My brothers and sisters in Christ,
Let’s take care of some bookkeeping first:
Ash Wednesday Schedule February 18
Drive-by ashes – 7:30 a.m. – 9:00 a.m.
12:00 p.m. service in Liefeld Lounge
6:30 p.m. service in the sanctuary
I also want to call your attention to our Lenten Wednesday night services at 6:30 p.m. They will start on February 25 and continue every Wednesday through March 25. We will be doing the Holden Evening Prayer Service on these Wednesdays. If you have never heard of this service, come and check it out. I think your spirit will be lifted.
My hope and plans are to install the 3 new(ish) members to our church council on Sunday, February 8, during service. Lori Meahger, Ted Nelson, and David Kromphardt will be installed during this time. They will be representing you and the church to the best of their abilities. I hope you plan on attending to help me install them. You have a very important role in this installation service.
Now for the whimsical. Patty and I took my daughter’s family to the Great Wolf Lodge on Friday night. To be honest, I have never been a great fan of rollercoasters and the like. Nothing like lying your head down at night and having your head still spinning around. However, when you add water to it, it is a different story.
I thoroughly enjoyed watching my wife and my daughter’s family come flying out of the shoot with huge smiles on their faces. I watched my 5-year-old grandson fearfully climb the highest water slide and come flying down with the family, wanting to do it again. They even went with me once around the lazy river, and that was enough for me.
Seriously, I was having fun watching them. I probably had every right to feel bad because I couldn’t climb the stairs leading to the ride. Trust me, I would be the first one up the stairs, but now, I just watch. I can’t tell you why I am not bitter. It’s a God thing. But think about how much I would miss out, how many smiles I would not see, and the word-by-word description of the ride, if I were living in my own little world?
Please try doing something for me. I want you to pay attention during the part of the worship service you really don’t care for. I would like you to look around and see if anyone is enjoying it. Maybe instead of being a curmudgeon, you take the opportunity to enjoy watching someone enjoy watching or participating in something you don’t care for. I wonder if you could like it because of what it does for someone else.
I’m wondering how many people read the Bible passage last week. The prophet Micah is one of my favorites-very much a social justice prophet. The one thing I think it is important to remember is that the two kingdoms were living in great economic times when Micah prophesied against them. Unfortunately, the rich were getting richer, and the poor were getting poorer. Taking care of your neighbor is a pillar of the Jewish and Christian faiths.
Some of you know, I had to retire from teaching early. I was in constant pain, and it is really hard to be pleasant when you are in pain. One of the strengths I had as a teacher was the relationships I had with my students. I wanted them to do the best they could, and they knew I would do anything to help them reach their academic and/or their athletic abilities. And they knew when they received their class schedule, and it said Redig for their teacher, they knew they were going to have a good but hard year.
It was year after year that I would do this. It took a great deal of effort. Here is the thing: if you said one wrong thing, even though you might be in pain, the trust that you built up throughout the years would be destroyed in a heartbeat. It wasn’t fair, but that was the reality.
So, here is the point I am trying to make. St. John’s always had a good reputation among the community. It was one of the first things I learned when I came here. I am hoping that the positive reputation has improved because of all of you. Don Anderson was right when he said someone bought my lunch at Culver’s because they wanted to say thank you for everything we do in the community.
But this is what I also know: it can be destroyed in a heartbeat. It is so unfair, but that is the reality also. Our natural reaction when we are hurting for money is to close up our ranks. It might sound right, but I think it is the worst thing we can do. Do you think God doesn’t know what we are doing? Do you think God doesn’t know we are showing financial difficulties? Romans 8:31 says, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” I think our role as a church is to make sure God is for us.
I am going to end this letter the way I ended my sermon. It is a combination of 1 Corinthians 13:13 and Micah 6:8
Want an active faith? Walk humbly with God.
Want to have an active hope? Do justice.
Want to have an active love? Show kindness.
Cross marked and spirit sealed,
Pastor Tom
815-223-1144
Readings for the fifth Weekend of Epiphany – February 7 & 8
Isaiah 58:1-9a[9b-12] Psalm 112:1-9[10] 1 Corinthians 2:1-12[13-16] Matthew 5:13-20