PJ’s Page –
As I look at the LMLC calendar for May, I am drawn to two particular events. On the surface they seem unrelated, but the more I consider them, the more convinced I am of how one is a reminder to us of another.
On May 19, the Feast of Pentecost, we will baptize Mackenzie Culmer into the priesthood of believers, the family of God. This precious child will be water washed and sealed with the Spirit, as a reminder that she is Christ’s own forever.
Each one of us has also had that water poured onto our foreheads. Or maybe you were actually immersed in a larger body of water! But whatever the method and whenever the time in our lives, we were baptized in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Named and claimed by the One who created us and loved us.
Having been given so great a gift…new life….how might we respond?
Matthew 25 gives us a good idea:
Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave your food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.’
On May 28th members of Christ’s family will come into our midst in search of refuge and shelter. They have nothing – nothing to drink or eat or wear. At least not as much as we enjoy. Life for them has become suddenly and unimaginably difficult. Perhaps they are homeless because they lost a job or fled abuse – who knows. And Jesus doesn’t care. Jesus says to us, ‘just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.’
Beloved community, the family of Jesus Christ and the family of God, precious sisters and brothers, are coming to dwell in our midst for a mere week. I believe that it is in response to our baptismal callings that we reach out to them. This is how these two events connect – we have been given the greatest gift of all and our response is to reach out to others as though we were reaching out to Christ.
Maybe it is helpful to re-frame the question:
If Jesus were coming to Luther Memorial for a week, how would we respond?
In service with you,
Pastor Julie Hutson+