Monthly Message | September
“In God we live, move, and exist.” — Acts 17:28 (Common English Bible)
How big is the gap (metaphorically speaking) between Sunday and Monday in your life, our lives? The gap between what happens on Sunday when it comes to worship, proclaiming the Good News of Jesus Christ, sharing in Holy Communion, praying, singing hymns, etc., and what we do Monday and the other five days before the next Sunday rolls around. I don’t pose this question with the idea of shaming anyone — Oh, you aren’t practicing your faith every day of the week! Shame on you!
Rather, it’s good to remind ourselves that God is with us all of the time, and God cares about us and what we do all of the time, which includes when we aren’t spending intentional time with God in worship, prayer, or scripture reading — all vital parts of our lives in faith.
The verse from Acts comes from when the apostle Paul is in Athens and speaking in the Areopagus, which was a combination board of education, think tank, and idea-clearing house. Men brought him there to explain himself, as he was preaching about Jesus and the resurrection in the city. We will hear this text during our worship and picnic on September 13, which is when we also will celebrate Creation in Christ, a new festival churches in our denomination are celebrating this year. More information can be found on page 2.
Read that verse again. We live, we move, we exist — all of it is done with and because of God. Only a small portion of our lives, movement, and existence happens on Sunday mornings. In your other 167 or so hours of the week, you mean just as much to God as you do for that hour or so of worship. Maybe that seems like a basic truth of our faith, but it also is something that can’t be stated enough. Don’t get me wrong: Worship — coming together and being in community to worship God, pray together, and hear the Good News — is vital for our lives in faith. It refreshes and renews us. It’s also vital to know that God is present with you 24/7.
Getting back to the original question I posed, are there ways in our lives where we can close the gap between Sunday and Monday and remind ourselves of that wonderful fact? Most Wednesdays I do a brief morning prayer service around 8:30am on Facebook Live on the
St. Mark Facebook page (@stmarksnydertown) that anyone can watch and be a part of, or watch the recording. At the beginning of the service, I say the words below. They are from the Morning Blessing that is found in the book Bread for the Day. I invite you to say these words to yourself each day as a little reminder of God’s love for you and that God cares for you every minute of every day — Sunday, Monday, and beyond.
“I am a beloved child of God, marked with the cross of Christ forever. Your mercies are new every morning. Thank you, gracious God, for the gift of this new day. Awaken me to your abiding presence; open my eyes to your creation; open my ears to your promises; open my heart to the needs of others. Fill me with your Spirit and guide me this day in works of kindness, justice, and mercy. I ask this in the name of Jesus, the light and life of the world. Amen.”
Pastor David