI5) have their own flaws. Flaws that are just as bad – if not worse than – the “Slow Horses.”
Seeing this drama of “good” agents superimposed over “bad” agents play out – how someone labeled as “bad” and who clearly has flaws, yet often reveals a much purer heart than another who is viewed as “good” simply because their flaws are overlooked – often makes me think of how Christ Jesus sees us when He looks at our world. It seems to me that when he was here, Christ focused intently on seeing everyone exactly as they are: a good and beloved child of God, who has areas of life that are beyond their ability to fix. Christ extended love and grace to all people, especially those who were typically viewed as beyond help. Christ had an uncanny knack for seeing the goodness in those otherwise seen as broken, no matter how significant the flaw.
I can’t help but think our community, country, and world would be a much better place if we focused on viewing others with the same intent and focus as Jesus did. At a time of deep fracture and division, seeing how all people are created good in God’s image; are flawed by sin; and are redeemable by Christ’s love and grace opens the door to empathy and connection across divides. We’ll never all agree – at least not on this side of eternity – yet seeking to see others as Christ does will help us heal. Deep thoughts from a dark and trashy spy thriller…
This Sunday we’ll gather to worship and praise Christ our Lord. We’ll conclude our series on hope by acknowledging there are moments when our hope will falter. God, though, has an uncanny knack of revealing someone who will walk with us and weather the storm. In fact, heartbreaking and seemingly hopeless moments offer opportunities for the people of God to act, extending God’s hope when needed most. Check out Ruth 1:7-18 and Romans 8:31-35, 37-39 and then join me in worship on Sunday!
Grace and Peace,
Pastor Brad
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