Who are all these people?

There is a scene in "On Golden Pond" where Norman is looking at the many pictures (of his family and friends) on the walls of the cabin.  His memory has lapsed, and he does not know the identities of the people.  He stares at the images and then with exasperation "Who the ... ARE all these people?"  Since his mind can't recall names, he sees no meaning in the pictures. 

Well, that may be true -- no name, no meaning. 

But there is something beyond a name we can appreciate when we look at pictures of people and remember that each person is both saint and sinner.  Pastor Randy reflected upon this in his sermon this past weekend.  We were considering the meaning of looking at pictures of people who are real for us because we have known them and have experienced their journey of life and faith in some way.   

For we don’t just see them as an image, instead we know our photograph is populated by real people.  Their faces bear witness to their histories and their hopes. They are not necessarily pretty by the false standards of glossy advertising, but in their own way they are beautiful, authentic, and alive.  But also with these people in our pictures... we also know their brokenness.  Almost everyone can pull one of those family portraits out and regal us with stories of pain, distress, frustration, and often even humor.  We can examine these pictures and we can start thinking about their story, in the end we know we all are a cast of characters.  But on this day we recall that though we are fallen people, because of the resurrection of Christ, we have been made saints through faith.    

Pastor Randy 

Pick any picture of a gathering of your friends and family.  Or take one page of the CRLC Church pictorial directory.  Do you see the saints and the sinners?