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O God, who before the passion of your only ­begotten Son revealed his glory upon the holy mountain: Grant to us that we, beholding by faith the light of his countenance, may be strengthened to bear our cross, and be changed into his likeness from glory to glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (Sunday’s Collect)

God sustains us with an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ. Jesus wants us to walk none other than the way of the cross. The way of the cross often begins in Lent. Lent is the time when we ponder the work that God has called us to do. We realize that the distractions of the world have kept us from God’s purpose in our lives. If we want to be an authentic expression of Christ’s light, we need to pray, study, listen, and make God the center of our world again. For this season of Lent, please consider listening to God. We come together to give thanks and pray that we might recognize God in our midst and follow this path of healing and wholeness. God is working in the life of our congregation in ways that we cannot ask for or imagine.

Join us for Shrove Tuesday on Tuesday March 4^th at 5:30 pm. Dave Lasek will cooking all your favorite pancakes! Ash Wednesday services will be held at 8 am, 12 pm, and 7 pm on March 5th. Please join us on Tuesdays at 5:30 pm for Stations of the Cross starting on March 11th. We begin our Alpha program on Tuesdays in Lent at 6:00 pm with dinner, a video at 6:30 pm, and an interesting discussion at 7 pm. You are asked to bring guests. Join us for an Alpha retreat on March 14^th and 15^th. There will be a Celtic Mass at 5:00 pm on March 16^th with Leslie Valentine as our soloist, Alex on the piano, and Deborah on the flute.

Our children and their parents will be planting seeds for the Garden of Grace on Sunday March 16th during Sunday School. We will watch these seeds sprout up, and we will transplant them to our three organic gardens. The vegetables will be given to local food pantries all summer.

Our Thrift Shop is doing great things in the community, but we need more help. Please volunteer to sort the donations or work on the sales floor. The Thrift Shop is open Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays from 12-3 pm. Please look through your closets and bring down some clothing or jewelry that you do not need. You can help our community and our church.

HIHI will be feeding the homeless on March 7^th and 21^st. Join us at 3:00 pm in the kitchen. Children and Youth are always welcome.

The point of this week'spassage is that although we cannot see God, God is always nearby. When we love God with all our heart, mind and soul, we begin to see the edge of God’s robe. When we truly listen to the Word of God, we are slowly transformed into the likeness of Jesus Christ. Although many churches are decreasing or even closing, St. John’s remains strong because you see Jesus Christ as someone that can lead us to a better place. We can love our neighbor despite all the crazy things going on in the world.

Our prayerbook invites you to the observance of a Holy Lent by participating in the activities and services at St. John’s. We will be preparing children for First Communion and Young Adults for confirmation during this Lenten Season. I ask you to rededicate yourself to the mission of the God’s church and to make a special effort to attend services and give of yourself for the sake of those in need.

In Christ’s love,
Fr. Duncan 

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Instead, love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, for he himself is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. (Luke 6:35-36)

Jesus asks us to love our enemies. When we disagree with “the other,” the situation can deteriorate to a tipping point. Once words are said or actions are taken in anger that cannot be taken back, hatred grips the very core of both parties. Hamas did things to Isreal in October 2023 that caused swift retribution. Eventually both sides see their only option as the total annihilation of the other. The situation in the Middle East doesn’t look like it will end well. Yet South Africa showed us the method of truth and reconciliation that ended the hostilities through forgiveness. Martin Luther King Jr. taught nonviolent resistance. Injustice needs to be dealt with, but violence and hatred are never the path of the Kingdom of God. Jesus teaches forgiveness through his own sacrifice and standing up to oppression through truth and love. We know there are people in the world that want to do harm to us. Jesus was a pacifist who said that we should never strike back in revenge. Jesus asks us to repay evil with generosity and kindness. He does not say that there isn’t a price to pay but leaves it to God to administer justice. This is a hard lesson for us to comprehend. Mother Teresa had a saying on her wall to try and keep these ideas in focus: 

          People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered. 

Forgive them anyway.

           If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives. 

Be kind anyway.

           If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies. 

         Succeed anyway.

          If you are honest and sincere people may deceive you. 

Be honest and sincere anyway.

           What you spend years creating, others could destroy overnight. 

Create anyway.

           If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous. 

Be happy anyway.

           The good you do today, will often be forgotten. 

Do good anyway.

        Give the best you have, and it will never be enough. 

Give your best anyway.

In the final analysis, it is between you and God.

It was never between you and them anyway.

If you find yourself at odds with another group of people and it is creating anger and anxiety, may I suggest using your energy to help those in need instead of fighting with those you hate. Social media is a breeding ground for division and really solves very little. Loving your family and friends and helping those in need helps you get through difficult times. Fighting for injustice can be done in nonviolent protest, and when you travel the high road, you find your team back in power before you know it. We need to ask others to behave with kindness and love. We can ask for others to love their neighbors. We are allowed to ask that others show mercy. But can we do that if we are not willing to be kind and merciful? If you are hurting from what is going on in the world, my suggestion is to breath, speak the truth, and act in loving ways. I join many of you in worrying where we are going in this world. I have been a pacifist since I was in the seventh grade. Our class may not have accomplished much by refusing to participate in music class until the United States got out of Vietnam, but we eventually ended that war. I believe that peace is possible between any two groups of people. Maybe I am totally ignorant, but I follow in the path of folks like Martin Luther King Jr., Archbishop Tutu, and Jesus. They all achieved results with truth, forgiveness and love. Maybe we can too.

In Christ’s love,

Fr. Duncan

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“Holy, holy, holy!” cry the angels!

What does it take to be holy? Does it take perfection? Does it take our good works? Does it take only our faith and we can move on thinking, “Well, at least I believe!” Holiness can sound like a daunting word. Only God is holy, yes, and yet He tells us that we are “to be holy, as I am holy” (Leviticus 21:8; 1 Peter 1:16). “To be holy” is to be set apart by God for a special purpose. The people of Israel were set apart from rest of the nations in order that through them the power of God might be revealed. The light shown to us in Epiphany is a holy light because it is the light of the One set apart to reveal God’s power in human flesh.

One of my favorites pieces of Scripture is Psalm 119:105. “Your word is a lamp before my feet, and a light to my path.” This light guides us into holiness. It guides our life so that it may be set apart to reveal to others Jesus Christ in the world today. Through our faith, through our actions, through our very lives, the holiness of God can be revealed.

But perhaps you don’t feel very holy. That’s ok, I, too, don’t feel very holy much of the time. Leading you through service, or Bible study, or prayer, doesn’t make me holy, per se, though they are holy things. God doesn’t expect perfection. That’s why we have Jesus Christ. That is the well we will always go to in order that we can perceive what holiness is and learn from Him and grow in sanctification. Jesus Christ bestows His holiness upon us so that we may live with purpose and in the abundance of His blessings.

Let us pray that God’s light may shine in you and lead you grow in holiness. Amen.

Fr. Zach