Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
Schools are closing, pools are opening, etiquette says it’s now appropriate to wear white, and unofficially summer has begun, and many will take their vacations. Since Covid, these long days have been much quieter for me. With the arrival of the virus, we have only had two mission trips to St. Timothy’s, instead of the seven or eight we used to have. One of those only had two individuals who came to help replace our roof and distribute school backpacks. We still have applications from 2019 for home repairs that need to be done. We will have two trips this year so we will be able to help some people, but certainly not all. It will be a bittersweet summer for me for it is unclear how much I will be able to work with the wonderful people on the mountain after this year. I was with them for that first Christmas gathering in 1982 and with the exception of seven and a half years, have been with them since. My prayer is that the work there will continue long after I am gone, but none of us are here forever.
This past Monday, we remembered all those who served in our military and are no longer with us. For me, that includes parents, my brother, college classmates, former parishioners, friends, and the multitude never knew. Some died in combat while those who did not carry the scars of war, whether visible or within themselves. Unfortunately, for some Memorial Day is little more than a day off work, a day to cook out and party. For many others, it is a time to reflect on those who served their country for the freedoms we now have. Work that is not yet finished.
This Sunday, we will meet Jesus on the mountain in Galilee as he departs from the eleven disciples. He will no longer be with them here on earth. He ascends leaving them his last words, letting them know that as the work begun by those who died for us, whose work is not done but left to us to ensure the freedom of all, His was not complete either. His charge, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” But, just as those who have gone before are with us in our memories and hearts, Jesus too is with us, “to the end of the age.”
Peace,
Bryant+
