This week in worship we will be exploring a text from the Gospel of John, where the soon-to-be-called disciple, Nathanael, learns that Jesus had seen him (and apparently known him) before Nathanael ever met him. (Read John 1:43-50).
Welcome to our world as clergy leaders of a large church in what is really a pretty small community. Sometimes people will come up to us and ask if we are pastors at St. Luke’s while we are in the gym—even in the locker room!—awkward! I am sometimes spotted at the grocery store by people who apparently are surprised that we actually eat cereal and an occasional frozen pizza. The best recent clergy spotting took place on a cruise we were on in November. A long-time St. Luke’s family whom we know very well saw us at our muster station before we left port, but we didn’t see them until the next to the last day on ship. They were intentionally giving us “alone time,” but even so, we had been seen. Knowing how easy it is to be noticed by mortals makes it even easier to understand how we can be known by a Lord and Savior who is immortal.
Even so, many of us sort of have this idea that we are living “under the radar” when it comes to God. I don’t know why we would think that. The Bible is very clear about God knowing our goings out and our comings in, the number of the hairs on our heads, and the length of our days, among other things. On Sunday we will be sharing the sermon time again in clergy pairs as we reflect on our personal relationships with a God who not only knows us, but also regards us as “the apple of his eye.”
Come hear how each of us expresses both the commonality of our assurance of being known by the everlasting God in Christ, and the uniqueness of how we came to know that.
Finally, in a time when our nation and world seem to be falling apart in ways that indicate our disunity, our prejudices, our distrust, and our fears, we have some key opportunities to witness to our commitment to unity, acceptance, trust, and healing this MLK Jr. weekend. Click here to view all of the events that St. Lukers will be attending this Saturday.
We look forward to seeing you on Sunday, that is, of course, unless you see us in Publix before then…which is entirely possible!
Grace and Peace –Bill and Your Clergy Team.