Follow Me

April 20, 2010

Dear St. Paul’s Family,

After a breakfast of bread and broiled fish, the resurrected Jesus shared a private conversation with Peter. In John’s gospel, it would be their first exchange since Peter’s tri-fold betrayal during Jesus’ trial and crucifixion. We can only imagine the red-faced mea culpa Peter was internally rehearsing prior to their conversation. “Jesus, I’m sorry for not trusting in you. Forgive me for falling away from you and denying that I knew you. You have every right to be mad.”

We hear nothing of Peter’s apology, but we hear volumes of Jesus’ forgiveness. Instead of condemnation or punishment, Jesus offers redemption-in-triplicate. Three times, he asks Peter for his love and loyalty, and each time, Peter agrees. And after each response, Jesus gives Peter a new command. Feed my lambs. Tend my sheep. Feed my sheep.

And at the very end, Jesus summarizes his command to Peter with two words: “Follow me.”

It would be over three years (and twenty gospel chapters) since Jesus first uttered those words to his disciples. Back then, the call was exciting, ambiguous, and wonderful. But now, those words would be tempered with suffering, challenge, and risk. They had now seen the cost of following Jesus: rather than glory or crown, there was death and a cross. But this time, the disciples were witnesses to the transformative power of the resurrection. And so are we.

For the past several months, many of our St. Paul’s youth have been exploring the question of what it means to follow this Jesus in light of the resurrection. And this Sunday, when they are confirmed in the faith and profess for themselves the vows that were taken on their behalf at their baptism, they will respond as Peter, the disciples, and every follower of Jesus has responded over the centuries.

In their own words, here is a sampling of what following Jesus means to them:

Hannah Burkhart: Following Jesus means to me that I will always think, “WWJD.” I will always commit myself to being a wonderful Christian. I will attend church regularly, without complaining. I will be thankful for my church family, including Pastor Magrey. I will read my Bible more often. I will pretty much do what Jesus would have done in every situation as possible. Jesus now means the world to me.

Jacob Frye: Following Jesus means to me a unification: being brought into a family, being brought to a loving Father, being the hands and feet of something greater than all of us, and following a blind faith.

Courtney Johnson: Following Jesus means to me that I trust in him, I know that he loves me, and I will pray. I will always try my best to follow his commandments. I will believe in him with all my heart when I have my ups and downs. I will come to church as much as I can even though I know I will not be in confirmation anymore.

Derek Bechtel: Following Jesus means to me that my life is whole and holy. It means that my life in Jesus is pure even when I sin, and that no matter what happens in life someone will always love me.

Brett Stange: Jesus means to me that I have someone to talk to, and that I will worship him for the rest of my life.

Marshall Stief: Following Jesus means to me that I will love Jesus for the rest of my life and give him my all in worship.

Connor Voge: Following Jesus means to me that we shouldn’t be afraid of our Christian faith and we should dedicate our lives to Jesus.

I don’t know about you, but I can hardly come up with better definitions of Christian discipleship than these. We would all do well to follow in the example of our confirmands and respond to the call of Christ in our lives. I hope you will join me this Sunday in celebrating the confirmation of these wonderful kids, and experience with me the power of this exchange between Jesus and Peter in John 21. It’s all part of our current sermon series called, “The Seven Next Words of Jesus.”

Grace and Peace,

Magrey

The Rev. Magrey R. deVega
St. Paul's United Methodist Church
531 W. Main St.
Cherokee, IA 51012
Ph: 712-225-3955
http://www.cherokeespumc.org




John 21:15-19
15 When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?’ He said to him, ‘Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my lambs.’
16 A second time he said to him, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ He said to him, ‘Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Tend my sheep.’
17 He said to him the third time, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ Peter felt hurt because he said to him the third time, ‘Do you love me?’ And he said to him, ‘Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my sheep.
18 Very truly, I tell you, when you were younger, you used to fasten your own belt and to go wherever you wished. But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will fasten a belt around you and take you where you do not wish to go.’
19 (He said this to indicate the kind of death by which he would glorify God.) After this he said to him, ‘Follow me.’



ST. PAUL’S ACHIEVES THIRD MILE AGAIN!
Thanks to your generous support of all the local and global missions initiatives of this church, we have successfully gained Third-Mile giving status under the Conference’s Rainbow Covenant missions giving program. Between Rainbow Covenant giving and our annual apportionments, the people of St. Paul’s gave over $57,000 for the work of God here in Iowa and around the world: that amounts to over $82.00 per member! Thank you for all you have done to put God’s love into action!

KEITH WILLIS FUNDRAISER
The Cherokee Fire Station is holding a Pancake Fundraiser on Sunday, April 25, from 9:00am until 1:00pm for Keith Willis. St. Paul’s will be providing goods for a bake sale in conjunction with the fundraiser. You may drop off your baked goods or other edible items of all kinds on Saturday, April 24, at the church, or by 9:00am Sunday at the fire station.

CHURCH-WIDE CLEAN-UP
Come give a helping hand in doing some spring cleaning around the church campus. We’ll gather from 8am-12noon on Saturday, May 8, and lunch will be provided. Youth can count this toward their silver cord hours for school.

HELPING HANDS REQUEST
We are looking for people to assist with transporting Lillie Keller to church from the Careage Hills care facility throughout the summer. Ideally, a team of four or more people can rotate responsibilities. Contact Sheree Hausmann or Marlene Kelly for more information.

DISTRICT OFFICE OPEN HOUSE
The Northwest District Office has relocated to a new facility in Storm Lake, and they are hosting an open house to show off the new space. It takes place Tuesday, April 20, from 2:00-7:00pm, and is located at 404 E 7th St Ste 2, the site of the former Fareway building.

DISTRICT CONFERENCE
This annual gathering is scheduled for Sunday, April 25, from 2:30-5:30pm, at the Alta United Methodist Church. It is composed of all clergy, diaconal ministers, church lay leader, president of UMW, and lay members of the annual conference. There will be reports, Rainbow Covenant Recognition, election of officers and committees, approval of district askings, and other business of the district.