A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Mark:
“Jesus withdrew toward the sea with his disciples. A large number of people followed from Galilee and from Judea. Hearing what he was doing, a large number of people came to him also from Jerusalem, from Idiomea from beyond the Jordan, and from the neighborhood of Tyre and Sidon.
He told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd so that they would not crush him. He had cured many, and as a result, those who had diseases were pressing upon him to touch him. And whenever unclean spirits saw him, they would fall down before him and shout, You are the Son of God. He warned them sternly not to make him known.”
When I became a Priest I made a commitment to read my scriptures and pray regularly. And because we as Anglicans take this so seriously the Anglican Church actually sets daily readings throughout the year to help guide our study and reflections!
Each day we have an Old Testament, New Testament, and Gospel reading + a Psalm. And the beauty of these set readings is that they encourage us as clergy to read widely throughout Scripture and not just focus in on our favourite bits.
And so, the above reading from the Gospelof Mark was the set Gospel reading for this morning.
Now each day when I read my scriptures I listen to a daily reflection or sermon afterwards that explores some part of the reading. Today’s reflection was excellent and said much better than I ever could what I felt I was being prompted to write for this month’s #HeartBeat article.
I am continually so thankful to serve Jesus in a church community full of people who so lovingly serve Jesus in a myriad ofways. To each and every person who calls our church home and serves in some way (big or small), thank you! And, so with this in mind, I thought I’d share with you the daily reflection I listened to this morning given by a man from America called Jeff Cavins:
“Pella is a small Dutch community inCentral Iowa. They are known for Pella windows and Vermeer farming equipment,not to mention bologna and pastries.
I lived there for several years back in theearly eighties and worked for a Christian radio station. I would rise at 5AMevery morning, get my tea and Bible, and drive up to the small town's centralsquare.
Going by Yarsma Bakery in Ulrich's whereyou can get pastries and Pella bologna, I made my way to Gospel's ChristianBookstore.
I unlocked the door and walked upstairs,turned on the lights and power, and then went on air at KVSS Radio, a Christianstation for Central Iowa. There I sat every morning sharing the good news ofJesus Christ with those in their cars, driving their kids to school, going tothe doctor's office, farmers in the field, and the elderly at senior homes.
The Gospel reading this morning says Jesustold his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd so thatthey would not crush him. And similarly, during those early radio days of mine,all I did, those early mornings, was to get the boat ready for Jesus to speak.
That's all I did.
And today, all around the world, there arethose who spend their time making it possible for Jesus to touch lives.
In today's Gospel reading, Jesus told thedisciples to go ahead of him and get a boat so that he could speak to thecrowds from the boat. Now it might not sound glamorous, but someone had to doit. Get the boat, that is. No boat, no talk. Simple as that.
Sometimes we miss these little nuggets inthe Gospels, the nuggets that are necessary, but not necessarily headlinematerial.
The body of Christ makes it possible todayfor people around the world to hear the message of the Gospel in so many ways.
Everyone working in Christian television,radio, and publishing, and those of you who are Christians in the secularmedia, thank you. You are participating in the way the disciples did in today'sGospel. To you, I would say, thanks for getting the boat ready.
Diocesan lawyers, missionaries, chaplains,seminary rectors, support staff, and faculty, thank you for getting the boatready for Jesus to teach and touch hearts.
Everyone who puts music to truth, writers,musicians, singers, choirs, mixing board engineers, thank you for getting theboat ready.
Mom and dad, grandma and grandpa, thank youfor getting the boat ready so that your children and grandchildren will meetJesus.
To everyone who has given financially tothe Church's mission, you didn't just give money. You helped in getting theboat ready for Jesus to set the captive free.
To all of you who work in Christianpublishing companies, you make it possible for Christ to speak to people oftenwhen they are alone. I'm honored to work with you. I really am. To all of you,thanks for getting the boat ready.
To everyone who works in hospitals, you aremaking it possible for people to experience God's love. To you, thanks forgetting the boat ready.
And to everyone in Christian education,teachers, custodians, counselors, coaches, presidents, deans, and all thesupport. To you, thank you for getting the boat ready.
And to all of you who work in parishes,liturgists, servers, church decorators, pastoral visitors, various boards,sacramental prep, Sunday School teachers, and Vestries: Thank you all for allof your hard work, which often goes without thanks. To you, thanks for gettingthe boat ready.
And to all of the ministers/pastors servingtoday, you are making it possible for people to hear Jesus clearly. Yoursacrifice is part of Jesus' work in many ways that you may never know. Thanksfor getting the boat ready.
Those of you who are working on getting theword out in ways that most of us would never imagine, social media, motionpictures, theater, thank you for getting the boat ready.
And those of you who target particulardemographics like men's ministries, women's ministries, widows and widowers,missionaries, nursing home employees, you, thank you for getting the boatready.
And to those of you who do snow removal inthe North in the winter and first responders who see their jobs as their way tomake a difference, thank you for your loving attention to getting the boatready.
We all know that it's all about the LordJesus. He's the star, the focus, and the reason for all of the seasons. Allfour of them. He is Lord.
But I wanted to honor Jesus by honoring hisbody, who are getting the boat ready. And if I can presume, I would say onbehalf of Jesus, thank you. Thank you for getting the boat ready.
I'm Jeff Cavins, and that's today's daily reflection.”
