Author: stmarksneenah

Pastor’s Ponderings for December

stmarksneenah

“Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.” (Hebrews 11:1 New Living Translation)

I love the season of Advent in the Christian Church. I love the rich blue colors of the paraments, the lighting of the Advent wreath, the joy of seeing the Chrismon tree all lit up, the Sunday School Christmas program, and the general excitement that builds each week and peaks on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

The season of Advent is a time of excitement and preparation as we wait and look forward to celebrating the coming of the Christ child, but also, look forward—with some anxiousness—to Christ coming in glory.

The bible verse above from the New Testament book of Hebrews sums up, for me, not only the season of Advent but what it means to live life as a Christian.

Because of our faith in Christ, we have “confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.” As Christians we are stewards of hope, a hope that transcends faith and permeates our day to day lives.

This past year has been a particularly difficult time as we have physically distanced ourselves from   family and friends and our church community in an effort to protect ourselves and each other from the coronavirus. The leadership team at St. Mark’s Church continues to prepare for the time when we feel it is safe to gather for worship, with special safety protocols in place. Much like the season of Advent, we prepare with a sense of hope and expectation, and still we wait, knowing the time has not yet come.

Just this past week we had some exciting news as two U.S. pharmaceutical companies announced the development of vaccines that have shown promising results for fighting the coronavirus. During this  difficult time, this too gives us hope that eventually we will return to life as we once knew it. However, now we wait for the vaccine’s final approval for use and its eventual distribution.

Truth be told, we are a people for who waiting does not come easy. This year has tested our patience and there are many activities and celebrations that we have delayed or cancelled entirely. And still some events come that must be recognized and celebrated, even if it must be in a creatively different way. The birth of our Lord is one such event.

So, once more we wait with great anticipation to celebrate the event that changed the world! The birth of our Lord Jesus, the light that shines in the darkness that the darkness cannot overcome!

As we journey together through this season of Advent, a season that teaches us the virtue of waiting in hopeful expectation, let us hold one another in prayer and resolve to keep each other and our community safe. And let us continue to buoy one another up with the Good News that Jesus Christ has come and will come again! As stewards of hope, a hope that does not disappoint, let us wait with confidence for the things we cannot yet see.

Servants together,

Pastor Bob

Pastor’s Ponderings for November

stmarksneenah

“A scribe then approached and said, ‘Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.’” (Matthew 8:19-20 NRSV)

This week two different things brought this scripture verse to mind. The first was a story that came across my news feed about a bronze sculpture of Jesus shrouded in a blanket and lying on a park bench.

The sculpture of “Homeless Jesus,” created by Canadian sculptor Timothy Schmalz, depicts a man wrapped in a blanket with only his bare feet exposed. There is a hole in each foot, leaving the viewer with the impression that it is Jesus under the blanket.

When the traveling sculpture was placed outside St. Barnabas Episcopal Church in Bay Village, Ohio    recently, it only took 20 minutes for someone to call the police department’s non-emergency line to report the homeless person. The police arrived to discover the “Homeless Jesus” sculpture on display. The parish priest said the point of the statue is to get people’s   attention and show that when someone in need is being served, so is Christ.

We don’t know if the person who made the call, called out of concern for the homeless person or for     another reason, however, we do know that the traveling sculpture of “Homeless Jesus” has evoked strong emotional responses from many people. According to National Public Radio, when the sculpture was on display in Davidson, North Carolina, some residents felt the statue demeaned the neighborhood or was insulting.

Schmalz, the sculpture’s creator, said the statue is meant to reflect the values of Christ and show that    Jesus is aligned with “the least in our society…If Jesus came down today, he would be hanging out with the homeless people, with the marginalized.” Schmalz said, “It’s a benefit to homeless people and the marginalized themselves to understand that they have self-worth and that they are very close to God.”

The second event that brought the verse from Matthew’s Gospel to mind, was a call I received from Bill Devine of Habitat for Humanity of the Fox Cities. Bill said he was calling St. Mark’s Church to thank us for our financial support this past year. Bill said that their goal for 2020 was to build 17 homes. Due to the coronavirus out-break they didn’t quite make their goal this year, but still, they will finish 15 homes this year. Thanks be to God!

Habitat for Humanity, and their mission to provide sustainable housing, is just one of the many ways that your generous gifts continue to make a difference in our community and around the world.

2020 has been a difficult year, not only for each of us, but around the world. And as much as all of us have been inconvenienced, and perhaps, both emotionally and financially burdened by the virus and world events, 2020 has been understandably worse for the homeless and impoverished individuals in our society.

This year, our Thanksgiving celebrations will likely be curtailed from years past, and still, we know that God is faithful, and we have so much to be thankful for.

This year, at the top of my list of thanksgivings, I am thankful for all of you, for your kindnesses and your generous spirit, that continues to uplift this community of faith and keeps us on the right pathway as we look forward to a new year and the promise that it holds.

Have a blessed Thanksgiving everyone, and remember the poor.

Pastor Bob