The End is the Beginning

Having recently seen the latest X-Men movie, Days of Future Past, I’ve been trying to reconcile the various space and time dimensions we experience in that movie. So one character sends his consciousness to the past, so the past is the present, but he is also still in the future. And the present continues until he changes the past, which also changes the future. And when he arrives in the future which is now the present, he can't remember the past. Got that? So where is Wolverine – the past, the present, or the future? 

Read Psalm 68 and Acts 1:6-14.

As we read through the Gospels, we learned that Jesus was the Word made flesh, the Word that was with God from the beginning. So Jesus, the Son of God, entered our present world through a stable birth, and lived as fully human – teaching, healing, feeding, laughing, crying. He is betrayed, convicted, and crucified, only to be risen from the grave. Jesus is somehow at once in the past, present, and the future.

The disciples, as they learned from Jesus, must have thought they were on the cusp of a new beginning. With his death, they concluded that it was the end, only to discover a whole new beginning on Easter morning. They then spent forty days together with Jesus, eating and learning – which brings us to today’s reading.

Jesus instructs them to be witnesses to the ends of the earth and is lifted up on a cloud. The disciples stand there awestruck, until two men in white robes shake them up. Another ending – their rabbi and dear friend has now ascended into heaven. Their inner circle follows into an upper room, praying together.

Aren’t our lives full of endings and beginnings and beginning of endings and ending of beginnings? At Trinity, we experienced an ending when Pastor Shelley retired. As Pastor Alex guides us through this transition time, it feels a little like those disciples gathered in the upper room. Rather than going out and witnessing, we are stuck in a prayerful time, waiting for our next installed pastor who will start Trinity on a new beginning.

Where are you? Are you still processing the ending, or are you ready for a beginning? More importantly, where is Jesus? In the past, the present, or the future? Is Jesus up in heaven, removed from our daily lives? Or is Jesus in our hearts? Or is Jesus in the space between us, pulling us together, sending us out to be His witnesses to the ends of the earth? Maybe Jesus like Wolverine - the answer is YES to all of the above!

As we devote ourselves to prayer, let us brace ourselves for the new beginning that is just around the corner. Get ready for the house groups, where we will discuss the future of Trinity and what that means for our next leader. Continue to reach out through VBS, Let’s Help, the Rescue Mission, and our new day camp in July. Let us not forget our call to be witnesses NOW – not when Jesus comes again, not when our new pastor comes again, but TODAY. May this be so.

Grace and peace,

Pastor Kate

Day by Day

How would you define ‘church’? Is it our building? Is it a group of people who gather together in the name of God? Can it be a group of people who run together? Or a college student Bible study? Are we church when we work at Harvesters or the Rescue Mission? Are we church when we organize for justice, or knit together? 

Read Psalm 23 and Acts 2:42-47. 

This Sunday, 2 of our youth will be baptized, and 6 of them will profess their faith publicly as the last step in becoming a member of our congregation. You can read their faith statements here. It will be a joyful celebration of their journey this past year, as well as looking forward to the ways they will continue to contribute to Trinity's family. 

The passage from Acts describes the early church, a church that gathered around teaching, fellowship, breaking of bread, and prayers. Does that sound familiar? As they dedicated themselves to these four acts, the community was moved to a place of generosity and abundance, as they shared everything and made sure that no one was in need. And day by day, their community grew. Day by day, more people came to know of Jesus Christ and his saving grace. Day by day, our Shepherd God brought more people into Her flock. 

Day by day, Jesus is still at work at Trinity and in Topeka. Day by day, we are given opportunities to share what we have been given: forming new disciples with our Sunday School classes, telling strangers about ‘my church,’ studying the Bible in a doughnut shop or at R&R with the Word, volunteering at Harvesters, tithing, caring for the children in our nursery, ushering on Sunday morning, and delivering bread to new friends. 

The way that God is overflowing our cups does not mean that there are never any complications, or that our justice and mercy work never gets messy. Day by day, as more are welcomed into our family of Christ, we must make room, we must be willing to sacrifice our own comfort and security to make room for new members in our family. 

Timothy B. Hare writes that “The Christian life is about adjusting ourselves to the existence of a gracious God.” We adjust ourselves to abundance and graciousness as we share our lives together, day by day. Come join us on Sunday and witness to our gracious shepherd God as our family grows, day by day. 

Grace and peace, 
Pastor Kate

Wales' Tales 050714

The wind is blowing summer hot,

A furnace blast of air,        

Why, hardly had the spring arrived!

This really isn’t fair.

The springtime blossoms had begun

To fill my eye’s delight,

When suddenly, the summer sun

Is beaming strong and bright.

I really miss the time of year when

Kites sail in the sky,

When puffy clouds and gentle breeze

Dandelion seeds to fly.

The April rain, the greening grass,

Gives time to thaw and stretch,

But with the coming of the heat,

Too soon for summer catch.

Too soon are gone the tulip heads

All bobbing in a row,

And daffodils are just a thought

Since fighting through the snow.

For now in earnest heat arrives,

The grass begins to rise,

And mowing is the common task

To form the lawns we prize.

And summer brings it just rewards,

As corn and soybeans grow,

And cattle graze on rolling hill

As creeks and rivers flow.

They make their way to larger streams

And finally join the sea,

Reminding that’s the way of life,

The life God gives to me.

We may not always like the change,

We might prefer it cease,

But ours is not the fight to stay,

Instead, we find God’s…

                                                Peace,