Exodus 25:10

"Have them make an acacia-wood chest. It should be forty-five inches long, twenty-seven inches wide, and twenty-seven inches high."

Reflection by Anthony B. Robinson

Chapter 25 of Exodus is the first of seven consecutive chapters giving incredibly detailed instructions from God to Israel on the building specs for God's wilderness tabernacle and each and every part of it.

I am, or at least like to think of myself as, a "big picture" type, and not someone who gets hung up on the details.

So reading these seven chapters of Exodus (which are pretty much repeated again in Exodus 35 to 40, after the Golden Calf thing) was a tough task. "This is the word of God--really?" I muttered to myself. God can't possibly be concerned with such detailed matters.

Then I happened to go for a walk in an exquisite Japanese garden in Portland, Oregon. And I noticed the attention to detail. The precise selection and placement of each stone. The way each tree and shrub was shaped by careful trimming. The water that fell one drop at a time into a piece of bamboo until, with enough single drops gathered, the bamboo cylinder tipped to release a stream of water onto a rock placed just so below.

And I thought about some of the churches I visit and how a loving attention to detail often speaks volumes about the life and health of a church.

It's easy for those of us who fancy ourselves "big picture" types to pooh-pooh such attention to detail. But we're wrong when we do that. As a rabbi friend puts it, it is God (not the devil) who dwells in the details. Care in how we do things--attention to detail--can be an expression of faith and love.

Prayer

I give you thanks today, Holy One, for dear, departed Daisy Akahoshi (insert other names of your own) and her loving attention to detail, to the arrangement of the flowers and the chairs in the sanctuary of Church of the Crossroads in Honolulu (insert other details and churches). Amen.

About the Author Anthony B. Robinson, a United Church of Christ minister, is a speaker, teacher and writer. His newest book is Stewardship for Vital Congregations, published by The Pilgrim Press. Read his weekly reflections on the current lectionary texts at www.anthonybrobinson.com/ by clicking on Weekly Reading.

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