Dear Resurrection,
Grace and peace to you from Richmond Hill Ontario!
I hope you are all enjoying some spring weather down
east.
I imagine the bulbs we planted together for the
anniversary have begun to sprout again.
I have thought about the internship I had at Resurrection and it bring s
a smile to my face. As I fumble through
my first months as a new pastor, I have relied so much on the grace and
encouragement you extended to me. As
Pentecost Sunday was approaching this year, you especially came to mind. This
Pentecost I will be confirming two youth members of our congregation here in
Richmond Hill. It moves me to think only
a little while back, you sent me out from Halifax to share in God’s mission and
now I am laying hands on others sending them out empowered by the Spirit to
share in this mission. This is something to celebrate!
I
want to thank-you so much for investing in my life and ministry. I pray that I may continue in your example of
grace. Resurrection will always hold a special
place in my heart.
Together in Christ, Pastor Mark (or
affectionately known among us as Vicar Mark)
This is a
red-letter day! A red-letter day is a
day of importance or special significance.
This is an
ancient term and practice, dating as far back as a Roman calendar from Before
the Common Era, where the special dates were written in red ink. In the Middle
Ages, important notes and instructions were marked in red letters – rubrics –
if you glance through the liturgy section of our hymn book you will note the
rubrics (instructions) are in red.
Special days are coloured red, sometimes denoted in calendars in
red-lettering – in church Pentecost and Saint days are celebrated with red
paraments --- symbolizing people who acting via the Holy Spirit did amazing
acts in being Christ’s light in the world.
This is a
red-letter day! Especially significant
for Ben, Jason, and Patricia.
Today the
church celebrates the Holy Spirit working among us as a community of faith-
including not only this time and place, but, all times and places- past,
present, and future; next door, and around the world. Celebrating confirmation
on Pentecost reminds us that as a community we are to be about spreading the
Good News in a variety of languages --- texts, FB posts, blogs, love in action,
Instagram, tweets-- to speak to people of all ages, and teaching discipleship
so that people join God’s family; wanting to participate in what God is doing
in the world. Today Ben, Jason, and
Patricia public confess their faith, and covenant with God and the community to
allow the Spirit to work through them to bring God’s peace and justice into the
now.
This is a red-letter day! Red-letter day is
explained in the Letter of Paul to the Romans- -- speaking about the mystery of
Baptism Paul says that the Holy Spirit claims, gathers, and welcomes us into
Christ’s body, the church. We are reminded that we are adopted and called children
of God, brothers, sisters with a common heart and mission.
Romans 8 ---as read from The Message (MSG) translation:
12-14 So don’t you see that we
don’t owe this old do-it-yourself life one red cent. There’s nothing in it for
us, nothing at all. The best thing to do is give it a decent burial and get on
with your new life. God’s Spirit beckons. There are things to do and places to
go!
15-17 This resurrection life you
received from God is not a timid, grave-tending life. It’s adventurously
expectant, greeting God with a childlike “What’s next, Papa?” God’s Spirit
touches our spirits and confirms who we really are. We know who he is, and we
know who we are: Father and children. And we know we are going to get what’s
coming to us—an unbelievable inheritance! We go through exactly what Christ
goes through. If we go through the hard times with him, then we’re certainly
going to go through the good times with him!
Confirmation
today, reminds us all of our baptismal promises and confirms who we really
are. There is an adventurous life before
us, fueled by wind and flame – the Word and the Spirit. There are things to do
and places to go! Thanks be to God.
May 15, 2003
was the day the June Carter Cash passed away.
It was also the day that an 11 year old boy, in small town Alberta,
wrote a condolence letter to Johnny Cash.
In the letter the boy explained that he played guitar and was just
finishing a CD full of Johnny Cash songs, that Johnny was his favourite country
artist, and that he was really sorry and sad that Johnny had lost his wife. A
few months later, the boy, Brett Kissel, had a CD release party in his home
town – 550 people were coming to the sold out concert of a 12 year old. On the day of the concert Brett’s parents
greeted him with good news and sad news.
The good news was that the concert was more than sold out, the sad news,
Johnny Cash had passed away that very morning.
Brett was crushed – his idol was dead and he would be singing many of
his songs. Later in the day, when the
mail arrived, there were letters from family and friends, congratulating and encouraging
Brett on his big day. Amongst the letters was a big manila envelope, with his
name on it, no return address. He opened
the letter ….. and it was a red-letter day!…. inside was mail from Johnny Cash,
a photo of him with a note, “to Brett, Jesus first – Johnny Cash.”
For Brett,
this was confirmation that what he was doing as a musician he was meant to do
as a vocation; this letter was him receiving a spirit of grace and a spirit of
encouragement. And it happened when he was 12 years old. Johnny Cash shared
Christ’s light the moment he signed and sent the photo, a seemingly simple act
that had abundant dividends. Fast forward twelve years, to today, Brett Kissel
is a musician, and holds that that gift, that confirmation of who he was to be,
is his most prized possession.
Pastor Mark’s
letter to us is a red-day letter! It
reads like a letter that Paul might have written to one of the communities who
embraced the Gospel through him. Mark
shares with us the spirit he gained when in our midst: a spirit of Grace and a
spirit of encouragement. This was done by the community investing in him as an
individual and in his ministry. The Spirit working among us prepared Mark with
a gift, a commission and purpose to be sent out to share in God’s mission. The
red-letter now encourages us to continue as an example of grace.
This is a
red-letter day! Would you have guessed
that we are celebrated for having “a spirit of Grace” and “a spirit of
encouragement”? And to think that our expression of the Spirit of Grace and a
spirit of encouragement are now abundantly bearing fruit, as Mark passes grace
and encouragement on to a whole new group of people, and returns it to us a 100
fold. How exciting is the Spirit moving
in wind and flame.?
Patricia, Ben,
and Jason, you were part of the community when Mark was here. You were part of
his journey. You were part of this community’s expression of grace and
encouragement. This morning we were all given a gift – and in some ways a
special commissioning for the three of you – as your life unfolds be about
honouring the promises you make today in two ways: through grace and through encouragement. In whatever you do, keep these two words in
your heart, your head, your actions.
You are and
will be apart of the journey of many others, just as all of us will be --- live
your baptism – gifted with a spirit of grace and a spirit of encouragement.
