Most of you know by now, having come to the SF Bay Area from Palm Springs I bemoan the amount of wetness that falls from the sky. We talk a lot about the weather here, like how little rain we've had and the severe drought conditions we're facing. But in four days it has just rained and rained and rained and rained... and they say it will rain again tomorrow.
I'm an outdoor kinda guy. So rain for me, is no fun. Yesterday, I drove over to Santa Cruz to witness the conclusion of Stage 2 of the largest cycling event in our country; the Tour de California. For three days now these guys have had to ride over a hundred miles a day in bone-chilling, core-soaking rain! For once I'm glad I'm not a professional cyclist!
I recall being asked once why I talked about the weather a lot when welcoming people to the church during the worship service. "Welcome everyone. Great to see you today. Hey, how 'bout that tornado we just had." It was as though he was saying to me, "Don't you have anything more important to talk about?" Well I think the weather IS important to talk about. Here are my reasons.
When you come to church, you and or your family come from different places, sharing different emotions, coming from different experiences. So, starting right into the main thought of the day can be a far leap from where you've been to where you need to go. Therefore, it's best to give people a bridge that is wide enough everyone can cross... How you do that can be varied but I like to get everyone on the same page as soon as possible and this is where the weather comes in. No matter from where you come or what you're experiencing; we all come in from and experiencing the same weather! It is the natural common denominator. Just for a moment, if you can get everyone to agree about one thing there's a better chance you'll get them to agree on other things, like needing God's grace or caring for each other...
So, though you may like the rain and I don't, at least we agree; it's raining! And in a world where we are more defined by our differences perhaps we can begin to find agreement and start movement toward at least one thing... And like Curly in City Slickers says, "We all got to find that one thing."
