From the Pastor's Pen

Dear Friends, 

As you can see, I was back in a Kayak today.  This time Mike and I were invited by friends to try their Kayaks on the St. Joe river.  We were happy to try again having enjoyed our first venture last weekend. 

The river was very calm this morning and beautiful.  We paddled by some beautiful homes and lots of duck families.  Additionally I saw a family of turtles sunning themselves on a log.  I can’t be sure it was a family. I don’t really know if turtles stay together in families as the young ones grow.   There were a couple of large turtles with several smaller ones, so I’m assuming it was a family. Once again I enjoyed being so close to the water.  I could dip my hand in water and splash the spider that was trying to join me in the boat!

Mike and I did much better paddling our boats this morning.  I was surprised at how quickly we were gaining in skill.  It is interesting to me how this Kayak thing is growing on me.  Mike and I have been leaning toward picking up a canoe.  I think that’s partly because we know how to canoe together, and honestly I’m pretty skilled with a canoe.  It just easier to slip back into something we already know and like.  On the other hand, the Kayaks are becoming more and more appealing as we try them, and… we have several members of our church who are quite evangelistic about Kayaks!  “You should go with Kayaks!  They are so far superior to canoes!” we are told.   I hope these folks are equally evangelistic about our Lord..

As I have been pondering our decision about a possible watercraft purchase, it has occurred to me that most of us struggle with “something new.”  The old ways or old patterns feel so comfortable.  We know how the old things work.  We like the old patterns.  Why not stay with the old?  Surprisingly sometimes the “something new” has real merit and might in fact please us more if we can give it a try.

Jesus had trouble with people in his day accepting his new teaching and new theology and new way of serving God.  One day he was responding to a question from John the Baptist’s disciples who came to see him.  They were questioning his spiritual practices and asking why Jesus wasn’t doing things the way John did them.  He responded with two short parables. 

No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old cloak, for the patch pulls away from the cloak, and a worse tear is made. Neither is new wine put into old wineskins; otherwise, the skins burst, and the wine is spilled, and the skins are destroyed; but new wine is put into fresh wineskins, and so both are preserved.”  (Matt 9: 16 – 17)

I think Jesus was trying to tell them his new teachings required new practices to go with them.

We all are experience lots of “new things” these days.  Al lot of “the new” makes us uncomfortable and we find ourselves missing the old.  Still I have to wonder what new thing God may be doing with us as a church. Perhaps there are new skills, or new patterns of faith and practice that God would like us to learn.  I’d like to be open to God’s “something new” in this strange and uncertain time.

Peace,

Pr. Sally