Don’t Give Up on Each Other!

ALOHA! September always feels a little like a life reset. Keiki are back in school, summer travel is winding down, calendars are filling up again, and our schedules are supposedly “normalizing,” whatever that means! In the church, September has traditionally marked the beginning of a new program year, and here at St. Timothy’s it also will bring us into our stewardship season, which begins September 13. The beginning of September is a good time to take stock, settle back into our rhythms, and ask what God may be calling us to be and to do in the months ahead.

We’re also moving on from our Summer Sermon Road Trip series, which carried us through so many wonderful Old Testament stories. For the next several Sundays we’ll turn more intentionally toward the Gospel readings. This Sunday’s lesson, Matthew 18:15-20, begins with a subject every church, family, and community knows something about: what do we do when people hurt one another?

Jesus gives us a way forward that is more challenging, and more hopeful, than simply walking away from one another when we’re hurt. His words are about truth-telling, accountability, forgiveness, and the hard work of reconciliation. This Sunday’s message is called “Don’t Give Up on Each Other!” because that may be the heart of what Jesus is asking of us. We won’t always agree. We will sometimes disappoint or wound one another. But Christ keeps calling us back into relationship, back toward grace, and back toward one another. And he shows us how. Please join us this Sunday at 9 a.m. in the Chapel, or on Facebook Live!

LAST SUNDAY, in Exodus 3:1–15 we explored one of the greatest call stories in Scripture: Moses and the burning bush. Moses was tending sheep in the wilderness, living what may have seemed like a settled and ordinary life. But then God interrupted. A bush burned but was not consumed, and God calls his name: “Moses, Moses!” The sermon, “When God Calls Your Name,” invited us to consider how God still meets ordinary people like you and me in ordinary places, and calls us into extraordinary, holy work. Have you heard God call you this week?

DEAR SIBLINGS IN CHRIST, as we begin this new season together, I’m grateful for the many ways you share in the life and ministry of St. Timothy’s. Please continue to pray for our leaders and ministers, for me as your vicar, and for every member of our St. Timothy’s ʻohana. May God renew us for the work ahead, deepen our love for one another, and widen our hearts to receive and share the grace Christ so freely gives. And may we move into this new season with faith, generosity, and joy.
Aloha Ke Akua!

Rev. Pete+