Devotional 6-4-17

Acts 2:1-4 (Common English Bible)

¹When Pentecost Day arrived, they were all together in one place. ² Suddenly a sound from heaven like the howling of a fierce wind filled the entire house where they were sitting. ³ They saw what seemed to be individual flames of fire alighting on each one of them. ⁴ They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages as the Spirit enabled them to speak.

As a deacon, part of my calling is to help lead the church out of the building and into the world -- our great commission is to go and make disciples, after all!  But it is important to remember and rejoice in the aspects of unity and fellowship that being together in one place provides.  The apostles were together regularly to eat and to talk and to remember their time with Christ when, on the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came to them.

Many have asked about our current renovation work - why are we doing it, can we afford it, what are we going to do with the new space?   Again, as a deacon, part of my calling is to help lead the church OUT of the building.  But in our ministry context, we are literally within the mission field of those needing the hope and love of Christ as much as anyone anywhere in the world.  We face unprecedented rates of addiction, which is causing unprecedented rates overdoses, incarceration, and broken families.  

Johnson Memorial UMC has been abundantly blessed by many generous families through the years.  Many have left gifts to the church designated solely for building improvements and upgrades.  With the help of many in the church, we have visioned and discerned how ministry in Huntington, at Johnson Memorial United Methodist Church, might look in a building that is more easily accessible to all, a building that is inviting and welcoming to our neighbors, a building that has space available for other groups and churches to do ministry alongside us.

But the building is still just a building.  With the improvements to the physical structure, we must continue to pray for the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives and the life of our church.  We must pray for the ability to speak in the language of those around us, the ability to connect with those who need to know the love of Christ, through us.  And we must pray that as we gather together, it is with the expectancy that the Holy Spirit will continue to come upon us, giving us the power and the courage to go and make disciples of all the nations, starting at our front door!

Rev. Alan Williams

Devotional 6-19-15

Into the storm

The lectionary Gospel reading for this week is Mark 4:35-41.  It tells the story you may have heard many times about Jesus telling his disciples that they should cross the lake, late in the evening.  This is after a day on the lake already - a day that such large crowd had gathered to hear what Jesus had to say, he had to get in a boat and get away from the shore to be seen and heard.

During the day, Jesus shared with the disciples and all those gathered several parables - the parable of the soils, a parable about lamps, parables about what God’s kingdom is like.  We read that Jesus have the listeners “as much as they were able to hear.” (Mark 4:33).  Jesus spoke to the crowds that day only in parables, then explained everything to his disciples when he was alone with them.

After all this, Jesus suggests to his disciples that they should cross over to the other side of the lake.  This might sound like a reasonable request.  However, things quickly went wrong.  While they were underway, a storm quickly came up.  The disciples, most of whom were fishermen and familiar with sailing for most of their lives, panicked.  Jesus, however, slept through the event, until they woke him and accused him of not caring that they were “drowning.”

Jesus calmed the sea, and then asked the disciples why they were frightened.  Did they not have faith yet?

On the one hand, this is a story about faith - about trusting in Christ to be with us in the storm, and watching over us and caring for us.  But perhaps an equally important lesson is that Jesus will send us INTO storms.  It was not uncommon for storms to come quickly at night here.  Perhaps Jesus even knew that there would come a storm.  His mission of getting to the other side of the lake was what he asked the disciples to accomplish.  It was his plan, and his timing.  If the disciples knew this, they should not have been frightened or concerned about drowning.

It was uncomfortable for them.  And it was clearly frightening for them, as it would be for us.  Most of what we are called to do is like that.  Sometimes I think we expect our road of discipleship to be easy.  Perhaps though if we find ourselves too comfortable, we should begin to ask if we are where Jesus wants us to be.

In the end, the disciples learned a valuable lesson that evening - that though it felt scary and though it seemed as though Christ had forgotten about them and their predicament, he was in it with them, but had the peace and assurance of living into the Kingdom plan, as dangerous as that seemed.  When we are faced with that same storm, remember that Christ is there with us too.

“Gracious God, give us the peace and assurance of your comfort in the storms.  We know that we are called to a radical discipleship, out onto the stormy waters.  But we know that you are always with us.  Let us lean into that peace as we go and make disciples of all the world.  Amen.”

Rev. Alan Williams