Sometimes we can feel as if the whole weight of the world is on our shoulders. We run around thinking that there is so much to do, and so little time to do it, and that we are the only ones who can do it. No one else can do all that we have to do. We become fatigued. We can feel overwhelmed and under appreciated. We feel alone. We become self-centered. We start to lose our way.
Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians, the appointed reading for today, is a welcome relief:
I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.
But each of us was given grace according to the measure of Christ’s gift. . . . The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ. We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people’s trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming. But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knitted together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body’s growth in building itself up in love. (Eph. 4: 1-16)
The truth of it is we are not alone. God has given each of us a gift and the grace to accomplish what God has called us to accomplish. We do not have to do everything. In fact, today’s passage tells us that we cannot and should not think that we can. When we think that the weight of the world rests on our shoulders alone, we become susceptible to be “tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people’s trickery, by their craftiness and deceitful scheming.” We are in fact one body with many members with Jesus Christ as our head, and you and I should be thankful for the gifts given to our brothers and sisters. I don't know about you, but for me that is welcome news indeed.
So today, please offer a prayer of thanksgiving for everyone in your life who lets you know that it does not all rest on your shoulders, but that your life is shared in common with everyone who is doing what God has called them to do.
Let us pray: Gracious Father, we thank first and foremost for your Son, Jesus Christ, who gave himself to us an offering and sacrifice in his life, death and glorious resurrection. We thank you also for those who share our lives with us,for those who help us carry the load, our spouses, our children, our brothers and sisters, our parents, our friends and other family members, and for our Church family at St. Augustine. We thank you also for the gift of your Holy Spirit which we will celebrate this Sunday at the feast of Pentecost. Amen.
CALENDAR REMINDERS:
Pentecost, this Sunday, wear red.
This Thursday, 20 May at 6:00 p.m.: We will feed about 10 volunteers at William Temple.
Sundays at 11:00 a.m. in the nave Adult Christian Formation. In our next series, which will start Sunday, 23 May (Pentecost), we will explore Heaven and Hell.
12 June: Gospel by the Sea.
PLEASE REMEMBER EVERYONE ON OUR PRAYER LIST, especially all of those who will be baptized on Pentecost, all of those with health concerns, especially Pat Tate and Tammie Taylor, and for all who are traveling, especially Bill Taylor and Lee Runion, and for all of those whose livelihoods are disrupted by the oil spill.
Your servant in Christ,
Fr. Chester J. Makowski+
St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church
Galveston, Texas 77550
Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians, the appointed reading for today, is a welcome relief:
I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.
But each of us was given grace according to the measure of Christ’s gift. . . . The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ. We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people’s trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming. But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knitted together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body’s growth in building itself up in love. (Eph. 4: 1-16)
The truth of it is we are not alone. God has given each of us a gift and the grace to accomplish what God has called us to accomplish. We do not have to do everything. In fact, today’s passage tells us that we cannot and should not think that we can. When we think that the weight of the world rests on our shoulders alone, we become susceptible to be “tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people’s trickery, by their craftiness and deceitful scheming.” We are in fact one body with many members with Jesus Christ as our head, and you and I should be thankful for the gifts given to our brothers and sisters. I don't know about you, but for me that is welcome news indeed.
So today, please offer a prayer of thanksgiving for everyone in your life who lets you know that it does not all rest on your shoulders, but that your life is shared in common with everyone who is doing what God has called them to do.
Let us pray: Gracious Father, we thank first and foremost for your Son, Jesus Christ, who gave himself to us an offering and sacrifice in his life, death and glorious resurrection. We thank you also for those who share our lives with us,for those who help us carry the load, our spouses, our children, our brothers and sisters, our parents, our friends and other family members, and for our Church family at St. Augustine. We thank you also for the gift of your Holy Spirit which we will celebrate this Sunday at the feast of Pentecost. Amen.
CALENDAR REMINDERS:
Pentecost, this Sunday, wear red.
This Thursday, 20 May at 6:00 p.m.: We will feed about 10 volunteers at William Temple.
Sundays at 11:00 a.m. in the nave Adult Christian Formation. In our next series, which will start Sunday, 23 May (Pentecost), we will explore Heaven and Hell.
12 June: Gospel by the Sea.
PLEASE REMEMBER EVERYONE ON OUR PRAYER LIST, especially all of those who will be baptized on Pentecost, all of those with health concerns, especially Pat Tate and Tammie Taylor, and for all who are traveling, especially Bill Taylor and Lee Runion, and for all of those whose livelihoods are disrupted by the oil spill.
Your servant in Christ,
Fr. Chester J. Makowski+
St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church
Galveston, Texas 77550
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