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Rector's message from the May Trinity Times:
The confident chicken on the surfboard
Bobby and I enjoyed a little time away after Easter. We went to Hawaii. I had
never been there. Before we went, we mapped out our lists of things we wanted
to see and do, which included surfing lessons. Now, you have to know that
I have a fairly large phobia of sharks. I know that most people are afraid of
them. I am of that lot that is convinced that I would be the one that they find!
So, going surfing was more than a little bit of willingness to put my fears
aside. I am proud to say that an afternoon in the water and waves, Bobby and
I both got up about 10 times each and have the pictures to prove it!
Bobbing around in the ocean, waiting on the next wave with my feet dangling
below the board, and while I wondered if the shark will think that the
chicken that I am would taste like chicken, I began to think how much it felt
like faith in general. A lot of the christian walk is pushing out from the safety
of shore, knowing there are dangers, but knowing if you are ever going to get
to ride the wave, you have to at some point take the risk.
This month we will celebrate the Feast of Pentecost. Enclosed is an explanation
of this third largest feast of the church year--Christmas and Easter
being the other two. On Pentecost, we celebrate the power of the Holy Spirit
that came upon those first disciples of Christ. Their transformation was miraculous
as they went from being a group of frightened individuals mourning
the past, to a fired-up gathering of evangelists embracing the possibilities in
the present and looking towards the future. What had changed? The situation
they faced was still the same. They had changed by the infusion of the power
of the Spirit--this infusion gave them confidence.
Does your faith give you confidence? If we really believe what we say, sing
and read, we will be confident people. Many of us, however, are chronic worriers,
not confident at all. We worry about the skeletons of the past, the
demands of the present, and the mysteries of the future. We are worried and
run ragged by the busyness of life.
During the filming of the movie classic "Quo Vadis", Deborah Kerr, one of
the stars of the movie, was asked by a newspaper reporter, "Mrs. Kerr, during
that scene where you were in the arena facing lions, were you afraid?Ó
Deborah Kerr answered: ÒOh no! I wasnÕt afraid at all! You see, I had read the
script and I knew Robert Taylor was going to come and save me!!"
Have you read the script? IsnÕt some of our lack of confidence owing to not
reading the script--not reading our bibles on a regular basis? I am not suggesting
that if you read your bible in no time you will be surfing in Waikiki! But, I
promise you that if you take advantage of the opportunities to infuse yourself
with the power of the Spirit, many of which are listed in this newsletter, you
will find you see the present differently and will meet the future more confidentally.
So, hang ten and God bless!!!
Grace & peace, Fr. David +