Author: Daren Bernecker

By Pastor Wes Poole

Summertime and the livin’ is easy
Fish are jumpin’, and the cotton is high.
from Porgy and Bess by George Gershwin

OK, so that’s not my standard Biblical citation that I would usually use for our weekly devotion. I guess that’s just where my mind has been lately. Notwithstanding the fact that this particular quotation comes from one of the most beautiful and moving pieces of music (sacred or secular) that has ever been written, I think it captures the attitude many of us strive for in these Summer months. Sitting on the edge of a cool lake, outdoors breathing the fresh air and taking in the beauty of God’s Creation, lazily casting your fishing pole out into the water…mind on nothing at all…peaceful, relaxed, and content. It’s a powerful image and completely fitting for us. After all, God Himself is said to have rested after He created the Universe. After having our normal activities curtailed for most of the last year, the notion of a bit of travel and recreation is just a sweet, sweet thought! Christine, Ian, Julia, and I will be spending a few days this coming August in the SC Low Country, one of the original homes of laid back living and “high cotton”. The South is, aside from being a great place to vacation and relax, where most of our family lives. In fact, we’re going down in July to get my mother so she can spend some quality time with us before we head back down in August. I’m really looking forward to introducing her to our new church family. Even though we don’t live in the South anymore and likely won’t ever again, it is home…and the call to return home is a strong one indeed.

There is a stronger call, however, that also comes at the beginning of the summer months; a call that we, as Christians simply cannot ignore. This coming Sunday is the last Sunday of Eastertide. Pentecost follows, and soon we will find ourselves in those long, “green” Sundays after Pentecost that stretch through the summer months. I find it quite apropos that the third great celebration of the Church Year, Pentecost, is placed on the cusp of summer. While most of us are planning how to maximize our summer “R and R”, we are reminded of the Holy Spirit’s call to all of the members Christ’s Body, His Holy Church. Does this mean that we should abandon our plans for vacation and focus entirely on work? By no means! What Pentecost and its long season after does represent for us is the challenge not to forget our call to ministry as we seek refreshment. The work of the church is never done. Even though we are still playing “catch up” in many ways as the world recovers from the COVID lockdown, we must never lose sight of the fact that we are constantly to be seeking new and relevant ways of telling the great story of Our Lord and his love to the world. Sure, it may be a long time before the church is “back to normal” completely. Likely, some things will never quite go back to the way they were. That’s OK though. That’s life…and life is change! The gift of the Holy Spirit given to the church on that Pentecost Day two millennia ago, is still as alive, active, and fiery as it was way back then…and more than capable of meeting the challenges ahead. I pray that Spirit continues to enflame our hearts and engage our minds for ministry as we move into a hopeful future. 

May the Blessings of Almighty God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit fill us with purpose and peace!

Let us pray…

God of rest and refreshment, instill in us hearts eager for the challenges of ministry. Help us always to take care of each other and ourselves; that we might be ready to meet the needs of our Good Shepherd family, and our greater community. Jesus showed us the way to peace and eternal life. May we be equal to the task of showing others the way to him. We ask these things in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Be well, be kind, and be safe.

Your Partner in Christ,

Pastor Wes†

By Pastor Wes Poole

Acts 2:42-47

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.  Awe came upon everyone, because many wonders and signs were being done by the apostles.  All who believed were together and had all things in common; they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need.  Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having the goodwill of all the people. And day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.  – NRSV

Easter is still not quite over. The festival liturgy of Easter Sunday may behind us for another year, but the season has carried on for its appointed fifty days, preparing us for the months ahead. Moreover, this year, we have been able to celebrate this holiest of seasons in person, beginning with Palm Sunday. This year, the echoes of “Christ is Risen indeed!” reverberate extra sweetly through these special days as we continue celebrating the greatest single event in the history of the human race. It is during these fifty days, as we move from Easter Sunday to the Day of Pentecost, when we begin to see how the celebration and the practice of our faith intersect. Is it enough to shout with joy, “Christ is Risen”? In a word, no. If we are truly to understand the enormity of what Our Lord has done for us, then we must be able, like those apostles of the early Christian Church, to use that Easter momentum to put our faith to work in the lives of others. St. Luke, the author of Acts, tells us that the early Christians went to great lengths to make Christ known to their neighbors. Indeed, it appears that they spared nothing, not even their own possessions, in the pursuit of showing others what God had done in Jesus Christ. It is interesting that in two thousand years, very little has changed in that respect. Today, the Christian Church is much larger and more marvelously diverse than ever. We span the entire world and command a great many more resources. Still, our mission has not changed substantively from that of those first believers. There are still people who need to hear the Good News, there are still the poor, hungry, sick, and needy looking for comfort which we can provide in the name of Jesus Christ. We still need to come together weekly to worship and share the Holy Meal which provides refreshment and renewed energy, and to share our resources so that others may find comfort and relief. Of all the wonderful things that can be said about our God, our faith, and our mission in His Creation, this one thing remains true…none of the above is static. Our God is alive, at work in our lives right this minute! He asks us to take our faith and do the same; to be His co-workers in the Kingdom, making a difference in the lives of all whom we touch. As the Easter season winds down and the summer months approach, let us keep our faith alive by continually acting upon it. Christ is Alive! We now have new life in him.  May we always live that new life joyfully and faithfully.

Let us pray..

God of justice and generosity, renew in us all the zeal and enthusiasm to serve you by serving others. Like those earliest Christians, instill in us the will and the real desire to share our time, talents, and treasures with our church’s ministries, and wherever we see need in our communities. Jesus has shown us the way; may we be his hands in the world today, for it is in his name that we pray. Amen.

