A Note from Pastor Bill

Dear St. Luke’s Saints,

This year Kim and I observed Ash Wednesday in the Panama Canal. We were guests of friends connected with Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, and they invited us to join them on a 10 day cruise that included passage through the Gatun locks on the Caribbean side of the Isthmus of Panama. We returned home this past Monday.

While we were away I had time to think about our Lenten theme: “Earth Tones: The Landscape of Lent.” As you know, we are making our way through this holy season by lifting up the ordinary aspects of the Holy Land landscape: ashes, wilderness, wind, water, mud, cave, palms, and stones. While on the cruise Kim and I saw a rich diversity of God’s creation: lush islands, sugar-white beaches, crystal turquoise waters, tropical rain forests, and strange volcanic stones. We also experienced plenty of wind!

On some of the days at sea, the wind across the decks of the ship was so strong that our feet were almost lifted out of our flip-flops. The swells were pretty high a couple of days and some sun-burned passengers were more green than red. Interestingly, our rockiest moments were when we were waiting a few miles offshore from the Port of Miami in the predawn hours of our last day. The wind was hitting the ship broadside, and even with the huge size of the Brilliance of the Seas, we were rolling left to right.

This Sunday in worship the Lenten landscape is one swept by wind. Have you ever noticed that wind is the first image of God presented in the Bible?
Genesis 1:2 says “… and the Spirit of God was moving over the face of the waters.” The word for spirit, breath, and wind are all the same in the scriptures. God as wind creates, God as breath gives life, and God as spirit imparts gifts and power. In this week’s passage from the Gospel of John, Jesus talks to Nicodemus about being born of that wind/breath/Spirit. Maybe you’d like to inhale a bit or spread your arms to the breeze. I hope so. This wind is not the destructive kind that hit Cocoa Beach the other night; it’s the constructive kind that lifts us in faith and commitment to the Lord.

We’ll be looking for you. Check out John 3:1-17 in preparation for worship.

With faith, hope, and love,

Bill