Connections&
July 16, 2000
15th Sunday of the Year

• Jesus summoned the twelve and began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over unclean spirits.  He instructed them to take nothing for their journey but a walking stick -- no food, no sack, no money in their belts.       Mark 6:7-13
  

Setting sail
Imagine that you are sailing on a large ship.  Suddenly, the boat runs aground on a reef.  Your only chance to survive is by a small boat or raft -- a raft you may have to lash together from broken boards from the sinking ship.  You launch your tiny craft into the sea, but first you gather whatever you can salvage from the mother ship -- some water perhaps; a knife; a length of rope; a blanket or tarp.  And then you set off on your raft in search of safety and, perhaps, home.
     The philosopher Plato compared one's beliefs, one values, to the raft of a shipwrecked sailor.  Each one of us has a raft, generally large enough for one.  It is made up of things snatched from our cabin -- a life preserver or two of psalm, Scripture or story; some planks held together by the lessons of experience; skills and the lessons of life that serve as our tools and provisions during the adventure.  The shaky, leaky craft requires our constant attention and vigilance as the waves break upon the bow and the winds that engulf us.  But, with perseverance and wisdom, we eventually make our way to a safe harbor. 
[adapted from John Jay Chapman, quoted by Gore Vidal in The New York Review of Books, December 16, 1999.]
CONNECTION:  Like the journey of the Twelve through the region of Galilee and Amos' journey of Judah, our lives are journeys, sea voyages, to the dwelling place of God.  Our ability to navigate our way, from childhood to adulthood, is a measure of the values of which our rafts are made and the faith and hope we take with us.  Each wave we break through can be an experience of growth and discovery, of grace, of rebirth and transformation, of healing.  In breathing his life into us, God starts us on our journey -- a journey of becoming the people God has called us to be. <

Did you miss the groundbreaking ceremony?  There is still time to add your stone or rock to the time    capsules that will be placed in the foundation.  Paint/decorate a stone with your name(s) or paint one in memory of someone else.  Bring your stones to the sacristy -- we will be collecting them until August.