One of the things on my mind this week is the way in which we are rarely prepared for the ministries God asks us to accomplish. Certainly this was true of Mary, the mother of Jesus, when she was confronted by an angel who told her that she would not only become pregnant out of wedlock, but that the baby would be The Son of God! Understandably, her first reaction was confusion, nor is it clear from the Gospels that she ever fully understood her Son's role until after His Resurrection. It seems that ours in a God that believes in on-the-job training; none of us are "qualified" for the work we are asked to do.
This is probably true of most vocations. What class can truly prepare someone to be a parent? What degree can you get in being-a-good-spouse? Even highly-technical careers like law and medicine require long periods of internship because so much of the work can only be learned from experience. The same is true for ministry, which is why the Lord always seems to be encouraging us in scripture to be bold and to rely on holy providence. If we wait for God to teach us how to be "good" disciples, than we are likely to be waiting for a long time!
Rather than ask "what can we do," a better place to begin seems to be, "what is needed?" This is precisely the question we will be asking when we meet after church on April 13th to collective explore the needs of our neighborhood. I'm sure that together we'll discover that the the harvest is plentiful and that God is eager to send us with empty sacks into the fields. We have a unique opportunity at COTM at this moment to set a new, bold mission that responds with love to a world hungry for the Gospel of Christ!
Holy God, life-giver, purpose-maker, your providential plan for us includes every good thing. Place in us, we pray, a disposition to receive your Holy Spirit. Guide us into the truth of your mission on earth. Give us courage to heal those you put in our paths with the message of love and reconciliation you have made know in Jesus Christ. We ask this in the Name of the Risen One, the same Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Amen.
In Christ,
Tay
P.S. Be sure to check out our new website:
http://www.churchofthemessiah.ca !
2 comments:
Re that prayer:
And you have parishioners with the guts to pray that?
Re new website:
What lovely expressive pictures!
Yes, I think I do have people that brave!
On the pics--thanks. they were done by Michael Hudson, who shoots a lot of events and services in the Diocese.
-t
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