The Season of Pentecost

From The Rector

The Season of Pentecost

I will be on vacation for the next couple of weeks to spend some time with my family and to refresh myself. We will be escaping the heat in the mountains of southwest Colorado. And I will doing some fly fishing on the San Juan and Piedra rivers.

While I am gone I would like you to reflect on our Gospel readings through the eyes of Matthew. The writer of Matthew focuses on the formation of character and community. It deals with ethical practices, “Do what you say.” Don’t be like the Pharisees who were saying the right things but they did not practice what they preached.

For Matthew, Jesus was the Jewish Messiah, from a Jewish God, sent to fulfill Jewish scripture. Jesus did not come to change Jewish law. People were to follow not only the letter of the law but also its very spirit.

This week Jesus tells us “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens and I will give you rest.” Jesus is telling us we have two choices. First, you can decide to turn away from God and go on your own. If you reject God the burden will be heavy and you get what you get. The second choice is to love God and turn your burdens over to him. God knows you are imperfect and that makes no difference to him. God loves you anyway. When your burdens become great you will find rest from Jesus.

Over the next few weeks we will also begin hearing the parables. Take them one at a time. Parables deal with the acceptance or rejection of Jesus and how we live out our life once we have made that decision. Parables should stimulate thought and bring about discovery. We need to ask of ourselves how do we live as a community and how do we live in the world that we live in today? It is easy to believe in the resurrection but daily life offers a lot of stumbling blocks.

Practice what you say and community formation. Being recognizable among the nations. How well are we doing in the world we live in? How does the Church stand for something in the world s culture? These are all thoughts to be explored. Enjoy!

Fr. Bob+

This Week’s Scripture

Matthew 11:19-19, 25-30

Summer Vacation

If you are going on an extended vacation please keep your pledges and giving up to date. We need everyone’s help.

Count Your Blessings

“All things come of thee O Lord, and of thine own have we given thee.”

I Chronicles 29:14b

In September our special focus will be on what is right in our lives and the abundances that we sometimes take for granted.

In our Middler year I and the other Bi-Vocational Priest seminarians were challenged with a project. For thirty days we were to take time each day to write down something that we are thankful for and to give thanks to God. We were to look for something new each day and could not repeat an item. At the end of the month in May we were to come back to class and reflect on what we found.

At first it was relatively easy to get away with the obvious things: food, family, friends, the people of St Luke’s and St. Joseph’s, school, waking up each day, the warm sun, and the list continued. As time progressed it was not difficult to find things to be grateful for but it did cause me to slow down and begin to actively look at the things that God provides me with each day. I began to reflect more and more on just how much abundance I have in my life. It was that moment of not only “waking up to smell the roses”, but also to recognize who the gardener was that provided the care and nourishment to the roses that I have been enjoying.

I have always enjoyed waking up to God as part of my daily prayer life. I like to greet each morning giving thanks for the warmth and newness of the day, the opportunity to serve Jesus Christ, and the many blessings that I have in my life. Our assignment challenged me to become more committed to find new things each day, new Blessings that were awaiting my discovery.

So why am I telling you this story? Starting Sunday September 4, 2011 I am going to challenge you to write down at least one thing each day that you are grateful for and wish to give thanks to God. You are to look for something new each day and do not repeat an entry. The sheet for recording your blessings will be in the bulletin and available for download on this page. You are encouraged to write more than one blessing each day.

Should you decide to commit to this challenge, you’ll find that God is a God of abundance. The little “Easter eggs” that God places for us to find are everywhere. They are just waiting for you and I to discover. On October 2nd, we will celebrate Abundance Sunday. Bring your blessings and we will lift them up to God in recognition of His love for us. After the service, the seminarian, verger and I will burn them and spread their ashes around the gardens at St. Luke’s and St. Joseph’s. We will offer time at a Wednesday Evening program in October to talk about what we have found by doing this challenge.

If you are not a member of our congregation but wish to participate please feel free to download the Count your Blessings form and mail it to:

Rector
Blessings
St. Luke’s Episcopal Church
2103 North Beal Street
Belton, TX 76513

All things come of thee O Lord, and of thine own are we giving thee.

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