From the Pastor's Desk

 Why are you here?

 Why do you have the privilege of taking up space and turning oxygen into carbon dioxide for three score and ten years?

 What sort of purpose for life might you have? What kind of meaning might you find in life?

 If you would follow the thinking of much of western culture it would be to be involved in some sort of personal pursuit of happiness. It is “all about you” after all. This “all about me” proclamation is the message of western consumer culture that we are fed daily. “You only go around once in life so you got to grab all the gusto you can,” to quote an old beer commercial. There are a lot of people who buy into this message. And many of them end up singing the old Peggy Lee song, “Is that all there is?” (If you do not know this song: you can find it through Google or You Tube) 

 There is the possibility that before you have sung too many lines of that old song you might put aside that basic moral failing and come around to the idea of altruism. That instead of being self centered you seek to become more other-centered. Like Bill Gates and Warren Buffett you begin to think in terms of philanthropy, albeit of a somewhat different scale, but philanthropy none the less. In contemporary western culture, within certain circles, that would be seen as laudable, praiseworthy and maybe even courageous.  And, if you are able to give a seriously significant amount of money you might even have your name attached to one thing or another so that people might remember you long after you are gone. It may not keep you from joining in song with Peggy Lee, but at least you would be well thought of by others.

If on the other hand you are a Christian who takes his or her Baptism seriously, and live by the notion that Jesus is indeed my Lord to whom I owe every gratitude you might come up with another notion. That you are here on earth, for however long you have that privilege, to give glory, honor, reverence and service to God who created you. This is not just me speaking, by the way, rather these are the words of Rick Warren (Purpose Driven Life), Ignatius of Loyola (contemporary of Martin Luther) and the Westminster Catechism (Presbyterian Church). This would not put aside compassion for others, but rather put one’s other-centeredness into a different perspective. As one who is baptized in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit and who takes the calling of their Baptism seriously, that one is not self-centered or other-centered, but God centered. Quoting Tad Dunne, “The point is not how much the desires of others supersede our personal desires, but how much divine desire we allow into consciousness.”

 The call of the Christian is to growth in holiness; the fancy term is sanctification. It is to grow closer and even, in terms of spirituality, to move closer to God.

 It is not just a Sunday morning thing; it is a full time job – every day.

Blessings

Pr Ralph W Reitmeyer, STS