St Barnabas Episcopal Church, Warwick, RI

06/02/2026

Some FatherLee thoughts:
“Thy will be done.”

The Lord’s Prayer is quite probably the most revolutionary words in all of history. Have you taken time to really consider the impact to our lives, and to our world, if we really lived according to the prayer we say together every time we meet?

Both Matthew (6:9-15) and Luke (11:2-4) include Jesus teaching this prayer to the disciples. I find it interesting that Mark, probably the original Gospel, and John, written much later, do not include it. My guess is that because Mark’s audience was a small gathering of people who were taught the faith by original disciples, those who had personally walked and talked with Jesus, they would have shared the prayer. And, by the time John completes his narrative of Christ’s ministry, the Lord’s Prayer was part of the weekly service they shared, like it is for us, so it was a given. Matthew and Luke, by contrast, knew that their Gospels would be read by many who were not part of a particular faith community, which is why it was so important for them to include it.

When our Savior teaches us to pray, we are to ask what the Lord wants, not what we want. That is part of what makes it so revolutionary. We are instructed not to make a list of demands, wishes that we expect the Almighty to grant for us. Sure, we ask the Lord to give us what we need for today, “our daily bread”. Ultimately, however, we are to seek God’s will. But, how do we know what the Lord desires?

There are a lot of people who want to tell us about God’s will, but as I really listen, most of them aren’t telling you what the Lord wants. Many of them, ultimately, are telling me what they expect from me. How do I, myself, know the will of God?

Personally, I have come to understand two activities to help us gain perspective on “Thy will be done.” What are those two activities? Reading Scripture and prayer. The two are actually connected because our prayers should be rooted in Scripture. The Almighty gave us Scripture; it is how the Lord speaks to us. It is also the best language we can use to speak back to the Lord.

A lot of people who set out to read the Bible, start at Genesis, moving forward like a book. In my experience, that doesn’t work very well. The best advice I ever received was, “Focus on the red words.” Many Bibles have the words of our Savior in red, and since Jesus is the fullness of all the law and the prophets, by concentrating on those words, you get a picture of the will of God. Start with Mark, John, Luke, and Matthew. Commit to just one chapter a day. If you miss one, read two the next, and increase your diet of Scripture over time. There are some commentaries in The Archdeacon’s library at Church which can help you make sense of what you’re reading.

Once you begin to understand the will of God, you then can use those same words to pray back to God. For example, “In the same way you authored peace for the disciples in the boat during the storm, (Mark 4:35-4) please speak peace to my troubled heart.” Or, “Just as you brought healing to the blind man, (John 9) help me more clearly see your will.” Also, our Book of Common Prayer is almost 90% direct quotes from Scripture. Feel free to use that, also, as a resource for your prayers.

In times such as these, if a person is not rooted in Scripture and Prayer, they will likely be tossed about by every idea that seems plausible. Our Savior warns us, “See that you are not led astray. For many will come in my name.” (Luke 21:8) If we lack confidence in our understanding of the will of God, we may be led away by someone who pretends to speak in Christ’s Name.

Finally, let me remind you that our Savior teaches us to pray, “Thy will be DONE!” It is not enough to simply contemplate the will of God. We must put our hands and feet, hearts and minds, and every resource the Lord has given to us, working to accomplish the good purposes of the Lord’s perfect will. May God grant you wisdom to understand Thy will, and the grace and strength that it may be done.

Faithfully
Fr. Scott Lee

05/26/2026

A man reached out to me this week, needing to vent, saying, “I experienced the WORST customer service today. Yesterday I bought something from this shop. I paid cash for it. I took it home and found out it didn't work. So today, less than 24 hours later I took it back and asked if I could get a refund.

The girl in the store told me “NO” even though I still had the receipt. I asked if I could get a replacement instead then. Again this person told me ‘NO.'

I asked to speak to a manager as I was really annoyed. I explained that I had just bought the item, had got it home and it didn't work.

The manager just smiled and told me to my face that I was ‘OUT OF LUCK. No refund. No FREE replacement.’

I tell you what… I will NEVER buy a Lottery Ticket from there again !!!!!”

How would you respond to that?

No! This is not a sermon about the dangers of gambling. If you want to give more of your hard earned money to the State in hopes of winning big, I wish you the best of luck. Please share if by some miracle you do win.

But, I shared that joke because it gets us to talking about some of our core beliefs: Do you believe life is simply a matter of luck?

