Epiphany is a season that can be as short as 4 Sundays or as long as 9 – it depends on the date of Easter. Our Epiphany season is LOOOOOONG this year (9 Sundays) – sort of like the winter weather, it seems to go on forever.
As we live this Epiphany season with our shovels in hand and our buckets under the leaking ice dams, it is a good time to ask what sustains on our faith journey when things seem ordinary, troublesome or just plain wearying.
Holy Communion – the meal we shared last Sunday- is one of the primary ways the Christian faith journey is nourished along the way. In blessing, breaking, taking and sharing the bread and cup, we invite Jesus into our souls and the community of faith. Like vitamins or a booster shot, we gain strength, nourishment, and resilience in our journey. The sense of well-being and contentment Communion offers us can be much like sitting down with your family over hot chocolate after shoveling yet again the driveway and sidewalk. The bread and wine restore us in each other’s company and we gain the strength to go back out into the world living the Good News – knowing that there are times when faith is ordinary and sometimes can feel as though we are slogging through heavy, wet snow up to our knees.
John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, believed in what he called “the Duty of Constant Communion” because he knew from his own experience that the Christian journey needed regular and frequent nourishment. Stay tuned to the Chronicle and the bulletin – during Lent Pastor Joel invites to experience weekly communion and we will have the chance to share its sustenance together.
Grace and peace,
Dr. Elizabeth
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