FROM THE PASTOR
Our Duty and Our Joy
“It is indeed right, our duty and our joy, that we should at all times and in all places give thanks and praise to you, almighty and merciful God, through our Savior Jesus Christ.” (Evangelical Lutheran Worship, p. 130)
These words from the Great Thanksgiving Eucharistic prayer give us a wonderful summary of the life of a Christian steward. Duty and Joy.
In 2020 Janet and I celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of our marriage. It has been my duty to honor the vows we made to each other at the altar: to be faithful, to care for her, to honor her and all the other things which make for a good, stable marriage. And also to remember our anniversary every year! Duty is important.
But also, beyond duty there is joy. The little things I love doing for her to make her feel special. The gifts and gestures I love to share because I am so grateful that she is in my life. They all run together in our life together: our duty and our joy.
I think our life of faith is something like that. Our duty as baptized disciples of Jesus is to honor the sabbath day, try to keep the commandments and love God and neighbor, support the mission of Christ’s church through our time, talents and resources. Duty is important.
But we also need to express our joy and gratitude for God’s steadfast love and grace. Do something special. Praising God in music, the arts, acts of generosity, expressions of sheer joy that through the death and resurrection of Jesus we have been given our lives back, free to live and love God and neighbor.
Living lives of thanks and praise to God is our duty. And our joy. “Our Duty And Our Joy” will be our stewardship theme this fall. Our duty is our regular support of the ministry of this church through our regular, weekly offerings. This regular, faithful support of time, talents and treasure from each of us is absolutely essential for the maintenance of our congregation and its mission in the world.
But at the heart of the eucharistic prayer, the Great Thanksgiving, is a call to joyfulness, to extravagance, to holy generosity for the sheer delight of being a child of God, redeemed and bathed in grace every day.
As we move forward in our life together we have a choice. In our stewardship and our giving we can and must do our duty for the maintenance of our church. But does not our joy in the Gospel compel us to go beyond maintenance to a thriving, growing congregation making a difference with the Gospel in many lives near and far?
Our strategic plan calls for us not just to maintain, but to thrive. Duty and Joy. We will take the time of Advent, when we wait and prepare for God’s most generous gift of Jesus to focus on our life as stewards of God’s gifts to us. We will begin this emphasis on Christ the King Sunday, the culmination of this church year. In the coming weeks, in videos, pastor’s blog, testimony by members, we will focus on different aspects of our mission. During Advent, in brief Temple Talks, some members will share their own experience and ministry at St. Luke’s.
Duty. We will invite each of our members to prayerfully make a pledge of weekly support for the ministry of St. Luke’s in 2023.
Joy. We will invite each of our members to make a generous year end gift to help us close the budget deficit and enter the new year in a strong position as we call a new pastor.
Joy. We will invite each of our members to consider a percentage growth in their weekly offerings.
The fourth Sunday of Advent will be commitment Sunday. I ask that everyone bring their commitment card to the offering that day.
In closing I want to tell you that it is not only my duty, but my profound joy to participate in the life of the community of Jesus known as St. Luke’s.
Pastor Stephen Paul Bouman
