The Joy of Saint John & The Heartbreak of God’s People
During the last few days of every month, I take some time to mediate on what to write about for the upcoming monthly Saint John Newsletter. During my meditation, I reflect on recent events that are happening in the life of the church at Saint John, and I also reflect on what is going on in the world. I must say that when I think about Saint John and all that is going on, it brings joy to my heart — as I hope it does for you as well. However, when I look beyond Saint John at the world and everything that is going on, it challenges my joy and my heart breaks. In fact, right now my heart is breaking for all the loss — especially, in light of the horrific incident that happened on May 24th at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas where there was so much loss of life—most of them being children. I was hesitant to include this in this month’s newsletter, but I think we need to really feel what has happened, and even more so, we need to cry out to God in prayer and reveal to Him just how broken our hearts are. I must confess to you that I do not know how to fully process what happened, but I do know that God can help us all cope as we reflect on the events happening in the world. But then there is Saint John UMC, a church in the world but not of this world. It is place of sanctuary, and it is a place of worship and rest. Ultimately, it is a place to love God and each other. Right now, it is a place of restoration and healing.
“A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be comforted, because they are no more” (Matthew 2:18, ESV).
God bless all of you,
Rev. Kendell Linh Healy