From the Bridge Pastor
A new month has started. I remember a time (many years ago) when I thought that time moved SO slowly…especially if I was planning to do something special. Now, it seems as if time flies all too quickly. We are in the eighth month of the year…already!
What makes time seem to pass slowly or rapidly? For me, it depends on how much I have to do and how long each item takes. Some things are accomplished more quickly than others, especially things that you know how to do without much thought. Other projects, which require more thought, can take longer than expected.
There will come a day when each one of us is no longer living on earth. We all have faith and hope that we will spend eternity with our Triune God. Eternity has neither a beginning nor an end.
The twenty-first chapter of Revelation begins in this way: “I saw a new heaven and a new earth. The first heaven and the first earth had disappeared, and so had the sea. Then I saw New Jerusalem, the holy city, coming down from God in heaven. It was like a bride dressed in her wedding gown and ready to meet her husband.
I heard a loud voice shout from the throne: God’s home is now with his people. He will live with them, and they will be his own. Yes, God will make his home among his people. God will wipe all tears from their eyes, and there will be no more death, suffering, crying, or pain. These things of the past are gone forever.
Then the one sitting on the throne said: I am making everything new. Write down what I have said. My words are true and can be trusted. Everything is finished! I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end.” (Contemporary English Version)
None of us knows when this will take place, but our calling in the meantime is live a Christian life, showing love to our neighbors, caring for those who need our help, and worshiping our Triune God.
Mary, Mother of our Lord, is a minor festival in many denominational calendars. In the Lutheran calendar, the principal festival of Mary is “Mary, Mother of Our Lord” on Aug. 15. The “of Our Lord” speaks to Mary’s role as the mother of Jesus in the Gospel narrative and as the mother of God in eternity. In 431 the Council of Ephesus proclaimed Mary as the theotokos, the Greek word for the God-bearer.
We do not worship Mary, but it is good for us to take a look at the important role that God gave Mary as the human woman who would give birth to God’s Son. How a virgin could become pregnant without a male partner is impossible to explain. However, it is something that we accept by faith. With permission of the Worship Committee, we will transfer that minor festival in the Church calendar to Sunday, August 14.
As always, if you are someone you know would benefit from a pastoral visit, please call the office and let Michael or me know.
In Christ,
Pastor Del
