Happy Epiphanytide!

So I want to encourage you to make plans to attend the Annual Parish Meeting on Sunday, January 29th right after the 11 am service. It will be a potluck with the church providing the meat/entrée.

This morning’s gospel from John, for January 11th morning prayer, was multilayered but contained the story of Jesus walking on the sea as the disciples rowed their boat against the wind during a storm. At first they were afraid seeing Jesus on the water coming near to them but he said to them, “It is I, do not be afraid.” John says that the disciples were then glad to take him on, and the boat immediately made it to land.

Here’s one take on this pericope. We are often afraid of doing what God calls us to do. I can come up with a lot of reasons not to do something, not to intervene for good, to do something that I should for the Kingdom of God, for God’s will of Love and purpose. It is the ongoing, “constantly growing in maturity” relationship with Jesus, with the Trinity, through fellowship, worship, and study that lets me hear in the chaos, Jesus words, “do not be afraid.” It is those words and the model of ministry that Jesus showed us, that allows us to go forward into the storm and somehow get through it. And getting through it may not mean what we expect it to mean. Getting though it may result in something totally unexpected and life changing for ourselves and our community. Yes, often our fear overrides the call of God to do the right thing and we fail to love. We fail to be human. God forgives and we as people of the way, earnestly endeavor to do better through fellowship, worship, and study. We grow and mature in and through community nourished by the Triune God.