Now among those who went up to worship at the festival were some Greeks. They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee and said to him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” Philip went and told Andrew. Then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus.  John 12: 20,21

Dear Friends,

We had a good, but all too brief conversation at our vestry meeting this week about how we can make everything that St. John’s has to offer more widely known in our communities. Among other things, I know we can do a better job with advertising and on social media. But as we talked,  I was also reminded of the gospel lesson we heard on Sunday March 18. There were some Greeks who had heard something about Jesus. They came to Philip, one of the disciples. Philip went to Andrew. Then together, the two disciples brought the Greeks to Jesus.

By far, the most effective way of communicating the gospel is by word of mouth. Your parish leaders and I will do all we can to improve our communications with those beyond our doors. But the most effective communicator of the Good News of Jesus Christ is each  of you, as you share how your life is being blessed and transformed by your participation in Christ’s life here at St. John’s.

Easter is a wonderful Sunday to invite a friend to church, but so is the Sunday after Easter, and the Sunday after that.  Whether they have articulated it aloud, there are persons in your life “who wish to see Jesus.” I hope that you, like Andrew and Philip, will bring them to him.

Faithfully,

Tom

Dear Friends,

When the vestry adopted our mission statement last year, we affirmed our belief that God’s Holy Spirit speaks in our lives, inviting us to respond to Jesus’ call to be his disciples in the world. The Holy Spirit speaks to us as a community, and also to us as individuals.

Of course, it is rare that anyone of us dares tosay, “Here is what the Spirit said to me today.” The promptings of God do not necessarily come in complete sentences or through the vision of a burning bush before us.  Yet the Spirit speaks.  Sometimes the Holy Spirit is speaking when we find ourselves profoundly upset or disturbed by conditions or circumstances we see in the world, conditions antithetical to what we understand to be the way of Jesus. One way I hear the Holy Spirit is through the persistent thought, the word, phrase, or unsettled feeling that will not leave my heart or mind.

What may the Holy Spirit be saying to us as we respond to the shootings last week in Parkland? We can grow numb. We can also listen, and see if God is asking us to be agents of change and reconciliation. How do we listen? Here are a few suggestions:

Listen in prayer – Connect with God. Pray for the world, and for those who are grieving and suffering. Pray also that you will be guided to act and speak nonviolently in this world, and bear witness to the love of Christ in however you respond.

Listen for those who share your passion – Connect with the like-minded: Do you hear others in the parish expressing concerns similar to yours? Perhaps you are feeling called to attend one of the gatherings being planned on Saturday, March 24th. Might the Holy Spirit be calling on you to coordinate the efforts of others in the parish to attend? is there a  ministry that might emerge from your conversations with others?

Listen for those with other perspectives – Connect with those with whom you disagree: One way to test and assess our own understanding of the Spirit’s call is to hear the viewpoint of others. Do you know someone in the parish who would vigorously disagree with your understanding of what Jesus calls us to do? What would it mean for the two of you to sit down, not with the intention of changing each other’s mind, but to truly listen to another’s perspective?

Listen beyond our parish – Connect with the larger church: Bishops United Against Gun Violence is a coalition of Episcopal bishops  seeking to engage the church in prayer and action to address the ongoing violence caused by guns in our culture. You can find out more about their work and their recommendations for us here.

Read the scriptures: Connect with Jesus and his Way: The Holy Spirit calls us to live as disciples of Jesus Christ. I know we are reading the gospel of Luke during Lent, and that is a good thing! As we consider how we are to live as Christians in a violent world, I also encourage us to return time and again to  the Sermon on the Mount, that collection of Jesus’ teachings in the fifth, sixth, and seventh chapters of Matthew. Jesus faced the violence of his own day with a profoundly countercultural stance. He invites us to do the same.

I am listening, and I hope you are too. I am eager to learn what you hear the Spirit saying to you.

Faithfully,

Tom

Dear Friends,

I invite you to join me, and Episcopalians around the world, in a common endeavor as we enter into the season of Lent.  The Good Book Club (not to be confused with our own Theological Book Club!)  is an invitation to all Episcopalians to join in reading the Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts during Lent-Easter 2018. (The actual start date is this Sunday, February 11).

