A few weeks ago when someone stopped in the office, the topic of a new church directory came up. Every few years or so, many congregations publish a directory with portraits of members and various pictures which embody the life and activities of the time. 

The one we completed a few years ago focused on the anniversary that was being celebrated at Grace Lutheran Church. 

I enjoy the end result of the directory, but it is all hard work to actually put one together. Volunteers who work with schedules, photographers, members and the layout show real tenacity and grit. 

The directories do more than just highlight fashions and hairstyles of the day. It gives a literal snapshot of the community’s life, activities and ministries. Directories also give a visual record of the membership, so one can see the consistency that is in a congregation, but also the changes that take place for many reasons. 

My son is attending the same college from which I graduated. I was sad to learn that they no longer publish a yearbook. 

He and his generation live in a digital age. Because of expense and disinterest, the yearbook went away. 

Every so often, I pull my yearbooks out to remember a face or event that the years have made fuzzy. It allows me to connect with my history. 

In the past few months, readings from both Luke and Isaiah have affixed historical events or markers to give placement and context to the subjects they were writing about. For Isaiah, it was when he received his call to prophesy, “in the year that King Uzziah died…” When writing about Jesus’ birth and baptism, Luke lists various political leaders to show the time of these events. Doing so lodges the activity of God in our world, to a time in our history. 

This reminds us that it is to this world, with all its joys and sorrows and challenges, that God is present to and active within. God’s ministry takes place through people on behalf of people. These are real people like you and me. 

In some ways, the Bible could be compared to those yearbooks I occasionally page through. I could remark on the changes to the campus since I was there, but many buildings remain from my time that have seen some updates and improvements. A few professors have continued to teach over these passing years. All this helps remind me I am still connected.  

Scripture connects us not only with our past, but with our present and future as well. It points us to the snapshots of our lives and how they show God’s acts around and within us.

— Reflections appears regularly on the religion page. The column features a variety of local writers, coordinated through the Monroe Area Clergy Group. John Tabaka is pastor of Grace Lutheran Church, Monroe.