The Granduer Of The Obvious

I went to the Metropolitan Washington DC Together in Mission event on Saturday.  The speaker was Brian McLaren.  I’d read a couple of his books, and sort of knew what to expect.  Solid thinking presented in an accessible way.  A trademark generosity of ideas and spirit that marks his work. 

I don’t want to go into detail now, other than to say I thoroughly enjoyed the day.  McLaren lived up to his reputation.  What I’ve been reflecting on most from hearing him speak is the way the truth hides in plain sight. 

Listening to McLaren was a little like watching the sun come up.  Something that happens every morning, without exception.  A perfectly ordinary event.  So ordinary, most of us don’t bother getting out of bed to see it. We’d much rather sleep.

McLaren had a way of peeling back the ordinariness to reveal the grandeur of the obvious. 

This is, it seems to me, the job of both the pastor and the poet.  To just see what is there to see.  To point out the eternity tucked away in the ordinary comings and goings, the risings and the settings that define the borders of our lives.   God is in these mundane places and events.