Next Stop: The Kingdom of God by Rev. Duncan Johnston

we’ve grown out of our pacifiers and security blankets, haven’t we? Or have we? Maybe all I’ve really done is graduate from one blanky to another – a more grown-up one. Maybe the source of my security now is my public persona, what people think of me, or my career, or my relationships, or my physical appearance, or my 401K, my portfolio or my insurance policies, or my status symbols, my badges of honor, my medals of accomplishment. Even my guilt and my inadequacy can be my security cloak. Because being inadequate can get me out of all sorts of challenges I’d rather not face.

Reaching out to God by Rev. Duncan Johnston

‘Enough’ is what we all have. 'Enough' is a gift, 'enough' is a blessing, 'enough' is the attitude we must have if we are going to thrive in life. 'Enough' might not be what we want – we might strive for more, but 'enough' is all we need.

God still holds up perfection as the goal, because it should be, shouldn’t it? It is right and good and natural and noble that when a couple marries, they think big, they plan to be together forever; they don’t intend to mess up, neglect each other, or just drift apart. But if Jesus were standing here now talking about marriage, I think he’d remind us of this sobering truth that we’re all members of the Club of the Broken. Yes, let’s aim high – in all our relationships – let’s aim and being the best parents, children, siblings, friends, co-workers, church members we can. We’ve got to aim high, haven’t we? The love of God compels us to. But let’s remember that we’re broken.

The overwhelming tone of the music that James writes is this – we can’t do this alone. Following Christ is hard enough without trying to do it in isolation. Being a Christian is demanding enough without trying to do it in superficial relationships. We need each other.

St. Paul’s Episcopal Church

414 East Broad Street

Westfield, NJ 07090

Rector: The Rev. Dr. Duncan Johnston

Assistant Rector: The Rev. Christopher Decatur

Words are often unnecessary, but they are always powerful. So, when you use them, says James, think about the power you’re wielding. Words change lives. Words shape destiny. A single word uttered in an unguarded moment can end a career, as any broadcaster who has been caught in ‘hot mic’ moment can attest to. A sentence yelled in five seconds of uncontrolled anger can end a relationship. An idea poorly phrased or badly translated can even lead to war.

If you have ever wondered if your faith is real, then let me excite you. What James is doing is drawing this link between genuine faith and action. Without the action, the faith is dead. In other words, how do you know that your faith is genuine? Because you act on it. Sometimes we think our faith is weak, when actually, all we’re are experiencing is lack of certainty – which is not the same as lack of faith. Because faith shows itself, not in being certain about our beliefs, but in action.

But, even when God’s perfect mirror points out something unattractive in our character, there is always more wonderful truth it reveals. We may be scared to look into the perfect mirror of God because we know we will see imperfection in ourselves, and we’d rather not know. I don’t want to know how I need to change – that requires too much self-denial, discipline, hard work. And yet, what we see is God’s perfect love for us, that remains constant and unaffected by whatever faults we have.