As I approach formal retirement from fulltime ministry, memory and reflection are my frequent companions. In one such remembering, I was a young ministerial student at Mississippi College. My daughter, now seasoned enough to have two children of her own launching into adulthood, was only months old. One evening, she developed a very high fever, and the doctor urged her mother and me to take her to the emergency room. As we drove through the dark southern night, she was hot to the touch. On the radio, as her mother held her, a fiery preacher was holding forth. At one point, he reached what I’m sure he imagined was his “mike drop”, and said, “You don’t have any problems! All you need is faith in God!” A moment later, he shifted into a different tone, and said, “Friends, we are in a crisis time in our ministry.” He proceeded to make an appeal for funds, without which he would lose his spot on the radio station. As a very young preacher worried about his sick kid, I imagined yelling back at him, “You don’t have any problems! All you need is faith in God!”
This Sunday, the first one after Pentecost, is often called Trinity Sunday. It invites us to think deeply about the ways God works in the world. The lesson from the Epistles comes from Paul’s letter to the Romans, in which he gives his most thorough understanding of the Gospel. In the fifth chapter, the apostle notes that we exult both in the peace that faith brings to us, but also in the ironic awareness that we can also exult when we experience “tribulation.” If my ministry has taught me anything, it is this: in the same way that ancient theologians said that the members of the trinity “danced” together, God also moves dynamically with us, individually and collectively, even in our most difficult and messy moments.
We’ll discuss this on Sunday, as this sermon is titled, “The God Who Embraces Our Mess.” The sermon arises from Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31, to be ready by Glenda Murray, and Romans 5: 1-5, to be ready by Tom Shafer. Tom and Glenda, as Lay Members of the Annual Conference representing St. Mark’s, will also bring a report from the recently held Annual Conference. There will be a baptism of Emma Starr, daughter of Jillian and Austin Starr. We’ll be led musically by the Chancel Choir, directed by Gerry Sousa and accompanied by Ilze Akerbergs. We hope you are able to join us.