Jesus' fame spread for his healing, but when folks gathered around looking for him, Jesus told his disciples that he wanted to go on to the surrounding region of Galilee to preach the gospel there also, for that is what he had come to do.

The beginning of my call as a priest involved reading the Bible and seeing time and again how the religion of Israel eclipsed the God and the Kingdom of God which the religion was meant to connect people to and help them live. I noticed the same thing with Christianity, ways in which love of "church" as institution got in the way of people's discipleship of Jesus and living out the Kingdom of God. Then, two weeks ago, Bishop Doyle in his address to Diocesan Council said that for too long the church has been clergy led with lay support. He wants to see a church that is lay led with clergy support. Those words spoke directly to my call.

We are to live out our lives as Jesus' disciples though service, evangelism, and reconciliation. The structures and institution of the church is here to help us in this way of life, not to do it for us.

True service means not only charity (largely crisis care), but serving with, building people up through mutual service, relationship, and digging deep into the causes of need, not just band-aids on the symptoms.

True evangelism in not standing on a street corner with a bullhorn. That's what crazy people do. Evangelism means invitation into conversation, sharing the deep parts of ourselves with others. Conversation does not mean conversion. We share intimately our faith in order to know others and to be known by them. They are not required to adopt our faith. We invite others to worship with us, to share in our way of life, to introduce them to Jesus. If they believe, then great. If not, then they can still belong as we connect on the deep heart to heart, bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh level.

True reconciliation means sitting down with our enemies, the people whose beliefs we abhor, those who have hurt us, and truly listening to them. Reconciliation means seeking to know them also on the heart to heart level. Reconciliation means also learning how we have hurt the other. Doing so is painful. It cuts us, and we bleed, but as we saw in the cross of Jesus, reconciliation requires blood.

Service, evangelism, reconciliation, a church that is lay led with clergy support. In these ways we live into Jesus' mission to go into Galilee and preach the gospel, for that is what he has formed us to do.