Duties of Grace

I don’t know if you have been by the new church lately, but they just put in the front windows and a bunch of trees the other day. Everyday it looks closer and closer to being ready to occupy. They stained the floors in the Sanctuary yesterday, and are installing granite counter tops in few places. We are so close!Because we are so close to being in a new phase of ministry, for the next two weeks we are talking about how God uses our time and talents in what Paul calls, “the household of faith.” Yes, the Apostle Paul uses many metaphors to describe the church, but the one I like best is “household,” or better yet - family. Because of what Jesus did on the cross we are not only connected to Jesus, but also to this new, large, messy, dysfunctional, hilarious, crazy, and sometimes maddening family of other believers. We are members of the same household of Jesus.I don’t know about you, but in my household there is a lot of work to be done, in order for family life to not be a burden to any one person and so that family life is a mutual delight for everyone. For this to happen, for every member of my household to thrive, everyone has chores that contribute to the common good. Here is the crazy thing about this: in my house, we all have jobs to do that are not our gift and talent, but we all do them because we must and because we can. The church is no different.So, as you look at that glorious building which will house our large and growing family, know this - for our family to thrive and for us to show hospitality to our guest, there are a lot of “chores,” or ministries, for everyone in our St. Patrick family to help with. I hope you will be here Sunday as we talk about it.Blessings,Jim