Beautiful Feet

 

I grew up singing the hymn, “Our God Reigns” by Leonard Smith (1974), as it is found in the Psalter Hymnal of the Christian Reformed Church. Just a verse and a chorus echoing the words of Isaiah 52:7, “How beautiful upon the mountain are the feet of the messenger who announces peace, who brings good news, who announces salvation, who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.”

Meet those of us with beautiful feet!

At the 2024 University of Dubuque Theological Seminary’s commencement ceremony, my classmate and friend Jerusha exclaimed, “Look at all our different shoes, each shoe style says a lot about who we are as a person. We must take a picture!” As you can see in the picture we have all kinds of different shoes; sandals, moccasins, dress shoes, stilettos, wedges, tennis shoes, open toe, and closed toe.

When I look at the picture, I know what shoe belongs to which graduating seminary student. I think about each person and the ministries they are about to enter. When we entered seminary a few years ago, we came from many different places of the United States. We are different ages, come from different backgrounds, and we have different personalities.

We share one thing in common, we came to UDTS because we were Called. Paul says in Romans 10:13-14, ^“For, everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent?”

Then Paul repeats the prophet Isaiah in verse 15-As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”

The seminary students of UDTS, through their hard work, have learned and prepared for the ministry of being those who bring good news. But we did not come through this alone. We came through because of the hard work of our professors, through the hard work of our families and churches who guided and sustained us. And most of all we made it through because of the hard work of the Holy Spirit, who continues to work in and through us.  

As we go out into the world, each of us to our different places and ministries; pastoral, missional, advocates, leaders. We are sharing the good news by announcing God’s peace and salvation to all. We are all working to further the kingdom of God.

And because of this we all have beautiful feet!

 

Photo and quote credit to Jerusha Van Camp