Greetings on the Feast Day of Absalom Jones in dreary Chuckatuck. It has been a glorious week with a lot of great things going on at church and in our parish. We took an opportunity to look at ourselves and our history, so we might figure out our identity and begin the discernment of our way moving forward. This is a fitting task in Epiphany, as we prepare to begin our Lenten journey in 2 week’s time. We offer prayers for our community and for those who continue to be impacted by social and medical disorders. May God continue to carry you in the days and weeks ahead.
The 6th Sunday after The Epiphany gives us the reminder that God is our strength when we trust in God’s providence. Likewise, without God’s strength we are unable to do or want to do things that please God. It is through God’s grace that we thrive. Our Psalmist sang to remind us that the wicked only lead to destruction, but the guidance from God is delightful and fulfilling. We may be beset by difficulties but when we trust in God, we will prevail. Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians is his argument at the reason we have hope is that Christ is raised from the dead. That fact is something we count on for eternity. If Christ is all we hope for today, we should be pitied, because we miss the point. Luke’s gospel was the account of Jesus’ Sermon on the Plain (the counterpart to Matthew’s Sermon on the Mount) with the blessings and curses for the faithful and unfaithful.
Our sermon was mostly based on the Hebrew Scripture reading from the prophet Jeremiah. In that the prophet stakes his claim – those who trust in mere mortals will ultimately have no rest. But those who trust in God will survive and carry on into eternity. Our mission, based on the prophet’s reminder, is to remember what doesn’t change – God’s promises and truth, and that our understanding, faith, and belief must change over time. Because we experience God in new ways every day.
I invite your comments,
Les+
Readings: Jeremiah 17:5-10; Psalm 1; 1 Corinthians 15:12-20; Luke 6:17-26
Video of worship: https://youtu.be/uftMDtwhG-E
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