MONTHLY NEWSLETTER (PDF)

Thanksgiving Eve Service: 7pm, 11/23/22

CURVE BALL! SWING & A MISS
With the 2022 World Series just coming to an end, I’m still fixated on some of the finest pitching I’ve seen in a long time. Congratulations (again), Houston Astros. Our Peace youth enjoyed attending your state of the art  Minute Maid Stadium just this last summer when the baseball season was still young - only it wasn’t for cheering on any Major League Baseball Teams that we went. Rather, we joined 20,000 other Lutheran youth from around the world to cheer and praise our gracious God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We gathered to receive His gifts of forgiveness of sins and eternal life through the life and ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ. What put me in mind of all this was our recent Call Meeting where it seems our Good Lord who moves in mysterious ways threw our little Peace Lutheran Church a curve ball. Candidly, I was expecting a fast ball down the middle, as everything in our call process seemed to be moving along so smoothly and rapidly, even as Pastor Rob’s retirement fast approaches. Of course, I had no idea which one of the fine 7 pastoral candidates on our call list would be voted in by a 2/3 majority of our congregation. But what I really didn’t see coming was no one (yet) receiving those necessary votes. We took a swing in our first at bat - and missed (by just a few votes). What does this mean? Maybe the Head of the whole Christian Church on earth wanted us to slow down a bit and think and pray on this matter just a bit longer. Advent is a time of preparation and of waiting. If we are called to wait on the coming of the Chief Shepherd of the Church, maybe we shouldn’t be so surprised when we are led by the Holy Spirit to wait a bit longer on an under shepherd of the flock to come and serve us in our little corner of the world. But this waiting seems more and more difficult to do in a click and tap culture like ours today. In baseball, we are always told to “keep your eye on the ball.” God’s Word reminds us more importantly to “fix our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2). For from His gracious, nail-scarred hands -  and in His timing - come all good things necessary for our salvation. Therefore, especially during this season of preparation, let us keep our heads up, keep the faith and take another swing in the Lord’s timing. Amen.

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