Rector's Rambling - July 1, 2012

Two weeks ago the Gospel reading from Luke, chapter 14, told the story of the man who prepared a great supper and sent the servant to bring the invited guests, only to find them making excuses to not attend. So he then invites others to take their places. In my sermon that Sunday I spoke of the various layers of meaning, both to those hearing Jesus speak at the time (the Jews being the original invitees, the Gentiles being incorporated as the new guests), as well as the modern application of the expectation of weekly Sunday attendance at Holy Communion. If you missed the sermon on Jun 17th for the Second Sunday after Trinity, it can be found on the St. John’s Web site at http://www.stjohnsdetroit.org/sermons/ or on iTunes at http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/sermons-from-st.-johns/ (or just go to iTunes.com and type in their search bar Sermons from St. John’s). [ed. Also available via RSS feed at http://rss.stjohnsdetroit.org/podcast/sermons.xml] Now that July is upon us I know that many people are away on holiday, especially on the weekends. But God still desires your worship, and to feed you in Word and Sacrament. If you are not able to attend a church service while away, may I suggest an alternative? We do have Holy Communion at St. John’s during the week as well. We strive to have services every Wednesday at 12:15 PM. When the Rector is not away, as I will be July 8–14 at the St. Michael’s Conference for Youth, we also have scheduled Communion on Tuesdays at 12:15 PM and on Thursdays at 10:30 AM. These services are not specifically a replacement for Sunday (it is your privilege as a Christian to receive Holy Communion more often than just Sunday), but if you are away and unable to attend on Sunday, come and be nourished and give thanks to Almighty God. The services are about 30 minutes long, and without music. They are usually attended by between four and 12 people. If you can’t be here on a Sunday, make the extra effort to be here on a weekday!