POPE FRANCIS ADDRESSES THE US CONGRESS

Earlier today, I watched Pope Francis address both houses of the US Congress in a historic speech that centered on the purpose and goal of politics, the Golden Rule, refugees, immigration, death penalty, climate change, the need to end all armed conflict, and the challenges to the institution of the family.  He did so, reminding his listeners of the contribution of four Americans: Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, Jr., Dorothy Day, and Thomas Merton.

Even though our own Lutheran Church has broken away long ago from the Pope’s Roman Catholic church, it would serve us well to listed to the spiritual leader of the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics.  I thus invite you to read or watch his remarks as an excellent example how faith in Jesus Christ and engagement with burning contemporary problems can go hand-in-hand.  (If you – like me – had trouble listening because of the Pope’s accent, the full text of his speech can be found at on the NPR website.)

Occasionally, it seemed to me, the Pope’s remarks seemed to apply to us at Bethel, too.  Take for example the following quote from the beginning of his speech:

“Each son or daughter of a given country has a mission, a personal and social responsibility. Your own responsibility as members of Congress is to enable this country, by your legislative activity, to grow as a nation. You are the face of its people, their representatives. You are called to defend and preserve the dignity of your fellow citizens in the tireless and demanding pursuit of the common good, for this is the chief aim of all politics. A political society endures when it seeks, as a vocation, to satisfy common needs by stimulating the growth of all its members, especially those in situations of greater vulnerability or risk.”

Now let me make a few changes and adapt the Pope’s comments to our Bethel context:

“Each church member has a mission, a personal and shared responsibility. Your own responsibility as members of Bethel is to enable this community, by your activity, to grow as the Body of Christ. You are the face of Bethel, representatives of Christ’s body. A community of faith endures and thrives when it seeks to satisfy common needs by stimulating the growth of all its members, especially those in situations of greater vulnerability or risk.”

We are, indeed, called to help one another grow in faith, hope, and love.  That’s an important part of our mission as Christ’s church. 

Our Bethel mission statement details the three areas of

This Sunday, we will celebrate our many ministries here at Bethel as part of our annual ministry fair.  This also means that all of us will have many opportunities to embody our mission – by inviting others to join us for worship or other events at Bethel and by participating in one or more of the ministries of our congregation. 

When you show up, you support your brothers and sisters in faith.  When you bring others, we will have more hands to do God’s work.  By living our faith in the world (at home, at work, in our leisure activities, or at school), we act as representatives of Christ’s body.  The more each one of us participates, the more we will thrive as a community. The more our community thrives, the more we work with God towards the building of God’s Kingdom.

So in short – do come this Sunday and do bring others along to worship with us and to attend and enjoy the ministry fair between worship services (9:45-10:45am).