It’s a wonderful thing to be able to read. When I was a freshman in high school, one of my football coaches encouraged me to read The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway. He knew that I loved to fish, and no doubt, suspected I would be hooked by this book. He was right. I connected deeply with Santiago, the aging fisherman, both with his love of baseball and his struggle to land a giant marlin in his tiny boat. I also deeply empathized with his attempts to keep the sharks from his catch. While I identified with Santiago’s young friend, Manolin, who did his best to help his older mentor, I remember thinking I wished the story had ended differently. In my reading, this story came alive, and so did I.
As I approach my last Sunday as a pastor at St. Mark’s United Methodist Church, I am impressed by the sense that faith is, in a way, a matter of learning to read. We learn to read the Scriptures in a thoughtful way. We are learning how to read that is going on within ourselves, our faith community and our culture. We are learning how to read, or discern, how we are being led in our own time and place. This is at the heart of what Jesus meant when, in Luke 12, he tells the disciples to not “worry” about what they are to say when they are brought before the authorities. There would be no need for them to be calculating or clever, because the Holy Spirit would teach them what to say in those very moments. They would be able, by the grace given to them, to “read the room”, and to say and do what was true.
We’ll chat about this in the service on Sunday. The sermon, “Reflections on Learning to Read”, arises from Psalm 19, to be read by Mary Beth Hannah-Hansen, and Luke 12: 1-12, to be read by Kristen Hess. We will be led musically by the Chancel Choir, directed by Gerry Sousa, and accompanied by Ilze Akerbergs. They will present the anthem, “How Can I Keep From Singing.” There will also be a liturgy of farewell for a retiring pastor, led by Lay Leaders Dian Ludlow and Jonathan Michaelsen. We’ll sing, have a moment for children, and pray. We hope you can join us.