Forward Movement (which among other things, publishes the Day by Day devotional booklets) is providing a a schedule and various ways to support our daily reading. We will have a printed schedule of the daily readings here at church on Sunday. By Ash Wednesday, we will also have calendars for those who wish (somewhat like the Advent calendar I design) with each day’s assigned reading.  In addition, you can download an app which will provide you with the daily reading as.  During Lent and Easter, you can subscribe to Forward Movement’s email devotions, and receive them that way as well.

Here at church, I will be offering a half hour summary and discussion of each week’s reading on Sunday mornings from 9-9:30. For those in the choir or other Sunday ministries, I am also happy to plan another time during the week to gather and reflect on the readings – just let me know if you are interested.

Why has Luke-Acts been chosen? Here is an explanation from Forward Movement:

“We love sequels, and Luke-Acts provides a wonderful two-part narrative. Luke tells the wondrous story of Jesus’ birth, ministry, teaching, death, and resurrection. Acts picks up where Luke leaves off and tells the story of the earliest disciples through the lens of Peter and Paul and the real star of the show — the Holy Spirit. Written by the same author, the books are accessible, and the story is a page-turner!”

We actually start this Sunday, February 11, before the beginning of Lent. We will have the list of daily readings at church on Sunday. You can also find them, and other resources, such as the app for phones and tablets, at the Forward Movement website: Forward Movement

I am excited by the idea of all of us taking this journey together. Please consider making this daily reading of scripture one of your Lenten disciplines.

Dear Friends,

Among the many words I’ve read in response to the latest school shooting were those written by a friend and colleague, the Rt. Rev. Scott Barker. Scott is is the Bishop of the Diocese of Nebraska, and he offered these thoughts on Thursday, the day after Ash Wednesday:

“It’s poignant that Lent commences this year in the shadow of yet another mass shooting of school children. I’m certain that many of you are already praying for the repose of the souls of those innocents, as well as the adults lost in this latest atrocity. Yesterday, Episcopalians confessed our, “blindness to human need and suffering, and our indifference to injustice and cruelty.” It seems to me that these sins become incarnate at the nexus where untreated mental illness meets the virtually unchecked availability of high powered ammunition and assault weapons. When our prayers inspire us to action in the days to come, let us not lose the courage, focus and faith that will be required for our Church to appropriately follow the Prince of Peace as we respond to the epidemic of gun violence in America.”

Bishop Barker’s words made me consider again that phrase, “our thoughts and prayers are with them.” I realize that my prayers need to be focused not only on others, but on me as well. I need to be praying about my own response to, and engagement with, the hurts of the world. Prayer is not about changing God’s heart, but about letting God change mine. This Lent,  I will pray for courage, focus, faith, and the wisdom to make choices that help effect change and heal broken hearts. I hope you will too.

Faithfully,

Tom

Dear Friends,

One of the joys of the last couple of months has been meeting with our Godly Play class to discuss the meaning of Holy Communion. Some of our children were preparing to receive communion for the first time, and this past Sunday, as they came to the altar to receive, the eagerness, and yes, joy, on their faces was palpable.  As I explain to adults, while very young children do not fully understand the meaning of communion, who among us as adults can claim that we fully do.

After one conversation that I had with them, Rachel Pfost asked a question always asked at Godly Play: “I wonder what part of what you heard is most important.” Young Selah Heim replied with one of the meanings of communion: “The bread and wine are most important, because they help me remember Jesus inside of me.”  And so they do. Communion helps us remember, not just a past event, but also to experience the presence of the living Christ in our midst.

The results of a recent study of Episcopal churches across the country indicated that “the transforming power of the Eucharist” was one of four elements in parish life that foster spiritual growth in congregations (the three others were engagement with scripture, a deeper prayer life, and the heart of the congregation’s leader.

I’m curious about what communion means to you. How have you been transformed by the weekly gathering at the altar? What is the most important part of the Eucharist for you?  I would love to publish some of your experiences with the sacrament central to our life together. Please send me an email if you have some reflections you are willing to share at:

rector@stjohns02129.org

None of us fully understands the meaning of this sacrament. But together, each of us can bear witness to the truth of its power in our lives.

Faithfully,

Tom

PS: for more information on the above mentioned congregational study, click here.