Presiding Bishop Michael Curry uses the 2nd Inaugural Speech of Abraham Lincoln and the words of Martin Luther King Jr. to ask the question, “Who will we be?” Should we as a nation go forth in chaos or community? Jesus taught us to move towards the Kingdom of God. If you are a follower of Jesus Christ, then unselfish sacrificial love is the way beyond chaos to community. The Episcopal Church asks us to work together on a path away from chaos to Beloved Community. Please be an agent of God’s love by blessing someone in need this very day.

 “God, the Gospel proclaims, works that Divine Will not through the overwhelming demonstration of power, but rather by working from powerlessness and vulnerability that is both apparent and real. What transforms, what transfigures this powerlessness into the power that God uses to the Good is the willingness to be open to God. To be made, and remade, in God’s image. And that takes imagination, courage and faith” (The Rt. Rev. Mark S. Sisk).

In today’s Gospel from the first chapter of John Nathanael meets Jesus and says to him, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" Phillip said to him, "Come and see." When Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him, he said of him, "Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!" Nathanael asked him, "Where did you get to know me?" Jesus answered, "I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you." Nathanael replied, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God!”

In the Gospel of Mark, it is the Roman Centurion that acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God after he dies on the cross for our sins. In John’s Gospel, Nathaniel declares that Jesus is truly the Son of God. Jesus knew us well before we knew him and we are anointed with the Holy Spirit to be the Beloved Community that God calls us to be.

If you are wondering how we will proceed as a nation through all the chaos, I ask you to put your faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of God. It is in our vulnerability and powerlessness against this Covid virus that we need to stay safe and put our faith in God. Together we can make it through this. Once you have faith that God can transform this chaotic mess into community again, you are able to reflect the light of Christ to a dark world. We do that through proclaiming Jesus Christ as Lord, seeking to develop our relationship with him in prayer and worship, and loving our neighbor. Please join me in prayer and worship on Sunday in person at 8 and 11 or on zoom for Morning Prayer at 8 and 9:15. I ask you to turn in prayer to the love of God in Jesus Christ. We would also like for you to join us at 9:00 for daily Morning Prayer and on Tuesday evening at 6:30PM for a dramatic Reading of the Gospel of Mark.

Let me end with the question that Presiding Curry asks us,” Who will we be?” Please have trust in God that we can break free in our vulnerability from the chaos and into Beloved Community if we love God and one another.

In Christ’s love,

Fr. Duncan

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