Sermon - 9-7-23

<p>When I think of how fast everything fell into place for me to arrive and begin here, it really has been a whirlwind. Yes, I considered my options, but I could have just as easily decided I did not want to start over again and I could have retired or at least stayed in the UP. I tried to weigh out my needs and what or who God was calling me to.</p> <p>If I had thought any longer, I could have allowed fear and uncertainty to lead me. I could have also said yes and then allowed my fears and anxieties to take over. Since I have made other major moves, I felt if this is where God is calling me to, it would work out.</p> <p> I can’t tell you that there were not times that I thought about stopping the whole process. There are so many details, and one has to stay amiable in order to navigate changes. When I got the flat tire in St. Ignace on my way down to my home inspection, I could have thought that this was a sign to stop the process, but I just decided that I had to breathe and make it work.</p> <p>Fortunately, I come from a family stock that stays the course. I have also learned that you continue to tell people what you need, or you have little chance of getting it. It is so easy for us to plan out how things are supposed to go and then I think that God laughs.</p> <p>In last week’s Gospel lesson, which we did not use due to Pride Sunday, Peter declared that Jesus was the Messiah. When Peter heard Jesus say that he must go to Jerusalem and undergo great sufferings at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes and then be killed, and on the third day be raised, he did not like it. This was not fitting Peter’s expectations of Jesus as the Messiah.</p> <p>Just as I had fears and anxieties, so did Peter. Peter actually took Jesus aside and emphatically told Jesus no, that this would not happen! Typical human beings, make a proclamation and basically back peddle because what was happening wasn’t fitting their plan. I like how Eugene Peterson paraphrases Jesus’ response to Peter, Peter, get out of the way. S