When I was younger, I used to thank God that I was so lucky. I was born in the United States, raised in a Christian home, and had many opportunities that others simply did not have. Was that . . . luck?

More to the point: Do you believe life is something that happens to you? Or, is it something you make happen? And, where do you put God in both of those options?

The Medieval way of thinking was: If you were born a serf, you were born to serve, so you served. That is the will of the Almighty. If you were born into royalty, you were placed there to care for your servants.

The American Dream, as I understand it, is in direct conflict with that Medieval thought. Each of us is born with the opportunity, the chance, to better our place if we work hard and have a tiny bit of luck.

Which of those describes your outlook on life? Does that mean you reduce God to helping you when you rolls the dice? Is God simply a prayer when you buy a lottery ticket?

The way Pentecost comes to us makes the case that we are not merely victims of chance, but the Lord is not just a rabbits foot to increase your luck of getting what you want.

We actually get two different versions of how the Church receives the Holy Spirit. John tells us that the small group of disciples are back to hiding in a secret location. Acts, the way Luke tells it, clearly has the disciples in a much more public place, possibly somewhere within the Temple in Jerusalem. The Temple is where people would go with matters of faith, so their ears would be more opened to receiving a message from God.

The two different stories give some people an excuse to dismiss the whole story, but I am convinced that God gives us two stories to meet us where we are at. If you are hiding away in fear, like John’s audience, the Spirit will come to you to give you strength to persevere in peace. If you are privileged to live somewhere that you can speak openly about faith, the Spirit comes to help you tell others about the God you follow. Which are you?

If you are hiding your faith out of fear, our Savior appears in our midst, giving us peace, (we need more peace, don’t we) then instructs us to forgive. In no uncertain terms, Jesus tells us to forgive those we fear. Why? Because by forgiving them, you take back control of your own life.

When you hold a grudge, that grudge holds you captive, you retain the sins of those who did to you, but when you forgive, you are free from the wrong they did to you. Who do you need to forgive? Because, you can’t worship only God if your worshiping a grudge. Who do you need to forgive?

In Acts, the Spirit comes like a mighty rushing wind to a group very much like us, here, giving the faithful words, so they can tell others the story of God’s love. Who do you need to tell about Jesus?

In both cases, the Spirit moves us. Moves us to forgive . . . and moves us to share our faith with others, which is why so many people resist the power of the Holy Spirit.

We actually like the idea that life is just a matter of luck, because when things don’t go our way, we just say, “I guess I was unlucky!” Or, when things do go our way, “Boy, I guess I was lucky!”

We like the idea that life is just something that happens to us, because we don’t like to take ownership of our own actions. We don’t want to be help accountable. But, everyone is held accountable to God.

Personally, I take great comfort knowing that the Lord will hold accountable all the corrupt and evil rulers in history. Hi**er knows the screams of every man, woman, and child he terrified. The same is true for Emperor Nero, and every other tyrant.

Knowing God will judge them is why the Spirit insists that I must forgive them, so that their tyranny doesn’t rule my life. I’ll ask again, who do you need to forgive?
�Then, we must realize that WE are held accountable before God. Let me assure you, there is forgiveness through our Savior, no need to be perfect, but the Spirit comes to you and to me, nudging us to seek forgiveness, then to invite others to know the forgiveness and love of God in the person of Jesus. Who do you need to talk to about faith?

I hear a lot of people talking about God from a political point of view, on both sides, but they aren’t talking about forgiveness, are they? They are not talking about the praiseworthy deeds of power of Almighty God, either.

I believe we should not reduce Almighty God to a lucky rabbit’s foot, but it’s even worse to twist God to our own agenda. Fortunately, there is judgement. There is also forgiveness.

Perhaps what our greatest need for forgiveness has to do with how we limit the work of the Holy Spirit, right? I forgive you. Will you please forgive me? With the Spirit’s help, let us all forgive those who make us hide in fear. And, may we know the peace of Christ.

Then, may we follow the prompting of the same Spirt and boldly tell others about the Lord of heaven and earth, who lovingly created this world (we are not here by luck or chance) and who even more lovingly redeemed us through the Life, Death, Resurrection, and Ascension of Jesus.

And, who sends the Spirit to you and to me who follow our Savior in life, through death, to resurrection to eternal life, and we will ascend into heaven where we will be reunited with the Saints who have gone before us. That is Good News! And, it news worth sharing. Amen.

