Saint James Blog

The end does not justify the means.  If we do not love like Jesus to the end we have missed what it means to follow Jesus.  If we excuse ourselves of hateful words and actions for the sake of bringing others to know and/or in line with Jesus, we have to take another look at our heart.  This is a lesson that we can remember for all relationships in our lives.  What battles are worth fighting and when do we need to think twice before we say something, or furthermore, hold our tongue?  The love of God is not a worth fighting over, it is worth living though.  It can be easy to stumble and to get passionate about it, but we must channel this passion and find out how God wants us to use this love in this life as we live with and around all sorts of people.  Jesus proclaims the love of God through non-violence and through living out his submission to God’s will.

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We cannot control how other people respond.  Jesus was left to pray alone as the closest to him among the disciples fell asleep.  He now stands alone to face a cruel but beautiful destiny.  We can only imagine how that felt for him or how we might have responded.  The priest in the movie “Beyond the Gates” stays with a group of doomed Tutsis in Rwanda because he says that he has found God amongst them and fears that if he leaves he may never find that again.  We choose who we surround ourselves with and how we handle situations.  Sometimes it may not feel like we have such choices, but today we are encouraged through this message to respond to people and situations out of faith.  God never promises that it will be easy, but we must choose each moment who we will serve.  ”The same choice by which we choose to live is the same choice by which we die.”

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Jesus made a statement of faith.  He believed and knew that God could do anything but he also trusted God enough to place it in God’s hands.  Did he want to be tortured, humiliated, betrayed, and ultimately killed?  We see here that was not the case but he was a servant through to the end.  The key thing for our lives is to accept and acknowledge that it is not about what we want but a transformation of our desires towards God’s will.  When dealing with difficult people, it is a proven fact that praying for them makes a difference.  It doesn’t always change the people in the time that we want, but it changes our heart and patience towards such people.  Consistently praying (not just in challenging times) makes it easier for us to understand and stay in God’s will.

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The disciples of Jesus had gathered around the table at a point where their world was about to be knocked upside down. The gathering in this text and the gatherings that follow because of it, serve as a stronghold for the disciples and all of us. When life happens and sometimes we are not sure who we are or how valuable we are, this is a story that reminds us that we are each so valuable that Christ gave us the gift of his body and blood, broken for each and every one of us. At Saint James we celebrate communion each time we gather as a reminder of the gift of redemption that God has given us in the events following this meal and in what it represents. At Saint James Alexandria the carpet has a permanent reminder of the blood of Jesus. When people dip the body of Christ in the blood of Christ, sometimes a drop is spilled before it enters their mouth. Those stains are a symbol to James who preaches in the area that they fill. That is what it is about to us, to him, to our lives. Our lives can be the table and the stronghold for others, but we know where the ultimate stronghold is.

Tags: Worship by Erika
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James talked last week about giving and loving in extravagant ways.  Even when we don’t have much to give, we have something.  We are called to give freely and without expectation.  Sure there are often other ways to use resources but sometimes we are called to think outside the box, even to be impractical.  The challenge is open ended, only you know to whom and how you are called to love extravagantly.

Tags: Worship by Erika
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