St. James’ Saturday 1-10-26 скачать в хорошем качестве

St. James’ Saturday 1-10-26

St. James' Saturday 1-10-26 You may download the bulletin at: https://files.constantcontact.com/722... You may download the bulletin insert at: https://files.constantcontact.com/722... Our secure on-line giving portal at: https://stjameshawaiiorg.givingfire.com/ This has been a deeply unsettling week. Many of us are carrying anxiety, anger, and fatigue as we try to take in what is happening: war escalating overseas, violence at home, arrests and threats abroad, talk of seizing other nations' resources. Add to this the ongoing pressures of climate disasters, economic uncertainty, and political division, and it is no wonder so many feel on edge. If you are feeling unsettled, you are not alone. It is faithful to admit that grief, anger, and confusion do not disappear simply because we trust God. Much of what we are carrying does not yet have resolution, and we are not asked to pretend otherwise. The Gospel does not ask us to ignore these realities or respond with panic, cynicism, or hardened hearts. Instead, it offers us a different place from which to see, think, and act. This weekend's Gospel, the Baptism of Jesus, speaks directly into moments like this. Before Jesus confronts empire, before he faces violence or speaks truth to power, he enters the water and hears a voice from heaven: "This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased." That declaration comes before anything is resolved. Before the world is made safe. Before the work of justice is complete. And that order matters. Jesus does not enter the world's brokenness from a place of fear or self-justification. He enters grounded in belovedness. From that place, he is able to resist temptation, refuse violence, tell the truth, and remain faithful without being consumed by hatred or despair. That is the invitation held out to us as well. Remembering that we are God's beloved does not mean disengaging from the world. It means refusing to let fear be our primary guide. It means we can stay attentive to injustice without becoming defined by rage, seek accountability without losing our humanity, and act faithfully without surrendering our souls to bitterness or despair. This weekend, that truth will not only be spoken, it will be enacted. At our 5 PM Saturday Beach Mass, we will celebrate the baptism of six-month-old Marion May, daughter of Astrid and Chris Caruso-Lynch. In the midst of all that weighs on us, we will gather around the water and hear words that come not from the headlines, but from the heart of God: You are beloved. You belong. Baptism reminds us that the world's violence and fear do not get the first or final word. God does. New life does. Grace does. If you are feeling worn down or hungry for a reminder of what is true, come. If you need to see belovedness named aloud, embodied in a child, and claimed again for yourself, come. In baptism, the promise spoken over one is a promise spoken over all of us. This weekend, worship is not an escape from what is happening in our nation and world. It is a place to set down a burden we were never meant to carry alone, and to remember who we are before we return to a complicated and wounded world. Come as you are. Listen again for the voice that speaks beneath all the noise -- the voice that names us Beloved and sends us forth not hardened but strengthened. With you in prayer, hope, and Christ's aloha, David