Epistle for Sunday

Sunday is my turn to preach. Not that we spend a lot of time keeping track, but when someone ask, "would one of you preach on Sunday," we do try to take turns. Last year, just before we left on internship, Ruth Ann had the chance to preach at the lakeside service, so now it is my turn.

A suggestion was that I / we consider talking some about our internship on the Gulf Coast. As I thought about it, and read the text for Sunday, it seemed like a good idea. For example, here is the epistle for Sunday from the Revised Common Lectionary:

Hebrews 13:1 Let mutual love continue. 2 Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it. 3 Remember those who are in prison, as though you were in prison with them; those who are being tortured, as though you yourselves were being tortured.1 4 Let marriage be held in honor by all, and let the marriage bed be kept undefiled; for God will judge fornicators and adulterers. 5 Keep your lives free from the love of money, and be content with what you have; for he has said, "I will never leave you or forsake you." 6 So we can say with confidence, "The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can anyone do to me?" 7 Remember your leaders, those who spoke the word of God to you; consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith. 8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
Hebrews 13:15-16 15 Through him, then, let us continually offer a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that confess his name. 16 Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.

As internship was a lot about hospitality - the housing and feeding of volunteers, the rebuilding of homes and lives for those who live on the coast, the theme seemed to fit very well. Then, this evening, we received an email that seemed to nail the whole thing. Below is a poem, written by a women in Biloxi, MS. I hope the text will stay in the same format that it came in - a cross.

They Came

With warm hearts, they came.
With open arms, they came.
With helpful hands, they came.
With tools and toys, they came.
With bottled water, they came.
With loads of food, they came.
With free medicine, they came.
They left their homes, their jobs and their families.
They saved our lives and they healed our wounds.
They fed our hungry and they brought our clothes.
They cleared our land and they opened our roads.
They carried our burdens and they gave us strength.
They held our hands and they felt our pain.
They dried all our tears.
They showed compassion.
They calmed our fears.
They raised our spirits.
They rebuilt our homes.
They rebuilt our schools.
They taught our children.
They showed their faith.
They planted our gardens.
They raised our businesses.
They restored our lives.
They renewed our souls.
They touched our hearts.
They are called our heroes.
They are our volunteers.
They became our friends.
No one asked them, but still, they came.
They gave us courage to start life again.


This poem was written by Martha S. Boyce of Biloxi, MS, extending our deepest gratitude to the thousands of recovery responders and volunteers making the recovery of Mississippi possible. It will be permanently displayed in the Mississippi Renaissance Garden on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
mboyce@msrengarden.org

Here are a couple of links about Martha and the Mississippi Renaissance Garden:

http://www.wlox.com/Global/story.asp?S=4015628

http://www.msrengarden.org/

Somehow, as this weekend is the first Sunday after the 2nd anniversary of Katrina, this will all somehow find its way into the sermon. It is certainly worth sharing here. As we remember the anniversary of Katrina, and of Sept. 11, and as we read the new reports coming in from the midwest where they have had all the flooding, or as you pass someone on the street, remember hospitality to the stranger.

Dizzy Schedule

As of today, we have completed 5 days of the new semester, along with getting settled into our home, and trying to find a few hours to work and earn grocery money, as well. To say the least, the schedule is hectic, enough to make one dizzy.

On top of all of these other things, our approval essays are due next Tuesday. This essay will be the basis of our approval panel discussions with faculty here at seminary, and then again with our candidacy committee. This essay is about 20 pages long, including a sermon and some very deep, theological questions which must be answered.

Needless to say, all of this has impacted finding time to post to the blog, or send updates, or even talk to each other! We are working weekends on the lake, and I have been tasked with re-building the student web site for the seminary community. This web site has been interesting to work with, but also somewhat frustrating as it had crashed and had to be rebuilt from scratch. An interesting challenge, but not one I really have time for.

Being back at seminary is good, in fact, wonderful at times. Daily chapel is soothing, and refreshing, and calming in a time of chaos. Being back with friends (even though we left friends behind from internship) is also good, especially as we share experiences from our internships.

There was somewhere a false idea that the Senior year would not be as hard as some other semesters - not sure where I got that idea. It certainly is not true, especially not with all of the other demands on our time.

During a class discussion today, there was talk about finding those places where chronos (our time - linear time) meets with kairos (God's time - vertical time). Thinking back to internship, there were many of those times. I am sure that there will be many of those here as well, if only we can slow down to reflect on them occasionally.

Time to fix dinner, then translate some Greek (1 Cor 1:18-25). Then, maybe unpack another box...

On Going Home Again

Apparently it is possible to go home again.

Thanks to a few members of the church, we got everything in our apartment packed and loaded last Wednesday. After some final cleaning on Thursday morning, we left Mobile, and arrived back at our home on Friday afternoon, spent the evening cleaning and then, with some more volunteer help, unloaded the truck Saturday morning. The rest of Saturday, most of Sunday, and a portion of each day so far this week have been spent unpacking and getting settled.

Perhaps the most challenging part of unpacking is trying to remember where we kept things before. “Where should we put the mixing bowls – in this cabinet or that one? Which closet did we keep the sleeping bags in?” Or even deciding if things SHOULD go back in the same places: “Should we rearrange the living room, or put the furniture exactly where it was before?”

Even Smokey, our much-loved mutt, seems to know that he is back at home and has re-discovered his favorite spots to nap!

We are also back at our same part-time jobs on campus – I work in the library and Ray in the computer lab. There is no lack of things to do to help prepare both for the fall semester, so we have both been spending a couple of hours each day at work. This seems to be a productive way to spend the hottest part of the day.

Even the weather seems to be conspiring to make us feel at home – but with current high temperatures in the triple-digits, the heat index here is even higher than Mobile has been for the past few weeks!

Thanks to everyone who has made the past year such an incredible experience and especially to all those who helped us with the move! Wish I could say we are finished, but we still have a storage unit to unpack.

We plan to wait until after this heat wave breaks, then take time to move those things back home again, too…