The Rev. Paul Martin offering Holy Eucharist Sunday 10am, June 5th at Christ Episcopal

 

The Rev. Paul Martin will be leading us in Holy Eucharist Sunday, June 5 at 10am.  Please wear your red to celebrate The Day of Pentecost.

From the Forward Day by Day:

SATURDAY, June 4

Matthew 9:20-21 Then suddenly a woman who had been suffering from hemorrhages for twelve years came up behind him and touched the fringe of his cloak, for she said to herself, “If I only touch his cloak, I will be made well.”

When Jesus heals the woman suffering from hemorrhages, he does more than restore bodily health. Her twelve years of physical suffering are compounded by being defined as unclean and thus unable to participate in much of religious and social life. By healing her, Jesus restores her to her place in society.

It can be tempting to think that modern people are past such exclusionary practices toward the suffering, but that’s not the case. The many residents of the long-term care facility where my mother-in-law lives can testify to that. So can those whose grief over a lost loved one outlives the brief time that society’s norms set aside for mourning.

Jesus calls us to follow him to the cross, which means he calls us to dwell with people in their suffering. True Christian community is found where illness, pain, and grief are borne together. In such a place, sorrows are eased, and burdens are made light.