With Memorial Day in mind, this the Collect for Heroic Service:

O Judge of the nations, we remember before you with grateful hearts the men and women of our country who in the day of decision ventured much for the liberties we now enjoy. Grant that we may not rest until all the people of this land share the benefits of true freedom and gladly accept its disciplines. This we ask in the Name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

05/19/2026

Someone compiled a disturbing but humorous list about the rising costs we are seeing: Inflation is so bad right now that…

My friend received a pre-declined credit card in the mail.

CEO's are now playing miniature golf.

Exxon-Mobil laid off 25 Congressmen.

McDonald's is selling the 1/4 ouncer.

Angelina Jolie adopted a child from America.

Parents in Beverly Hills fired their nannies and learned their children's names.

A truckload of Americans were caught sneaking into Mexico.

I called a car dealer to get the book value of my used car. They asked if the gas tank was full or empty

And finally… I was so depressed last night thinking about the economy, wars, jobs, my savings, social security, retirement funds, etc. that I called the Su***de Hotline. I got a call center in Afghanistan, and when I told them I was suicidal, they got excited, and asked if I could drive a truck.

I almost left that last one out, but I decided to keep it in the conversation because, very often, people’s suffering is weaponized to achieve some personal agenda. And, when we talk about inflation, it is generally a complaint by those who can afford it. Seldom do we stop to consider those who are already beyond their financial limits.

So, what DO we do when the whole world seems to be at war? What DO we do when the systems that are intended to keep the peace only add to the oppression? What DO we do when people can’t afford food, water, shelter, and clothing?

Do you think these questions are new?

These are everyday questions in most of the world throughout most of history. In this country, we have been privileged the past few decades, but that privilege is fading away. Now, we look like most of the rest of the world through much of history.

Those are not new questions, but there is only one person in history who actually gave a plausible answer to all of those kinds of questions we ask. In the span of three years, Jesus traveled an area of land that was significantly smaller than Rhode Island. TINY!

People constantly tried to trap Christ into condemning, Caesar, who they didn’t like, or to force our Lord into saying who was to blame for the local oppression. Blaming leaders is not how our Savior pointed out the injustice of the day. Instead, Jesus helped the individual people who were hurting.

Complaining about what is wrong does little to help those in need, but helping those in need does still point out what is wrong in the power structures of the world.

By helping widows, our Lord acknowledged the systems that harmed women; by feeding the hungry, our Savior criticized the systems, religious and secular, that made it hard for people to eat; and by healing those who were sick or couldn’t walk or talk or hear or speak, Jesus gave opportunities to people that the system had pushed into a corner with almost no way out.

But, there was a way out. There is a way out! Jesus came and took our eyes off the power struggles of this world. Christ taught us that WE can make this world better by the simple way we love and care for one another.

Our Savior took this message of giving for others all the way to the Cross. Dying, for us, the Lord also opened the way for us through death. The grave does not have the final say, so don’t submit to the corruption of the world but don’t waste your breath fighting the world with empty words. Point out what is wrong in our society by helping those who are crushed by it.

It took a lot of time, but the disciples eventually came to understand this perspective of faith. After the Resurrection, they even understood the Cross. Our Reading from Acts, today, begins with those disciples asking, “Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?” Is this the moment when you’re going to fix everything that is wrong in our world?

If we are listening, we don’t really like the answer given to that question, do we? Our Savior says, “It is not for you to know the time.” (deep sigh) Our Lord continues, “you will receive power . . . you will be my witnesses.”

Wait! What? Jesus, you were just talking to those people way back then, right? You are not talking to me? Are you?

I can almost hear our Savior responding, “Well, did you ask, 'What do we do when the whole world seems to be at war? What do we do when the systems that are intended to keep the peace only add to the oppression? What do we do when people can’t afford food, water, shelter, and clothing?’ And, did you ask, ‘is this the time?’ Then, YES, I am talking to you!”

Then, we watch with the apostles as our Lord ascends into heaven, leaving this troubled world for the people of the Church, for those disciples and you and me, to love and care for, following the example of the One we serve.

Knowing Christ will return, the apostles just stood there, looking to heaven, as if our Lord was going to immediately come back. After more than 2000 years, we still need a couple of angels in white to ask us, “Why do you stand looking up toward heaven?” Yes, Jesus will come again with power and great glory, but until that day, our Savior asks us to be the Face of Christ to the world in need.

