In the Spirit's Tether
St. David's Episcopal Church | The Rev. Frank Allen | 3.16.2016

"
"But those who live in accordance with the Spirit
have their minds set on what the Spirit desires."
Romans 8:5
Dear People of St. David's,

I pray that you and yours are well and want to encourage each of you to make plans to walk with Jesus through Holy Week. Participating and remembering Jesus' suffering and death on our behalf and His rising from the dead on Easter is at the very core of our life in God. So, come and see and let God know of your love for all that He has given us.

I've been thinking a lot over the past few days about how one of the gifts of God that comes about as a result of Jesus' death and resurrection and ascension is the arrival of the Holy Spirit. It is the promise that follows forgiveness and freedom from death. God is now with us. God is now in us. God is guiding and enlivening our lives so that we can live in His presence and in His will. It is one of the great promises of the Christian life.

The guidance and the enlivening of the Holy Spirit in our lives is also a challenge, as I experienced firsthand this past Saturday when the Spirit led our Diocese to elect the Rev. Canon Daniel Gutierrez as our next Bishop. You see, I thought that God was guiding me into and through that process to become the next Bishop. God had another plan, and for that I am both a little sore around the edges of my heart and deeply thankful. I am beginning to understand that my role in this process was to help God point the way to our next Bishop, to be reoriented in my own life and redirected to a new life here with you all and with others that God will be sending our way to join this great mission that God has given us.

You see, there is no better place to live than within the Spirit's tether, even when it is not the life we think we want for ourselves. In the Spirit's tether, the Spirit's rein and reign, we are guided into the life that is really life - the life that best suits our gifts and our callings. We are offered a life that is intimately connected with God and His love and mercy and grace and goodness.

And so we set our minds, our lives, on what the Spirit desires if we want to experience the fullest life with God. It may fit perfectly with what we have in mind or it may be something entirely different. Either way, it is the path to real life. That's the kind of God who is calling you and me each day to follow - the God who loves us and wants for us all that He can give.

So allow your life to stay connected to God in the Spirit's tether. Remember that the God who would come and live among us, be killed, and be raised from the dead to take away sin and death forever is the same God who offers you a lifeline through the presence of the Spirit.

See you in Church this week and for those of you who are coming to the Chapel service on Sunday, we're going to start outside (or at least on the porch) at 9:10 for the Liturgy of the Palms.

Grace and Peace.

 Frank Allen

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Worship Schedule 3.20.2016
Palm Sunday
8:00am, 11:15am & 5:00pm | Church
9:15am | Chapel 
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St. David's Episcopal Church
763 South Valley Forge Road | Wayne, PA 19087
610.688.7947

St. David's Episcopal Church | 763 South Valley Forge Road | Wayne | PA | 19087