Responding to Fears
Reflecting on this week’s Scriptures
Elijah was exhausted and dispirited, as he set off into the desert wondering what he had done with his life, and fell asleep under the sparse cover of a broom or furze tree. What is striking is that in the first instance the angel brings him a hearth cake and a jug of water to keep him going. In some ways our fears reflect some of that same exhaustion, we want to know will the basics of our parish lives be sorted in ways that are predictable and familiar as they keep us going. The angel challenges Elijah to get up and eat for the long journey, Paul challenges us to let go any bitterness and anger, and Jesus challenges us to stop murmuring in ways that limit His capacity to enable people to be open to God. Leaving what is familiar and known is hard and painful so we often resist. What helps us? Elijah is given food that lasts for a 40 day journey. Paul invites us to be kind and compassionate to one another and Jesus offers us the “living bread that came down from heaven” and his life which he gave for each one of us.
Responding to Fears
This week we bring to the Eucharist all the fears, doubts, and concerns we named last weekend at St Anne’s, St Bernard’s, St Francis de Sales, and St Joseph’s. Thank you for your honesty.
We have many questions—some similar, some different, all valid. We don’t yet have the answers, and this is why we are discerning the future course.
If we let these fears, doubts, and concerns overwhelm us, then we could very well end up like the followers of Jesus in today’s Gospel, murmuring among ourselves—with a moaning that cripples creativity, and hampers initiating anything new.
Next week we will invite you to share your hopes for our new Parish of Wellington South. What will it have at its heart and spirit?
We pray: Guide us as we seek to discern Your Will of how we will live out our Vision to be a community of your joyful disciples growing together and spreading your message.