I’ll wrap this together with one of my absolute favorite stories. A woman dreamed that she died. She found herself standing in a line in what seemed to be a waiting room, “Next.” Came a gentle voice from behind a counter. “What is your Name?” The attendant asked.

The woman said her name. The attendant turned around to grab a quilt that miraculously appeared, handed it to the woman and said, “This is the tapestry of your life. Go, sit down. You’ll be called in shortly.”

The woman took her quilt and sat down to wait. She couldn’t help but notice that her quilt was very worn. She felt embarrassed because most quilts seemed to be in far better shape than hers. Hers had frayed strings around some pretty noticeable holes.

As she sat there, she thought back on her life. “I went to church,” she thought, “I sang in the choir, and always tried to help others when I could. I hoped the story of my life would be a little more . . . together. This is nothing more than a pile of rags,” she thought as she exhaled in disappointment.

One by one, each person was called. They each stepped to double doors, and the blinding the light of pure love would shine into the room when those doors opened. Expecting she was next, the woman took one last look at here workout quilt and said, “What has been done has been done.”

Her name was called. She stood, quilt in hand, and went to the doors. Eyes closed, she could feel the doors opened as the light of pure love washed over her. “Come in,” a beautiful, strong, and gentle voice called, “Let me see your life.”

Her quilt was taken from her hands and raised to the brilliant light. Too ashamed to look, she just waited.

“Marvelous!” The voice affirmed.

“What! Me?” She thought. “My quilt is tattered and worn. I am not worthy . . .” before she could finish her thought, the voice invited, “Look!”

Her quilt was raised up before the light, and the beautiful face of Jesus was shining through. “I don’t understand,” she softly confessed.

Without asking a question, the voice responded, “Every time you responded to hatred with kindness, when you forgave instead of retaliating or holding a grudge, when you fed those who were hungry, clothed those who were naked, gave drink to the thirsty, and visited the sick and those in prison, you showed the Face of Love to the world in need. Well done, my good and faithful servant. Come! Inherit the kingdom prepared for you.”

You and I are living at this moment in time. It is a beautiful but difficult point in history. The questions for this moment are no different than any time in the past, and we, followers of Christ, are to be the answer to those questions. Instead of complaining, we answer those questions by how we love and care for one another, and how we reach into the world to care for others.

May the Face of Christ’s love shine through us in a powerful way. Amen.

05/19/2026

https://vimeo.com/1190752055?share=copy&fl=sv&fe=ci

You will not be left orphaned

05/06/2026

Some FatherLee thoughts:
Awe came upon everyone because many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. All who believed were together and had all things in common; they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need. Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having the goodwill of all the people. And day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.
(Acts 2: 43-47)

It has been said that the Acts of the Apostles will be one of the most important books in the Bible in the very near future. Why? Because our world is looking more and more like ancient Rome, and that is not a good thing. In fact, we may be worse than Rome because at least they had good bridges and roads.

I’ll leave you to study the similarities. The important part from the perspective of faith is that Acts gives us a blueprint for how to engage a world like Rome. When most people care little about faith, when the powers are increasingly oppressive, we know what the Church must do. Are you ready to be the Church the world needs?

Some of you may recognize this portion from Acts. We encountered it in worship a couple of Sundays ago. The first thing that stands out is that “Awe came upon everyone.”
When people dedicate their lives to faith, it truly is awe-inspiring.

And, God does wonders when people walk together in faith. Together is an important word in those verses. Faith is not something to do all on our own. Faith is something that is intended to be shared.

Speaking of sharing, this passage is sometimes misused by pastors to suggest you should sell everything you own and give the proceeds to the church. Wrong! The point is that the people of faith make sure that no one is in need. As I have often said: If the Lord has given you extra, it is intended to be used to help those who are hungry, thirsty, or in need of the basic essentials of life.

“As they spent much time together . . . ” How much time am I spending together with my faith family?

“Together in the Temple; they broke bread at home.” It is important to notice that the early Christians maintained the depth of their inherited faith tradition. They went together to worship and learn. And, “breaking bread” is Holy Communion, which is an abbreviated Seder, the Passover meal, recounting the story of Exodus where death passed over the people of God who were led to new life. In Christ, death has passed over us in an incredible way. We retell that every time we share Communion, don’t we? Following their example, our routine should be regular gatherings of prayer and study with the weekly observance of Communion. This pattern of life is what leads to “glad and generous hearts”, and faith with this kind of depth is where God does wonders, and it certainly inspires awe.

