John Wesley said, "There is scarce any possible way of doing good, for which here is not daily occasion.... Here are poor families to be relieved: Here are children to be educated: Here are workhouses, wherein both young and old gladly receive the word of exhortation: Here are the prisons, and therein a complication of all human wants." From his journal dated August 12, 1738 - November 1, 1739.

270 years ago there was work to be found no matter where one looked. How different is it today? Why is it so easy to get comfortable with our own understanding of our salvation without realizing how connected we are to the world around us?

Things are slow here in Decatur as the city celebrates Spring Break. Drive safely out there!

Grace and Peace,

We are now approaching the fourth Sunday of Easter. Let us not be too content with our life situations that we fail to respond fully to God's call to action following the Easter event.

Hear this prayer from Lancelot Andrews, bishop of the new Anglican church at the beginning of the Protestant reform:

"O Lord of the harvest, send forth laborers into the field. Grant unto our clergy the ability to proclaim your word of truth and to live their lives according to those truths. Grant that these ministers who love you would obey and submit to your word of truth." From Private Devotions by Lancelot Andrews

Just as our flesh is covered by clothing, and our blood is covered by our flesh, so are we, soul and body, covered and enclosed by the goodness of God. Yet, the clothing and the flesh will pass away, but the goodness of God will always remain and will remain closer to us than our own flesh. - From Revelations of Divine Love by Julian of Norwich

He is risen indeed!

In considering a response to Easter and the impact it has on our world, Thomas Merton reminds us not to simply make the response an inward one.

"Under the pretext that what is "within" is in fact real, spiritual, supernatural, etc., one cultivates neglect and contempt for the "external" as worldly, sensual, material, and opposed to grace. This is bad theology and bad asceticism. In fact, it is bad in every respect because instead of accepting reality as it is, we reject it in order to explore some perfect realm of abstract ideals which in fact has no reality at all." - From Contemplative Prayer by Thomas Merton

This is the danger of regularly attending multiple Bible studies without putting that faith into practice. What did James tell us? "What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works? ... Faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead."

NOW WHAT?

He is risen! Now what?

"O Lord, who else or what else can I desire but you? You are my Lord, Lord of my heart, mind, and soul. You know me through and through. In and through you everything that is finds its origin and goal. You embrace all that exists and care for it with divine love and compassion. Why, then, do I keep expecting happiness and satisfaction outside of you? Why do I keep relating to you as one of my many relationships, instead of my only relationship, in which all other ones are grounded? Why do I keep looking for popularity, respect from others, success, acclaim, and sensual pleasures? Why, Lord, is it so hard for me to make you the only one? Why do I keep hesitating to surrender myself totally to you?

Help me, O Lord, to let my old self die, to let die the thousand big and small ways in which I am still building up my false self and trying to cling to my false desires. Let me be reborn in you and see through you the world in the right way, so that all my actions, words, and thought can become a hymn of praise to you." - From A Cry for Mercy by Henri J.M. Nouwen

Easter has changed us. Embrace the new possibilities!

He is risen, indeed!