Part of my time here in the upper midwest has been about exploring my Scandinavian heritage. Growing up in North Carolina, there weren't many folks with Finnish & Swedish roots, like me.
And so, when we TiM pastors were in Menahga for a retreat, I just HAD ot stop by the larger-than-life statue of Finland's St. Urho.
After reading his story (check out the plaque), and calling my Finnish gramma to get her take on this grasshopper-killing hero, I started thinking...what is the deal with this guy?
Why do we need these larger-than-life heroes? What is so magnificent about a eprson that you'd want to make a 12-foot tall concrete 'replica' of him in all his glory?
I think part of it is that we like to think we're part of something epic & nobel - part of something bigger than our little lives.
But the thing is - we already are. We don't need giant St. Urho, as awesome as he is, to bring us into something bigger. We are already part of something epic & nobel - part of something bigger - because God has invited us in. In our baptisms, our little lives are added to the long list of stories in the Bible - it's Adam & Eve, Noah, Abraham, Ruth, Jonah, Jesus, St. Urho, and you & me!
& it's not because we're strong or descended from giant men who drove pests out of Finland with a pitchfork. We're part of something epic & noble that uses the weak, lowly, & humble to create a new world. We are saved, not by power and strength and giant pitchforks - we're saved, not by violence - but by the ultimate act of weakness, the ultimate act of nonviolence - the cross.
I still love St. Urho, cause he's kitchy and fun & part of my history, sort of. And really, look at him! How can you not think that big lovable Finn is just the greatest?!
But it's not the big things like St Urho, but the little things, that bring us into something great. It's the little candle I got at my baptism that reminds me that I am part of something bigger. Or it's turning to a hymn in the ELW and knowing that Lutherans all around the world are turning to that page and singing that song too.
We are a part of something epic & noble - part of something bigger - because God has invited us in - putting all of our little lives together to create a new world.
Posted by Marsha.
