Dear St. John's Community,
Good morning! It is good to be home in Washington, DC after a restorative time away with my family. Today's service is now available at this
link.
Tune in at 9am to watch with others live on our
Facebook page. And please join us for coffee hour at 9:30, hosted by Sarah and me.
Information for attending classes, coffee hour and other offerings are available
here.
In the service, we will hear about Jacob wrestling with God in the middle of the night and of the injury he received before being blessing. We will also hear of Jesus taking loaves and fish and miraculously feeding more than 5,000, breaking and blessing the bread before sharing it, like the bread of eucharist, or like his own body at his death and resurrection. I recorded my sermon Thursday morning, but watching the funeral for Rep. John Lewis later that day I could not help but notice how Lewis never shied away from receiving physical harm as he fought for equity—that he, too, allowed himself to be broken and blessed.
I am proud that many of us stood to honor him as his body passed in front of St. John's on Monday last week. (You may see a video of that
here.) It is worth upholding his final words, published posthumously in the
New York Times:
Though I may not be here with you, I urge you to answer the highest calling of your heart and stand up for what you truly believe. In my life I have done all I can to demonstrate that the way of peace, the way of love and nonviolence is the more excellent way. Now it is your turn to let freedom ring.
I pray that we will.
God's peace,
Rob+
