Father Snort

As disciples of Jesus, we are called to sacrifice and trust in God. Paul spoke of the need to forgive, trusting in God's judgment (he used the example of burning coals...realizing God's judgment often involves mercy and forgiveness), rather than seeking vengeance for ourselves. We sacrifice our desire for vengeance and trust in God's righteous judgment. Jesus sacrificed himself for the sake of humanity, trusting in God to raise him up on the third day. We too are called to sacrifice for the sake of the Gospel, trusting in God that our lives will be OK with the sacrifices we make.

While Peter, and Peter alone, was the rock upon which Jesus build his church, we can all be rocks for some, to guide them to Jesus and sustain them in their life in Christ. Jesus is telling us, "I am counting on you." In our life in the Body of Christ, we have choices to make regarding our commitment to the community of the church and our commitments to other people and organizations. I've often heard people lament that people and organizations keep scheduling activities on Sundays. "Why do they schedule things on Sunday mornings?" People ask. We're in a majority Christian city, in a majority Christian state, in a majority Christian world. If Christians didn't keep going to non-church activities on Sunday mornings, "they" would stop scheduling things on Sunday mornings. We have choices to make. We should consider that we let down people who are depending on us in the Body of Christ when we choose not to show up. We should also not sequester ourselves from the world in order alw

When Jesus met the Canaanite woman, he called her a dog, responding with the nationalism with which he was likely raised. When he then saw her not as a Canaanite, but as a woman of faith with a sick daughter, he turned from his dislike of her and healed her daughter. Children are coming into our country, fleeing violence, drugs, poverty, etc. They are tired, hungry, and scared. Many are speaking of them as if they were stray dogs, basically saying, "stop feeding them and they'll stop coming around." That is not who we are as the Body of Christ. We greet children with open arms, offering them food and shelter. Our country will determine what to do in the long term. We, as the Body of Christ can treat them as beloved children, offering the loving arms of Jesus.

In the great, modern retelling of Jesus walking on water and Peter trying to and then sinking, The Empire Strikes Back shows Luke Skywalker training to become a Jedi training under Master Yoda. When Luke's ship sinks in Yoda's swamp, Luke doesn't believe it when Yoda returns the ship safely to dry ground. "That," Yoda says, "is why you fail." Believing in Jesus, there is very little the church cannot do in ministry to the world. St. Mark's went on Medical Mission Trips to Honduras and started a medical clinic, MEHOP, right here in Bay City. Outsiders looking in would say, "y'all are too small a church for that - leave it to the big churches." Saint Mark's said, "we're not too small...we have Jesus with us." When need arose and Jesus called, St. Mark's got out of the boat and walked on water. A major need in Bay City is in our schools, and that need is for children to have positive adult influences in their lives. One way we can do this is through mentoring. KIDS HOPE USA is a non

God invites us into life with him, even if he knows we're going to reject that life. He doesn't mock or belittle us for rejecting, nor does he force us to accept the invitation. He invites us and lets us say yes or no. Even when we say no, the invitation is still there, or the memory of the invitation is there. When the thorns and rocks have been cleared out of the soil of our hearts, the invitation is there and given ever again for us to accept life lived in the very heart of God.

Jesus tells us to lay our burdens down upon him and to take up his yoke, his teaching and his way, which will then lighten our load further. Part of Jesus' yoke is the practice of daily prayer and service. The more we practice prayer and service, the more they help ease our burdens, giving us an even level with our spiritual life.

We've not faced persecution as Christians in America by governmental and religious authorities telling us we can't worship in our churches, will be killed for being Christian, or be exiled for being Christian. In Jesus' day, his disciples faced those possibilities. We do face people who don't agree with our beliefs and think we shouldn't hold them. In that case, we let them believe as they do and love them anyway. Others don't have to believe as we do. If we are rejected for our beliefs by people, we don't reject them in return. We love them.

