Call on Me

Does God still speak to us? In 2004, the United Church of Christ (an American denomination, rather than my own United Church of Canada) began its “God is still speaking” campaign inspired by the Gracie Allen quote “Never place a period where God has placed a comma”. This led me to wonder about how God speaks today. It seemed unlikely that God would actually use words until one day someone said something to me that was both unexpected and profound. It occurred to me that when our neighbour consoles or inspires us, God may be speaking through them. Of course, they’re not quoting God verbatim - that's why we gather in community to sort out what is loving and from God and what is not. So the “first person voice” of this song reflects that God may be trying to start a dialogue with you through the singing of the person beside you. This song is not a one-way conversation, for God hopes that we will reply by sharing God’s love and by being all we were intended to be. In the process, we build God’s kingdom (or kin-dom, as some would say), forming a covenant in which both parties participate. But we also need to remember that God doesn’t make the promise of love and support to humanity alone but to all life (see the story of Noah and the rainbow). An important ingredient in building the kingdom is to take care of it, and each other.