GregCast Diakonia

Happy Pentecost and Happy Birthday my dear Church!  As you have come to expect, I’m very inspired by the scope and sequence of it all. I love to reflect on the questions about “where we’ve been” and “where we’re going.” I see meaning in the movement of time, and messages in the journeys of life. I recognize the beginning of our creation in that strong driving wind that hovered over the waters and swept across the deserts, breathing life into us all! I take note of when prophets promised things like the coming of a light in the darkness, which was fulfilled at the birth of our Savior at Christmas. I remember the times when that very Savior taught us parables about the splendor of the grass and the trust of the birds. How he fed us and told us that we needed to take his Body and Blood and share it with the world. I’m reminded that he said that he would suffer, die and rise on a third day like his did at Easter. And I see the fulfillment of it all in his greeting of peace, uttered onc...

Lent is about the Journey… Last week we followed our Lord into the desert and today we journey up the mountain. In the weeks ahead, we’ll journey to Jacobs Well for a drink of life-giving water and move towards healing where we can truly see again and even come back to life. But this journey of ours ultimately brings us to the Way of the Cross, the portion of the journey where our Lord carries us and all the world’s burdens up that hill so that we might truly live! So how is your journey going so far this Lent? How’s life without that “thing” you gave up so that you might have room in your heart for God’s healing grace? Like so many other times on this road, today we are given a promise; the promise that we are not alone and that we have a place to go. For as the Lord told Abram, we can “go forth from the land of [our] kinsfolk and from [our] father’s house to a land that [will be shown to us].” So here is a fun aside… In today’s first reading, Abram will become Abraham. On this side o...

First let me take this opportunity to once again welcome you to this Season of Advent, a time of repentance and promise, of darkness dispelled by the light of the coming new-born King. This four week period which began last week in a spirit HOPE for the coming of the eternal kingdom of heaven, continues this week with the sense of PEACE that comes with justice and the knowledge that you’ve truly let go of all that you thought you wanted to be in favor of all that God has called you to be! Last week, this season of quiet season of waiting kicked off with Matthew’s version of the same Gospel we heard the week before that… The coming of the end time. People will be doing this and that, and one will be taken while the other one will be left behind. While it may not seem a very joyous way to begin our Advent Journey to witness the birth of our Lord, it does serve it’s purpose… Rather than trying to predict when time will end, Matthew’s Gospel would rather pose the question, are you prepared...

I was reflecting on the movement of things the other day, and how Fall is that time of year where we must deal with the reality of mortality and our willingness to ride on the Lord’s season cycle. You see, you can’t go back to the brightness of Summer, so you have to move forward into the darkness of Winter. The good news is that based on experience, we know that when we head into the chill, it’s only a simple path to the vibrance of God’s Springtime promise of new life! Our life with the Lord is indeed a cycle that repeats, oh, on average, maybe about 70-80 times. Each year we grow and each year a part of us dies. But the process of living is to evolve into something better. We learn from our mistakes and we pay attention to the things worth repeating and the things worth letting go. The same is true for the Church, and the spiritual journey that we take together as this one Body of Christ… It’s called our Liturgical Year, and it has wound down to completion yet again. By way of revie...

One of my favorite imageries in Scripture is played out in our First Reading from Exodus. You heard it, so I don’t need to repeat the story, but I will highlight that amazing element of how Joshua and his Army in battle were empowered and inspired by the raised hands of Moses. Whenever his hands were raised, they fought valiantly, so much so that when he got tired Aaron and Hur helped by propping up his arms, which helped them battle on! I see a similarity in a more recent time… During WWII, at the front end of the Battle of Iwo Jima, many of us are familiar with the raising of the American flag on Mt. Suribachi, and the famed photograph that will forever represent that moment. But for the purpose of making a point, it’s important to note that the Battle began on February 19, 1945 and it lasted a total of 36 days. It should then be noted that the American Flag that was represented in that iconic photo, was raised on February 23, 1945, only 4 days after the battle began. Actually there ...

In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge! Teach us to number our days aright, so that we might gain wisdom of heart! Our Psalm today is a plea for God’s intervention, which is a common theme in our everyday prayers… Lord save us, for we can’t do this on our own! Lord feed us, for we are hungry and we don’t have any food! Lord teach us, because it’s all too much and we don’t understand! The Word today, especially in the Book of Wisdom, offers us this truth: You cannot know the Lord or what he intends, or the plan he has for you, unless you welcome his Holy Spirit into your heart. You cannot plea for God’s help unless you remove the worldly things that weigh you down and block you from receiving his love, or partaking of his Body and Blood, or allowing the wisdom of his grace to come upon you to straighten your path that leads to him. Throughout the Summer, Luke’s Gospel has prepared us to meet today’s challenge to surrender all that we have so as to make room for this Holy Spirit....