It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion.
— Abraham Lincoln
The Gettysburg address stands as an icon of our national history and as we move toward the celebration of another Memorial Day, I find myself thinking about the words spoken on that day in November, 1863. President Lincoln was able in a few short words to acknowledge the moment at hand and stir the hearts of generations on to the work still unfinished. At some level, this season of the Christian year, this “Ordinary Time” as it is called, is about that very thing.
These weeks are known as ‘ordinary’ not because they are common, but rather because of the way they are marked. These weeks are counted from Pentecost as ‘first Sunday after’ and ‘second Sunday after.’ First and second are ‘ordinal numbers’ and so the season is ‘ordinary.’ (File that away as a piece of useless information from your pastor that you can drop at the next social gathering.)
In the weeks following the celebration of Pentecost Sunday, we pause from our journey through the story of the life of Jesus and begin to reflect on the life of our community. We dedicate ourselves to the unfinished work of redemption for our world. The Apostle Paul put it this way to the church in Colossae: “I am completing what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church.” (Col. 1:24) He didn’t mean he added to the work of Christ, he meant that he was continuing the act of love and sacrifice started by Jesus on the cross.
For us, salvation is less about us than it is about all the rest of the world as we join ourselves in this act of self-giving. We are dedicated here to the unfinished work, as it were. Over these weeks of summer, I hope you will be a part of our worship and I hope you will find ways you can be a part of the ministry of St James UMC.
When we move to the Summer worship schedule on June 16, we are also introducing a time for experimentation. If you have always wanted to try a ministry of the church, but are not sure you want to commit for the remainder of time, I encourage you to reach out and give it a try. Stop by the tech booth for a week, and see what it takes; reach out to the Greeters and see what it is like for one week; email Chris and consider being an usher for one Sunday; who knows, you might even try the choir for one week.
Experiment and find a place you might serve — a way you might help us in this unfinished work of Church.
Pastor Tom