Be a traveler, not a tourist

Aloha! Last Sunday was another special day in the life of St. Timothy’s. We began the season of Pentecost, informally called Ordinary Time, and our liturgical color changed to green with our lovely new green altar hangings and vestments. During the service we installed new members of the Daughters of the King and prayed for them. 

In the sermon last Sunday, we dug into Psalm 42 and Luke 8:26-39 and asked, “How’s your soul doing these days?” The psalmist wrote, “As the deer longs for the water-brooks, so longs my soul for you, O God.” We considered the spiritually instinctual sense of thirsting for God—how that works, what it means, what we should do with it. Have you sensed your soul longing for God this week? I have. As the psalmist encourages us, let’s put our trust in God!

This Sunday we come to a pivotal point in the gospel story: Jesus “sets his face” to go to Jerusalem and the destiny that awaits him there. He’s on a mission for God. The salvation story that leads him, and us, to the cross on Calvary, to the empty tomb, to the Ascension and the birth of the Church with the coming of the Holy Spirit—it all starts right here. Jesus is determined to walk the path that the Father has set before him. Is there something we can learn from Jesus’s determination for our own journey of faith?

Many years ago I worked for an advertising agency. One of our clients was The Travel Channel cable network. We did an ad campaign with the tagline, “Be a traveler, not a tourist.” That means, be intentional, go all in, not just as an observer from a safe distance. The same can be true for faith. That’s how Jesus lived, and maybe he’s calling us to live that way too. Let’s find out more on Sunday!

This Sunday we will also begin a new series of “Ministry Minutes” during the announcement time, to bring you up to date about the various ministries happening at St. Timothy’s. We’ll hear from a different ministry leader each week. On this first Sunday, Nancy Chun, our Bishop’s Warden, will share information about how the Bishop’s Committee works, and how you might be part of that.

So please join us on Sunday morning at 9 in the Chapel, or worship with us on Facebook Live!

Dear sisters and brothers, you are in my prayers, and I ask for your prayers for St. Timothy’s Church, for our dedicated staff and devoted lay leaders and ministers, and for your vicar. May God bless you and your loved ones always.  

Aloha Ke Akua!
Fr. Pete+