We understand the mystery of the Trinity better than we think we do. If we get out of our heads and think with our hearts, then we understand. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, a relationship of persons bound so closely together in love for each other that they are one. All of our relationships are like this: Person, Person, and God. The closer and more intimate the relationship, the more we are one with that person, while still being completely ourselves.

As the church, we believe in Jesus. We believe in the sense that we would look him in the eye and say, "I believe in you." We believe in who he is. We trust in him. We believe in his teachings and the way he has given. We believe in him and so we follow him in our waking hours every day. It's not always easy. That's part of why we gather with other Christians, to help each other and strengthen each other as we seek to follow Jesus.

Jesus "conquered the world", meaning he was unbroken by the world. He prayed for his disciples and not for the world. While God could have fixed all people in the world with a word, he instead became one with us and gave us the way of Jesus who prayed that we would be one with God and each other. When we hurt and break each other, we become no longer one. Jesus' way is the way that leads to one-ness with God and each other. Jesus seeks to lead us back to Eden where we were one with God and each other.

Sometimes our beliefs become so rigid, that they are like idols made of gold, silver, or stone. God often then takes a hammer to our beliefs so he can fill us with his Holy Spirit to tell us, "Love me, and I will reveal myself to you once again."

In John 14:1-14, Jesus told his disciples what to do when he was gone. “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me…you know the way to the place where I am going…” Thomas said they didn’t know where Jesus was going, and Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life…” Jesus didn’t tell them where they were going, he simply said, “follow me.” The way of Jesus is the way of faith in God, love of God and people, forgiveness, service, reconciliation, and resurrection. How we arrive at our goals is more important than achieving them. Our goals should be held lightly, our future plans left somewhat open to allow us first to follow the way of Jesus, not always knowing exactly where that will lead.

The idyllic community described in Acts 2 was full of real people with real lives and real struggles. We share in "the apostles' teaching and fellowship, the breaking of bread, and in the prayers" just as they did. We do so in the real struggles of our real lives. We give thanks for our community, as flawed as it is. We celebrate communion together and pray together at the church building when we gather and anytime and place we gather with each other.

We're blessed with joy and wonder which comes with believing without seeing. We can encounter Jesus anywhere, in anyone, and when we do, and our hearts burn within us, we get to trust that we did encounter Jesus. We also encounter Jesus in meals - this can be any meal. The joy, laughter, and love shared over meals is an encounter with Jesus. After we have these encounters with Jesus, we get to share them with our family and friends, and connect with them deeply through the joy and wonder of believing without seeing.

There are many ways to love and praise God. They include serving others, singing, talking with friends, reading, enjoying the morning, etc. It doesn't have to be boring or traditional.

Jesus' resurrection promises that we will be with him in his resurrection after our physical lives are ended. With Jesus as the way, the truth, and the life, we also follow his way of resurrection throughout our lives and the thousands of deaths we face (failures, disappointments, severed relationships, etc.).

Jesus' command to his disciples was for them to go, to serve, and to love. He washed their feet, which is uncomfortable, and awkward, intimate, and possibly smelly. That's the point. Serving others is uncomfortable, and awkward, intimate, and possibly smelly. Afterwards, there is a profound presence of love.

The stories of scripture continue to be told in our lives. God continues to reach out to us, and we continue at times to accept God's invitation and at times to reject God's invitation. God keeps at it, either way, using even our rejection to reach us. The story of God with us is a story that continues past the pages of scripture. God's healing, reconciliation, and love is our story and our song...a song in progress.

God spoke into the chaos and brought order through his words. God fashioned Adam out of the dust of the ground, bringing forth life and beauty. Jesus healed the blind man by forming new eyes for him out of the dust of the ground, and Jesus spoke the words, "Lazarus, come out" to a dead man, and that man received life from Jesus' words. Like God in creation, Jesus brings order out of chaos with the words he speaks and the word he does with his hands. We too, being made in God's image, have power to bring healing, life, and creativity with our words and the work of our hands. We can bring order out of chaos.

Jesus shines light in the darkness in order to reveal our darkness and cast it out, healing us and granting us his light, that we may walk in light and life.