HE IS IN OUR MIDST by Robert Soto

April 18, 2010

HE IS IN OUR MIDST by Robert Soto

Matthew 18:20 "For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them."

We are on the way to a pow wow. It is about eleven hours away, but with every mile that comes along I get more and more excited. There is something about a pow wow that I really enjoy. I will see old friends and make new friends. I will dance to songs that have been around for hundreds of years and I will dance to songs that have been around for only months. But what makes a pow wow so different than other dances and other gatherings? I thought about it the other day and three things came to mind. First of all, there is community in a pow wow. By community I mean that our Indian people, regardless of tribe, come together to enjoy our Indianness. The second thing is culture. The outfits we wear might be colorful in view of our modern times, but they reflect who we are - and who we were. The crafts and the songs and the dances bring us all together as one people. The third thing is what I call Curiosity. People, both Indian and non-Indian who know nothing about pow wows will come with a curious mind. Some will walk away close-minded and others will sit among us and enjoy and see what we see.

But regardless of what they see or do not see; regardless of what we do or do not do, it will not change the truth that we come together as one people and one group. The pow wow brings us together as family. It brings us together as a people. But not just as a people, but as a people which God the Creator created. As a people who see the importance of who we are and how we were created. But the best feeling I get about a pow wow, and is a thought the comes to me from even our non-Indian visitors, is the feeling that God the Creator is in the midst of all that is going on at the pow wow. We feel His presence and those who come in feel the same thing. They feel the spirituality of the people God the Creator created us to be. Jesus said, "For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them." So in the middle of our all dancing, singing and celebrating, God the Creator is with us and in the midst of us.

Robert Soto, Lipan Apache and pastor of:

McAllen Grace Brethren Church
The Native American New Life Center
Chief of Chiefs Christian Church