Be well, be kind, and be safe!

Blessings always,

Pastor Wes †

By Pastor Wes Poole

Then let us feast this Easter Day on Christ, the Bread of Heaven;

The Word of Grace hath purged away the old and evil leaven.

Christ alone our souls will feed. He is our meat and drink indeed;

Faith lives upon no other.    

from Martin Luther’s hymn Christ lag in Todesbanden

I recently read a true story about a Muslim who became a Christian in Africa.  Some of his friends asked him, “Why have you become a Christian?” He answered, “Well, it’s like this. Suppose you were going down the road and suddenly the road forked in two directions, and you didn’t know which way to go, and there at the fork in the road were two men, one dead and one alive…which one would you ask which way to go?”

Which man indeed?! It is at the most holy celebration of Easter that we see the true depth and power of our God and our Christian faith. There are many religions in this world. Most of them exhibit some degree of truth. Most provide, at least to a degree, good and wise direction with which the believer can order his or her life. Similarly, there are many enlightened philosophies that have developed in the course of human history. I am certainly not going to stand in judgment of any of them, and will have words with anyone who does! They also give their adherents much that is positive and wise; helping people to work to live together in peace, freedom, and dignity. However, our Christian faith brings something to the table that is unique. We are not just another enlightened philosophy, nor are we the typical religion, worshipping an intangible and unseen god or gods. For us, our faith is centered, indeed is completely grounded in an actual person…Jesus of Nazareth, the Messiah, the Son of God…God Incarnate….Our Resurrected Lord who sacrificed his life for ours.

    It’s easy to think of faith and belief in God in otherworldly or ethereal terms. Many fall into the trap of regarding God as if He were imperially regarding us on high “from a distance” and not actively engaged in our lives. Easter shows us once and for all that this simply is not true. This is the God who literally became one of us so that He could free us, as Luther put it, from the “bonds of death”. No, Our God is a hands-on God; never leaving us alone to our own device; never separating us from His love and forgiveness.

    For family devotions, Martin Luther once read the account of Abraham offering Isaac on the altar in Genesis 22. His wife, Katie, said, “I do not believe it. God would not have treated his son like that!” “But, Katie,” Luther replied, “He did.” Yes, the God of Easter is the One who has and will continue to give His all for His beloved children. Like the devoted parent who would never think of turning his or her child out into the world unloved and unaided, so has God regarded us. Christ’s Resurrection is also the promise of our own resurrection; the new and unending life we now have in Him! It’s a real life…a life lived in the present…and it’s ours in the person of Jesus Christ! Christ Is Risen Indeed!  Thanks be to God!

Let us pray…

God of life and hope, we thank you during this Eastertide for the gift of your active presence in our lives. Just as you sent your Son to redeem us through his own death and resurrection, you remain with us; emboldening us for service by the power of your Holy Spirit. Continue to refresh us during these 50 holy days of Easter, that we might be Christ to our neighbor, and beacons of hope for a weary world. We ask these things in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Be well, be kind, and be safe! See you in church! (I just LOVE saying that!)

Your Partner in Christ,

Pastor Wes †

By Pastor Wes Poole

Acts 4:33

 With great power the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. – NRSV

A little boy born with Down syndrome attended his third-grade Sunday School class faithfully each week. As you can expect, the other children did not readily accept the boy because he seemed different.

The Sunday after Easter, their teacher brought in small boxes–one for each child. The children were told to go outside, find some symbols of new life, and put them in their containers. So the children ran wildly throughout the property looking for something to fill their boxes.

Once they returned to the classroom, they began to share their discoveries with the class. One by one they opened their boxes to show flowers, butterflies, leaves, and more. Each time the class would “ooh” and “ahh.”

Then the child with Down syndrome opened his box to reveal nothing inside. The children exclaimed, “That’s stupid! It’s not fair! He didn’t do the assignment right!”

The little boy exclaimed, “I did so do it right! It’s empty…because the tomb where Jesus laid was found empty!” 

Can you say…theological mic drop?! Yea verily! He did SO do it right! As Luke reminds us in Acts, great grace is available to us, just as that little boy showed his class that day. The resurrection of Jesus is the single most important doctrine of the Christian faith. Without the resurrection, Jesus would simply have been an enlightened teacher, long since passed away, and our faith would be more philosophy than religion. As it stands, Jesus is alive and reigning at the right hand of God; yet always at our side, providing strength and encouragement for life’s journey. For me, this Easter has an especially powerful feeling of new life because we seem to be turning the tide on the pandemic. We should always give thanks God for what He has done for us in Jesus Christ, but that gratitude just seems that much sweeter this year. Every holiday, birthday, milestone, and even the most mundane of daily tasks takes on a new luster. Christ is Risen! We have a share in that new and eternal life. Now that we are beginning to be able to move about again and reconnect with our sisters and brothers out there in the wide world, let us also recommit to being the kind, welcoming, generous, and loving community Jesus has shown us how to be; building one another up and always striving to live into Jesus’ example in our daily lives. Thanks be to God! The Tomb is empty! May our hearts be ever full of that powerful Easter Joy!

Let us pray…

God of new life and perpetual hope, we thank you this day for Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus, who showed us how to live and be in this life, and opened the way to life eternal. Make of us a people committed to telling our Story to the world in both words and deeds, that all people might come to know the true Joy of Easter. We as these things in the name of Jesus, the Risen Christ. Amen.

Be well, be kind, and be safe!

Your Partner in Christ,

Pastor Wes †