God's Punctuation

Greetings from the UCC General Synod #GS27!

I arrived in Grand Rapids earlier today for the UCC General Synod. Grand Rapids has rolled out the red carpet for what is shaping up to be the largest convention to ever be held in this city. I get a thrill of seeing so many different people together in one place, bound together by our commitment to Christ. However, the highlight of the day for me was this evening's worship service that featured the choirs and the Rev. Otis Moss, III, from Trinity UCC in Chicago.

Any day I get to hear Rev. Moss preach is a good day! He is so skilled, and smart, and filled with the Spirit! Tonight Moss preached on Revelation 1:1-8 and talked about "God's punctuation;" he brought the Still Speaking comma into a whole new perspective. I won't share the whole sermon here, only one thought that emerged as Moss was just getting started that has stayed with me. Moss says that since God is the "Alpha and the Omega," and the "Beginning and the End," only God can really use a period. Too often, we are quick to put a period after things. We consider lives, or circumstances, projects or dreams to be "said and done." When we don't think that there is any use to keep exploring, working, or dreaming, we attempt to finish it off with a period. Moss put this into context most clearly for me when he spoke about children.

No child should ever enter this world with a period behind his or her name. No child should ever enter this world or live in a world where people have his or her future figured out before he or she does. Every child should enter this world and be nurtured in this world with a question mark behind his or name - a question mark that signifies that whoever he or she is to become is something that will unfold with the grace of God, hard work, and the nurture of those around them.

It reminds me of Paul who will sometimes sing for us in church a song about how each of us is "full of possibility." How might we more fully cultivate this sense of possibility, this life with a big question mark for each of us?