The Call to Care for Others
Marcus Borg writes in the Heart of Christianity that we Christians do a good job of proclaiming God’s love for us, but that we are less successful at emphasizing the importance of our love for God. He adds that one of the ways in which we can accomplish this is through practice.
Borg describes practice as paying attention to God and loving what God loves. He suggests various ways to “practice” our love, to include worship, prayer, reading the Bible, participating in a Christian community, and sharing deeds of hospitality, compassion and justice.
Participation in St. John’s many ministries fits perfectly into Borg’s list of “practices”. Carrying out these ministries beyond the parish doors is about our relationship to God and our neighbor. Our role as stewards of God’s many blessings allows us to demonstrate and practice our love for God. And when we give of ourselves, it is a direct profession of our love for one another.
St. John’s ministries illustrate the presence of God through all we do, not only in serving people and communities in need, but also by creating opportunities for parishioners to experience the joy of serving others.
Our ability to increase our ministry, to nurture our faith, and to practice our love, requires the attention and commitment of all of us. Please join us this Lenten season in practicing our love for God and neighbor by considering one of the many ministries of service at St. John’s.
Grace’s Table
Jessica Pulsifer and Martha Jenkins