Every year, my family (extended family included) takes a vacation to the shore. We each drive down at meet at the same motel we’ve been visiting for the last 25 years (give or take). As we draw closer to the shore, I like to watch the GPS. The motel is a few blocks from the beach, so as you get closer to the actual beach, the ocean shows up on the screen. There’s a definitive line between the land and the sea. The GPS drops off into a vast blue color that goes on and on and on. During the time there, I stand on the beach with my toes in the ocean and I watch little baby clams wiggle in and out of the sand as water comes in and out. I listen to the sound of the waves and stare at the line where the sky meets the sea (and yes, lines from Disney lyrics run through my head). I think of how vast the ocean looks not just on the GPS screen, but in real life. I watch sea gulls and all around me, the wind blows and promises me a day of incredibly frizzy hair and skin that will taste a little extra salty. Mostly, I think about how small I am comparatively. I think of how this is just a small part of the ocean but as I stand there with the surf wrapping around my ankles, I am for a moment part of something so much bigger than myself.

And I think about how much life is like that. I think of how we are all part of something so much bigger than ourselves. We are a part of the body of Christ, which may seem small in a moment. At times, our impact may feel impossibly small. And yet we are a part of something bigger. We bear responsibility for one another, so our actions do matter. We share each other’s joys and concerns. We share one another’s pain. We walk alongside each other and do what we can to love one another as God first loves us. In this body of Christ, we are each known and loved as individuals by God. And we are better together. In Galatians, Paul writes, “So then, whenever we have an opportunity, let us work for the good of all, and especially for those of the family of faith” (Gal 6:10). This is God’s invitation for us: to work for the good of all whenever we have the opportunity, always remembering that as members of the body of Christ – as children of God – we part of something so much bigger.

Rev. Rebecca Mallozzi, Faith Presbyterian Church, Emmaus, PA