From Pastor Pat: Living with change
(Posted May 20, 2017)
“I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you. In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me; because I live, you also will live.” – Jesus at the Last Supper
It’s the season of graduations and of confirmations, and the start of the season of weddings. No matter the occasion, May is a time of celebration of things coming to an end, but also of beginnings. Hidden behind those beginnings is an anxious question: NOW What??
“It used to be that I was a student. And I got being a student down fairly well, and my parents did as well. But now? What do I do now? How do I get a job? How do I live like an adult?”
“It used to be that I was a kid in Church. My parents took me. The Church School helped me to know about Jesus. But now I’m a teen. And now I am confirmed, an adult in the eyes of my church. But I have all these questions, all these doubts. How do I live like a Christian, if I know what that means?”
“It used to be that I had my life all planned out. A job. A place to live. A bunch of friends. But then I fell in love and gave a part of myself to a wonderful person. We’re getting married. How will I do a good job of being married? What will our future together hold? NOW What??”
The bottom line is, we humans are not very good living with change, even when that change may very well bring good things. Jesus acknowledged this on the night of the Last Supper, when he knew he had to give up his life in order for us to live eternally. Jesus knew that his disciples were used to having things just as they had been, with him in sight to give them guidance, to tell them it would be all right. But the time had come for the disciples to stop living like followers and start acting like a Church. Church, by definition is “a body of believers.” On the occasion of this Sunday’ Gospel, Jesus tells the apostles that it’s time to stop being followers and to start being believers. Live what you have been taught. Know that, even without a formal place of worship, you are one body. Believe that, even though Jesus is not visible, he will send the Holy Spirit to bring you wisdom, and a path into a very bright future. Above all, do not give up. You are not orphans, but you are graduating to a new understanding of who you are.
Quite candidly, these words are just as vital for the church today as it was yesterday. We need to act like believers, believing that God WILL forge a path for our futures even though we might not see it at the moment. Now is not the time for panic, but for coming together for good. – Pastor Pat Kriss