April 20, 2021
Hello beloved members and friends of Epworth UMC!
Sitting here once again in the chemo chair, and feeling so blessed to be in ministry with all of you. I’ve been thinking back over the summer and how much we got to do together, providing desperately needed food to folks in our community, working together with the Fallon Food Hub and so many great people, finding ways to reach out to each other and to our neighbors in new ways. We are once again in kind of a state of unknowing, getting ready to get back to some version of “normal” but not quite knowing what that should look like, or what the next weeks and months will bring. It makes me excited to think what surprises God has in store for us, and how God will use us all to bring hope and Good News to our community and beyond.
I was talking with a friend of the church just this morning, and she shared with me a powerful sermon she heard recently called “Jesus Happens” by the Rev Dr Curran Reichert. She sent me the link, and WOW Curran is so much fun! Before she was in ministry she sang in “musicals, TV, and movies” according to the church website, and she has a stunningly beautiful voice. In her sermon, she says that Jesus happens, and there is nothing we can do to stop it, or prevent it, or ruin it. No matter how imperfectly we do life, Jesus happens. No matter where we are or what we are doing, Jesus happens. No matter how flawed our understanding, Jesus happens. And keeps happening
I find that an incredibly comforting thought. Maybe instead of trying to change things or fix things or invent things, we should “stock up our spiritual shelves, and be ready for when Jesus happens.”
Yeah. Maybe. Probably.
Stocking up our spiritual shelves, so to speak, is always the first thing. Jesus made sure to do that, taking time away to pray before and between and after doing anything else. Putting some focus on our spiritual health every day taps into the Source of our hope, and joy, and peace, and spiritual energy. It enables us to be more fully present and wise in our relationships, in our church, in our community, in our own lives. And inevitably, without fail, Jesus shows up. Like he did with the disciples, showing up out of nowhere and “scaring the daylights out of everyone” (that’s from Curran, too ), Jesus happens. He surprises us with comfort, love, challenge, and miraculous grace.
In our lectio divina prayer services on Friday nights (before I had to suspend them for awhile…hoping to get back to them soon), we considered in our prayers what God might be calling us to do, or be, or change. When Jesus happens, sometimes we respond in one of those ways. Other times, we are just grateful.
Praying that Jesus happens for you today, beloved.
Children of God
This season, we are spending time in the letters of Peter and Paul, John and Timothy and the rest, as we take ourselves back in time to the earliest church. Written just a few short years after Jesus’ resurrection, when many people still remembered vividly Jesus’ miracles and teachings and expected his return any moment, these letters are a powerful witness to how the church lived as people of the resurrection.
We began last week in the letters of Peter, and his powerful story of personal transformation and the ministry of reconciliation. This week, Margaret Knox will bring us a message from the letter of 1 John, about the joy and responsibility of being children of God. As you prepare your heart for worship, you might like to read and pray with 1 John 3:16-24, and see what special message God has for you.
And then, join us for virtual coffee hour after worship at 10:45am. If you have never joined us, we hope that you will consider doing so…especially for the sake of those who can’t join us in person for worship yet, gathering together in this way is a great gift you can give to yourself and your church family. You will get the link in your email as always; if we don't have your email, reach out to us at office@eumcfallon.org or 775-423-4714 and we'll make sure you are plugged in.
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