October 10, 2017
 
 
 
 
 RECTOR'S PEN
 
 
 
 
 
 
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Led by the Holy Spirit,
St. John's mission is to inspire people to grow into the heart and mind of Christ by engaging together in worshiping, serving, and spiritual formation.
 
 
 
 
 

The Rector’s Pen
Special Fall Stewardship Series Week 2: Oct 10
 
 
 
 

This year during our fall pledge campaign, St John’s seeks to “fill the net” so that our church has sufficient resources to continue nourishing the spiritual lives of our parishioners and others in our community and world. Each one of us helps fill the net by pledging a portion of our financial resources to support God’s work at St John’s. From now through the end of November I ask you to pray for the success of the campaign. Each week, you’ll find a prayer, a guiding scripture, an inspirational fishing quotation (!), and a reflection in this column. God bless you and thank you for your faithful support of God’s work in our church.


FISHING:  “Most of the world is covered by water. A fisherman’s job is simple: pick out the best parts.” Charles Waterman


SCRIPTURE:   “Just after daybreak, Jesus stood on the beach; but the disciples did not know that it was Jesus.  Jesus said to them, “Children, you have no fish, have you?” They answered him, “No.” He said to them, “Cast the net to the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in because there were so many fish. That disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on some clothes, for he was naked, and jumped into the sea.  But the other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, only about a hundred yards off. John 21: 4-8


REFLECTION: I’ve been asked, “How do you see God? How do you know where to look?” There’s certainly no one answer to that question, but one answer to that question is: wherever you find abundance, there is God. Kipling once described Heaven as a place of endless creativity. God never stops making things, because making things is part of being God. A profusion of wild flowers, a hundred hues of red and orange splashed across the sky as the sun sets, a seething mass of ants in a sidewalk crack, quail falling out of the air in front of the tents of travelers in the wilderness, fishing nets filled to the breaking point—wherever you find abundance, there you find God. In the reading from the Gospel of John, the disciples don’t recognize Jesus as the risen Christ until they encounter the abundance to which he has guided them.


That abundance is showered upon us not so we can hoard it but so that we can gather what we need and pass along the rest. It is showered upon us by a God who wishes to remind us of his presence and goodness and generosity toward us. It is showered upon us so that we might come to trust in that endless divine generosity and stop worrying about having enough.


PRAYER: God you are the creator of all that is and all that is to be. Help us to remember that when we encounter abundance we are encountering you. Help us to trust in your continual goodness and kindness towards us. Release us from our miserly grasp on material things. Free us from worrying about having enough, for grasping and worry prevent us from living lives that are as large as you dream for us. Help us to live expansively, from a place of generosity and not fear. With gratitude we pray. Amen.