Dear friends,
This morning while at Montrose Dog Beach with my pups, I witnessed a seiche, a phenomenon not uncommon in lakes, especially larger lakes, where the winds or a change in the air pressure cause the lake or a portion of it to suddenly recede and then just as quickly fill back up. Today’s seiche was a gentle one, as my friend and I watched the lake water slowly move out, leaving us standing on wet sand only to soon find our feet covered again in water. Seiches, however, can be dangerous and scary; they can move with sudden and unexpected velocity, water swiftly moving out only to rush back in. Life can feel that way when the ground beneath our feet shifts or changes when we’re not even expecting it; when events like the burning of a cross in Grant Park or the steady erosion of democratic rights we thought had been won shake our sense of security and stability.
This Sunday we will hear the first part of Jesus’s missionary discourse in Matthew’s gospel, the calling of the 12 apostles to go – to go amidst the tumult of an empire, which sought to crush and destroy; to go amidst those who did not welcome the gospel message of peace; to go, and bring the life-giving and healing message of Jesus guided by love and mercy. They were being called to go and put their faith into action in a time of uncertainty and even danger. What does it look like today to hear that message to go, to put our faith into action. What does it mean for you? What does it mean for us as a community? So many of you already put your faith into action each and every day in a beautiful myriad of ways. And if you’re thinking about ways to more deeply live your faith, perhaps this summer is a good time to help out on a Tuesday night, serving our neighbors at RCS’s food pantry or helping to unload food on Tuesday afternoons.
Perhaps you’d like to join folks this Sunday at 10 AM as our friends from the Institute For Community Empowerment teach us how we can advocate for a new mental health center to serve Lincoln Square, Uptown and Edgewater by asking our neighbors to sign a petition for a ballot initiative. Or perhaps, it’s spending time on our beautiful lakefront, watching the movement of the water, reveling in God’s creation and asking God to lead you toward what God has in store for you. No matter where you feel the pull of God’s call to you, always know thatyou are enfolded in God’s gracious love and mercy.
See you in church!
All my best,
Courtney+