There’s a paradox in the way that the Episcopal Church organizes ministry. How can the example of Melchizedek help all of us claim our share of Christ’s eternal priesthood?
The frightened fugitives in the upper room were transformed into powerhouses of evangelical grace .Inarticulate fishermen became spellbinding preachers. Marginally literate country folk became towering evangelists. Fair weather disciples became fearless martyrs for the faith.
Have you ever tried Ezekiel bread? If so, let’s hope the manufacturers didn’t follow the complete Biblical instructions for how to prepare it!
These mysterious bits of creation constantly remind me that, as grounded as I am in the sciences, that behind all the science is love–God’s love. Just as happenstance saw to it that I was to accompany this moth in his dying process, I need to remember that we are each also called to so many births, deaths, and everything-in-betweens in the carefully prepared, God-molded lives of all we encounter, and try to glimpse the holiness in each.
The Sudanese martyrs chose to follow Christ, as did the early Christians of Rome and the Mediterranean area. They followed to the death, just as many Christians around the world as well as in South Sudan are still doing today.
what about our own ministries of empathy? In what areas of our lives are we unable to sympathize with others?
The Ascension is a leave-taking. This is the moment when the tale of God’s incarnation in the world is over. What makes it difficult to capture in paint is really this: it is an absence. It is the moment when the sky is suddenly simply a blue expanse, when the mountain top opens only to wind and silence, when the lake shore no longer rings with the voice of the rabbi or his odd counter-intuitive commands. It is a presence gone, removed never to return. It is emptiness.
Are you ready for the Ascension?
Constant contact with Jesus fills the day with endless opportunities to witness his love. In encouragement and assistance, in kindness and courtesy, in giving and sharing, we become one with Jesus. And as we draw closer to Christ, the spiritual gravity of grace draws those in the orbit of our lives right along with us towards God… the epicenter of love.
What happens to us in the midst of a busy life?