Fly on Eagle's Wings

   I am enjoying the warmer weather today.  It is amazing to me how much easier it is to contemplate going outside and to do what needs to be done with temperatures above zero.   Getting all the clothes, boots, gloves, hats, and such on that are required in the severe cold is a job all by itself and then the cold just hits hard as soon as you step outside.  It is tiring to fight against the cold.
        I have a nephew who is currently working in Antarctica.
He had to take a survival course when he arrived that is required of all new personnel.  They went out to camp for two days in tents.  Once they got out, the weather drastically changed to what is called "condition one".  No one is allowed out in those conditions as it is very dangerous.  The temperature went to 60 below zero with gale force winds.  He said they had work bent forward in order to stay upright against the wind.  Every move had to be thought through carefully; if you set something down, like your glove, it would instantly be blown away and you would never see it again.   After one night in the tents, they had to be rescued and were welcomed back to base as minor celebrities.   Most of the time when people do the training, they have to be told 'imagine what it would be like if...' but they lived through the real thing.
        That's really what life requires us to do if we are blessed to live long enough; we live through the real things good and bad, easy and difficult, and through times of joy and grief.
        It would be easier to do if we always had the energy and optimism of little children.  Last week, as we took down the trees and put way the Christmas decorations at church, the adults enjoyed a sit-down coffee break.  We watched with amazement and some envy (to be truthful) as the child among us, continued to scamper and run circles around us, still bubbling with energy.  Whether it is age, the responsibilities of life, our bodies wearing out, illness, or whatever, we just seem to lose that unquenchable fountain of energy and lightness.
        But whatever our circumstances, God promises us renewal.  We are not bound and enslaved by our troubles, our limitations, or the brokenness of sin.  God loves us so much that Jesus came to set us free.  God forgives us and gives us new spirit, new hope, and eternal life.  Perhaps that is why we are caught by the image of angels as people with wings - flying light and high above the troubles of the world and free from all pains, griefs, and burdens.  The writer in Isaiah says it best:  God "gives power to the faint and strengthens the powerless... they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint."  (Isaiah )
        The Church is here to remind us that we are never alone and to light the lamp of hope when our own candle has been blown out.  When we are so tired or in such pain or so weak, even to the point of death, God is still there one more time.  We remind each other of God's love and so witness the gift of faith.   When we say the Lord's prayer together, share the bread and wine, sing the words of a hymn, or hold a hand; then the light of God's love shines even in our darkest moments.  Alone, we cannot last, but together we are reminded and witnessed to that God continues to renew our faith and life.   Read Isaiah 40:28-31