Brett's Discernment

I moved to Philly August 15 and started orientation and prolog here at LTSP shortly thereafter. We have prolog which is basically like a two-week long into to seminary and theology. Actual classes start Sept. 2. For prolog, we had to write a reflection after the first couple days to share in our small group - mine is below:

For me prolog is not about the process, the academic, the newness of things around me. Like our salvation, from the Lutheran perspective, I feel this beginning is one of those “already and not yet” kind of situations – we are here but we perhaps do not feel like it is the full experience yet. I trust in God and know that in just a couple short weeks or even days this will be our “home” as a community together, and that is something that God does, not something that I control. So, worry is not the dominant emotion here. After all, Jesus talks a lot about not worrying. Despite all of the change that has broken into so many parts of our lives – our schedules, our geographical space, our focus, our friends, Christ is still at the center.

In these first couple days of prolog what has struck me strongest is the amazing diversity that God has pulled together in this one place. Not only that we are here, but how the Spirit has acted in our lives in such different ways to call, enlighten, and empower us to serve in such different ways. What keeps coming back to me are the verses from Romans (and echoed throughout the gospels) 12:4-8 “For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members of one another. We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; the exhorter, in exhortation; the giveer, in generosity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness.” After listening to the faith stories of those around me the last couple days, those verses kept coming to mind. We are the body of Christ, shaped by the Spirit, and our gifts are so different. I feel very affirmed so far that LTSP is not going to try to fit us into one mold or another but that recognizes that we are different, with different and diverse gifts for ministry. That is one of the things that drew me to this place, so I am trying to soak up as much as I can from the variety of perspectives and faith stories that are shared.

I find that in my life the times that my faith has grown most dramatically are those times when I am humbled in one way or another. Here I am humbled now by the stories of faith I hear around me, the life experiences, the dramatic differences Christ has made and continues to make in our lives. I do know that I am young and I as we all have a long and curving road ahead of me, in seminary and in pursuing my call in the larger sense. Right now I feel that I cannot possibly take in everything that is around me with the new start here in seminary, but I don't have to. So I don't worry, this is God's work in all of us. Like Jesus says in Matthew & Luke - “So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. . . Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is the father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom!”