St. Jamesʻ Sunday 10-26-25 скачать в хорошем качестве

St. Jamesʻ Sunday 10-26-25

St. James’ Sunday 10-26-25 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/ In this weekend’s Gospel, two people come to God in prayer. One stands tall and lists all the good things he’s done. The other stands off at a distance and simply says, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner.” And Jesus says it’s the honest one who goes home right with God. It’s not a story about who’s good and who’s bad. It’s a story about grace -- the kind that meets us right where we are. Around the parish, when something goes sideways or we’re stretched thin, the staff will look at each other and say, “Grace, grace, grace!” It’s our reminder of what it’s all about. We strive to live the grace we ourselves continually receive in Christ. That’s our starting point and our finish line. In a divided and anxious world, it’s easy to slip into the Pharisee’s prayer -- comparing, defending, proving ourselves right. But Jesus invites us to drop the performance, to stop pretending, and to open our hearts to mercy. That’s what we try to live out in our parish ‘ohana. Grace in thrift and bookstore, in the meal line. Grace in meetings. Grace when we disagree. Grace when someone’s late, or tired, or hurting. Our ministries aren’t about earning God’s favor -- as I said in the sermon last week, they’re our witness to faith. This is the reason a church is called a community of faith. Every youth and keiki welcomed, every newcomer greeted, every kindness offered is our way of witnessing our belief that, “God’s grace is still real in this world.” There’s an old story about a bishop giving a lecture on how the universe works — the stars, the planets, the laws that hold it all together. When he’s done, an elderly woman stands up and says, “That’s all well and good, Bishop, but you’ve got it wrong. The world rests on the back of a great turtle.” The bishop smiles and asks, “And what does that turtle stand on?” She replies, “It’s no use, Bishop — it’s turtles all the way down.” We might laugh, but she’s onto something. Because for us, it’s grace all the way down -- grace beneath our doubts, grace beneath our failures, grace beneath all our best intentions and half-finished prayers. That’s what holds everything -- not our goodness or our certainty, but the mercy of God. So when we remind each other, “Grace, grace, grace!” we’re not just saying “be kind.” We’re confessing what we’ve discovered to be true: When all else gives way, grace still holds. It really is grace all the way down. In Christ’s aloha, David