Holy Redeemer Lutheran Church

     And so we enter that "long green season" of the church. It is interesting that attention if finally being paid to the length of the Pentecost Season. Newer liturgical books have divided up the season into a couple of "sub-seasons" - ones that have nothing to do with the church year. The first of these is the Summer season, followed by the Autumn season, and November. Changes in name, however, do little to change what is supposed to be taking place during this period of time.

     We have been through what is often called the "God part of the church year" - Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent and Easter. Those seasons all tell us how God has reached out to us, how God has entered into our lives. They stress that God always comes to us first, and that God's coming is supposed to make a difference in who we are and how we live.

     It is that difference making that brings us into this longest season of the church year - call it Pentecost, Summer, Autumn, November, or whatever you will. The point of what we are now going through is "what difference does it make to us that God has entered our life?"

• God calls us to care for widows and orphans. Perhaps we should do some work on healthcare for children, to make sure that all children are covered and that they receive medical care. Perhaps we should do some work for the elderly, to be sure that retirement homes are safe places, that the elderly have enough to eat, and that none of them are alone.
• God calls us to work for peace. Perhaps we need to bring more pressure to bear on the resident of the white house and the congress to wrap it up in Iraq and bring the troops home. And when they get here perhaps we need to make sure that they have health care too, and that they are not just left to be a generation of homeless veterans that no one cares about.
• God calls us to offer hospitality to the sojourner. Perhaps it is time to work on behalf of those who are immigrants to our country, in order to cut down on the amount of time that it takes to become a citizen. Or, maybe it is time to work for a citizenship path for those who are undocumented and who work at vital jobs within our society.
• God calls us to a life of truthfulness. Perhaps we should write to the Governor of California and ask him when he is going to fulfill his education promises. Perhaps we should write to the resident of the white house and ask when he is going to stop lying to the American public.
• God calls us to recognize the worth of all people. Perhaps it is time to recognize what our police personnel and fire personnel, our teachers and our nurses do for our state, and turn out of office those who think that they are nothing more than "special interest groups."
• God calls us to work for justice. Perhaps this is a time to work for jubilee and the end of the World Bank.
• God calls us to good stewardship. Perhaps it is time to say no to those who would waste millions on special elections, to say no to those who continue to add "pork" to congressional bills, to say no to those who continue to place the special interests of rich friends above the interests of our country.

     There is so much that God calls us to do, and enables us to do when entering our world. The doing, however, is up to us. If we want changes in our world, we must bring them about. If we want things to be different, we must work to make it happen.

     What is it that will catch your attention during this "long green season?" Whatever it is, let me know. When we get towards the end, I'll do a list of what has been going on at HRLC as we live out the difference that God makes in our lives.