What would my life look like if I spent less time sitting alone watching sports and more time together reading Scripture? How much happier would I be if I spent less time obsessing over something I want all for myself and more time together with my faith family, helping people in dire need? What would happen if I spent less time watching the horrors of our world on the news and more time, together, praying for the world? It would change me in a wonderful way, filling me with a glad and generous heart, and it would make a huge positive impact on the world. Are we ready to take our faith seriously?

Which leads us to the conclusion, “the Lord added to their numbers.” People want to participate in faith that is real and deep and relevant. Young people, in particular, are searching for a spiritual home. They want a rich tradition of worship without all the rules of an unforgiving religion. Sounds like us, doesn’t it? Are we ready to welcome new people and be the Church in this dawning new age, an age that is surprisingly like the time of the Acts of the Apostles. We have the roadmap. Let’s walk it, together.

Faithfully
Fr. Scott Lee

05/05/2026

Sermon for May 3, 2026 Rev. Andrea Hutnak
The joke is that days with difficult scripture passages like "No one comes to the Father except through me" and ones like the doctrine of the Trinity are often offered to recent seminary grads who are eager and don't yet know better, or...let the deacon choose to preach on it, as they're likely to also volunteer to preach on Trinity Sunday because they are that kind of crazy, in the tradition of St. Stephen.

Stephen was a Hellenistic Greek-speaking Jew, and one of the first seven deacons of the Early Church. He coordinated a feeding ministry to Greek speaking widows and their children who the apostles had observed being overlooked. He had a role in liturgy and preached the good news of the Gospel. Acts says that Stephen "was full of grace and power and did great wonders and signs among the people."

Yet, wherever he went, the people all complained. Well, not all of them, the widows and children surely thanked him, but the leaders of the area synagogues falsely accused him of blasphemy and it wasn't even over a religious debate. After being arrested he gave a long speech on the history of God's covenant through the centuries, and called the religious leaders "stiff-knecked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, forever opposing the Holy Spirit" and "the ones who received the law as ordained by angels, and yet you have not kept it.”

So, Steven was stoned to death, and Saul of Tarsus, who later became Saint Paul, held the coats for those who threw the stones. As we heard earlier, Stephen -- called the protomartyr for being the first martyr of the Early Church -- died echoing the words of our Savior, even praying that God forgive his executioners. Neither Stephen nor Paul met Jesus in person, but both were willing to give their lives as testimony to the Truth.

Right before saying the words we hear in today's gospel, Jesus had washed the disciples' feet, told them that he was leaving them, that one of them would betray him, and that Peter would deny him three times. Any of those by itself would be enough to trouble one's heart, and their collective heart. As he said goodbye to the disciples, Jesus kept bringing it to the heart of the matter - Jesus shows us the face of the Father. He was with God from the beginning. If they believe through Jesus, if they believe IN Jesus, then they already know God. God is already with them and loves them. God will never leave them.

The disciples seek the divine together; they pray together, serve together, learn from Jesus together and have seen his miracles. In his farewell discourse, Jesus tells the disciples in as many ways as possible that he is leaving but will also always be with them, and they were confused. Thomas and Philllip legit wanted to know where Jesus was going. If they were in our time they'd be asking Jesus for the address so they could be sure all the disciples had the route saved in Google Maps or Waze. Jesus says you already know the Way, because I am the Way.

The disciples heard Jesus's words from their own perspectives, individually and as a group. They were in the moment with Jesus in the upper room. We know the ending, but for the disciples they know nothing except that night and that Jesus said difficult things are about to go down.

Jesus, however, was thinking ahead to the future. He gave them this strong assurance because he knew they would soon be full of grief and sorrow. Jesus knew crucifixion is not the end, that resurrection and ascension are not the end, and that Pentecost even is still not the end but a beginning! For that night, though, what was needed was strength and assurance for the days ahead.

"No one comes to the Father except through me." I believe these words are intended to give comfort rather than a warning. This statement, taken out of context, extracted from its narrative setting, does wrong to the spirit of Jesus's farewell words to his disciples.

He didn't make this statement during the Sermon on the Mount, he didn't preach it to the crowds, or have the disciples memorize it to preach when Jesus sent them out in pairs, and Jesus didn't declare it from the steps of the Jerusalem temple in front of the Pharisees and Sadducees. He said it in the upper room with his beloved disciples after he washed their feet, shared a meal, and after he told them these things that would otherwise cause despair.

