|
Hello St. John’s Family,
The first one arrived January 2nd… and I’m quite confident it would have been here on 1/1 if there was mail delivery that day. A new year means a new growing season is right around the corner, meaning all the seed supply houses and gardening outlets need to inundate potential customers with the great new products they’ve been developing.
While email and online marketing have cut down on the physical mailings, the past two weeks have brought several new catalogs to 816 Almshouse Rd. Each of which quickly catches my eye. My wife sometimes jokes that I’m like a teen who got his hands on an illicit magazine when the Burpee catalog arrives – completely fixated on the images contained inside. Immediately my mind goes to the amazing garden full of fruits and vegetables that will overflow from the containers and raised bed in the back yard.
I learned a long time ago that my results will never rival the staged photos of professional growers. Some years work out very well; others, well, the rabbits do better than our family. Yet the results are never quite what I expect. While I don’t expect the catalog images, the outcome never seems to match what I imagined.
I sometimes wonder if Jesus’ disciples ever felt the same way. When reading the gospel accounts, we hear of times when they witnessed amazing things: acts of power, miraculous healings – acts that surely had to come from God. Other times, though, left them wondering. Matthew and Luke both speak of how followers of John the Baptist had questions about Jesus – and asked him point blank. I have to believe Jesus’ disciples had times of questions as well. They gave their lives to follow and serve Christ, yet they often experienced significant hardships and setbacks. If the Kingdom of Heaven came near when Christ came, why do we continue to experience so much uncertainty and struggle?
Through the successes and failures of my gardening adventures, I’ve learned how God is always present. Sometimes I can do everything right and not see good results. Other times, I do everything the experts say to avoid, and the results are excellent. Every time, though, I learn something, and gain a slightly better understanding of the growing process. And I sense God works in a similar way in our life. When we experience good things as we serve God, we learn. When we experience setbacks serving God, we learn… and we often learn more through the setbacks than through the successes. The key is continuing to trust God by following faithfully through whatever we encounter. Maintaining that approach will bring forth good things, for God and for us. Hold on to that when the questions and challenges arise.
This Sunday, we’ll explore how God calls us to be part of the work God is doing here. We’ll explore 2 call stories, that of Samuel, and also of some of Jesus’ first disciples, and see how it is God’s desire to work through us that forms the basis for our call. We’ll also recognize and consecrate those who have responded to God’s call by serving as leaders at St. John’s. I’m looking forward to a powerful time of worship together; check out 1 Samuel 3:1-10 and John 1:43-51 and join us on Sunday!
Grace and Peace,
Pastor Brad
| 
