April 3: Disruption and Connection

Luke alone is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is very helpful to me in my ministry. Tychicus I have sent to Ephesus. When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpas at Troas, also the books, and above all the parchments. II Tim. 4:11-13

These words of St. Paul don’t seem like the sort of thing a daily devotion normally focuses on. But they’re important because they establish that the ministry of the Word has always had a very practical, business side to it as well as a very personal side, even in the writing of Scripture itself. It isn’t all just divine, spiritual truths being received by the Holy Spirit and written down for all the ages to come. It is that, of course, but it is more. There were mundane, practical problems attending to the ministry of the Word even for St. Paul himself. St. Paul’s, Munster should expect no less.

St. Paul writes these words from prison. He is dealing with isolation, trying to keep in contact with churches from a distance, and safeguarding the future of the church for after he dies, which he suspects will be soon. Poignantly, he wants Mark; earlier in his ministry (Acts 15:37-39) St. Paul didn’t want anything to do with Mark. But things change. People change. For logistical reasons, St. Paul doesn’t do all the teaching himself, but organizes the teaching at Ephesus by sending Tychicus. He is a great apostle, but has regular personal, material needs, like a cloak. He is a mouthpiece of God, but has to attend to eternal spiritual truths via perishable parchments that need looking after. The sense of scrambling to deal with his circumstances can comfort us here as we scramble to adjust everything we do. We keep the ministry of the Word foremost, but understand that such ministry has always required practical solutions to worldly problems.

Today, too, everyone at St. Paul’s is dealing with major practical disruption, but the ministry of the Word goes on. We’re addressing practical issues as best we can. Here are the very practical things you can do today that will help the ministry of the Word go forth:

1. Keep the congregation and all its members in prayer. This is most important of all.
2. Make sure you stay in contact with your church family, especially those who live alone.
3. Thank God for your church family and all the varied gifts God has brought together here. Some extremely generous emergency donations have helped keep things afloat here. All extra offerings, of course, are welcome, and will be put to good use.
4. Contribute to the food pantry, but not with food. Gift cards or cash only, please, for practical reasons. We do have members in serious need.
5. Make sure you help those who struggle with access to technology to participate in our services, updates, and everything available on the website.
6. Participate in the services and Bible studies. In addition to church services, we will be having live Bible study via Zoom on Sunday at 9:30 (link below with instructions). Please be patient with any technical glitches.
7. Be open to change. Perhaps you, like St. Mark, have had some past difficulty with St. Paul’s, or vice versa; let this be the time reconcile and work together.

May God continue to bless His Church through every worldly circumstance, opening paths for the ministry of the Word to go forth despite every obstacle.
In Christ,
​Pastor Speckhard