The Bigger Picture - The Rev. Joyce Keeshin

Sermons from the Episcopal Church of the Redeemer

I don't know about you all, but I feel like I've had more than the usual number of encounters with geese this spring. Maybe you've had that experience too. Frequently as they're crossing a road... And if I don't see them immediately when I'm behind other cars, I will find that I'm experiencing considerable frustration.'Why are these people not moving?' I tend to cut my timing short and, 'why is this car stopped?' And then feeling very sheepish to realize that this car has stopped to allow some geese to waddle past. And frustration turns to appreciation at the other driver's respect for these geese and for tending to God's creation, including the waddling ones. It is the same phenomenon though, that anytime we are so tunnel-focused, we miss the larger picture. It's very easy to miss the larger picture and when something calls us to that larger picture, it is really a gift to change our perception and our engagement with the world.