Sheila Sims Iding
Somewhere in Northern China, half way around the world it is a freezing cold Sunday morning. Somewhere in Jilin, China in a small apartment a handful of people gather for Sunday morning mass. A priest, two lay missionaries, an American teacher…Catholics. They gather for a small mass to share the Eucharist. It is intimate and quiet and faithfilled.
Somewhere in Northern United States of America, it is a wintery Saturday afternoon. Somewhere in Lansing, Michigan in a big church a family gathers for mass. A mom, dad, two sons and a “daughter”…Catholics. They gather with a church packed with people to share the Eucharist. It is crowded, hot and faithfilled.
Somewhere in that small apartment in a foreign country the little Catholic community gathers and they pray and they read scripture. And somewhere in that small gathering a lay Maryknoll Missionary begins to read aloud “A reading from the Book of Exodusl”. And his servant voice begins to read the scripture of the story of Moses and his encounter with God. He ends the reading by reading these words:
“God spoke further to Moses, “Thus shall you say to the Israelites:
The LORD, the God of your fathers,
the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob,
has sent me to you.
“This is my name forever;
thus am I to be remembered through all generations.”
And he pauses and says: “The Word of the Lord”. And the small gathering of people respond. "Thanks be to God."
And somewhere in that big church in Lansing a Catholic community gathers and they pray and they read scripture. And the lector begins by saying “A reading from the Book of Exodus.” And he reads the story of Moses and his encounter with God. And at the end he pauses and says “The Word of the Lord”. And the large gathering of people respond. “Thanks be to God.”
And as those words are spoken, a mother’s mind and heart turn to that small gathering in China. She remembers her son’s plans to go to mass in a small apartment with a priest from the Philippines, a lay missionary from El Salvador and a Maryknoll teacher from Minnesota. She remembers that at these small gatherings he usually reads the first reading. And she realizes as she listens to that long reading about Moses that the words the lector says in that crowded church in Lansing, Michigan, are the very same words her son reads in that small apartment halfway around the world. And as she listens to the very words that her son will read, she feels an instant and strong connection through their shared scripture, their shared faith, their shared loved. It's a powerful connection. Thanks be to God. Indeed.