Do not let your hearts be troubled, Jesus said to them. You already know the way, you already know God because you know me. Jesus and the disciples were Jewish, and we should remember that our Jewish and Muslim brothers and sisters also seek the divine, faithfully living in joyful submission and obedience rooted in love of God, in faith and trust in God's Covenant, with commitment to active engagement and service to those in need, and commitment meeting God in prayer.

To say that Jesus meant the only way to know God is to be a follower of the Way is to do a disservice to his words. No one comes to the father except through me. Christians know the divine as Father because we know the Son who is one with the Father, who was with the Father from the beginning and would soon be returning to the Father.
Jesus calls on the disciples to believe, and reminds them IN WHOM they believe, and, as one of my favorite commentators put it: "...after applying the antiseptic of belief, he binds their wounded heart with a promise wrapped in belonging. He knows their troubled hearts need this anchor connecting Jesus and the father." (Chelsea Harmon)
Jesus speaks with no ambiguity, no story or parable to get them thinking. He gives a solid assurance and anchor to God's love through Jesus.

This is the whole of Jesus's mission, to make known the Father, to reveal who God is, and for us to believe so that we may have life, and have it abundantly. Last week he warned the disciples not to follow others in his absence, the thieves and strangers and bandits of this world, but to have faith in the Good Shepherd, to trust in Jesus who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

What troubles your heart? I find comfort in the words of Jesus and in the Psalms, the joyful ones and the laments. There's a scene in The Chosen, (which is historical fiction closely following the gospels, with thoughtful additions) where Peter's wife Eden is greatly troubled because something awful has happened, and for many reasons she hasn't been able to tell Peter about it, She's in distress, so Mary Magdalene takes her to the temple to talk with a rabbi. Eden explains what's been going on in her life and Mary Magdalene says to the rabbi that Eden needs something to make her happy.

The rabbi, seeing Eden's sorrow, thought deeply for a moment and said, no, she needs a lament. They spoke some more and he selected and read Psalm 77 which is a lament, both pouring out a broken heart to God, and trusting deeply in God's love and compassion. She took those words home in her heart...a first step toward healing.

Growing up Catholic I missed that class explaining how Jesus prayed the Psalms from the Cross. Once I finally made that connection, it hit hard, because I realized that it wasn't despair from the Cross but PRAYER. Lament for sure, agony, yes, but not despair. Jesus called out to God in prayer, using the ancient words of the Psalms. Matthew and Mark write of Jesus saying out loud, a line from Psalm 22: My God, My God Why have you forsaken me?" and Luke writes of today's Psalm 31, where Jesus prays "Into your hands I commend my spirit." He likely knew them by heart and he was able to pray those lines of hope and trust in God's goodness, even in pain, dying on the cross.

What does it mean to you to be called children of God?
Knowing one's true identity is transformative. Melba Pattillo Beals was a 17-year-old African American girl living in Little Rock AK when she and eight other students integrated Central High School in 1957. Segregationists, spurred on by the governor, defied the Supreme Court's ruling to integrate the school and attempted to block it. The students, known as the Little Rock Nine, experienced tremendous adversity in their work for inclusion and access to equal education. Melba Beale was motivated to persevere by her grandmother who said "we are...God's ideas [and] you must be the best of what God made you." Her grandmother gave her the gift of identity. She affirmed that as a young black woman, she was "God's idea."

The epistle reminds us that we are God's idea. That through Christ who is one with the father, who is the Way to relationship to God as Father, who calls us his children. God who loves us and wants abundant life for us, and for us to have an anchor for our souls in times of trouble... and a joy that nothing can take away. We too are God's precious stones, built upon that living cornerstone. Jesus assures us that in him we have the Way, the Truth and the Life. As children of God, followers of the Way, we can claim God's love and mercy for ourselves, and proclaim it to our hurting world, extending it to whomever we meet on the road.

Do we always believe everything everywhere all the time? If we're honest, probably not. Jesus asks us to take the leap of faith that he is the Way, and the way to the Father. We can pray as often as needed, that most honest prayer: "Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief." May we take that leap of faith together, and follow the way to abundant life now and everlasting life, trusting in God who seeks to bind our wounded hearts with a promise wrapped in belonging. Through Christ, our Lord. Amen.