"The wind blows where it chooses . . ."  John 3:8

From the Rector #21

Weekly thoughts from the Rector of Palmer Memorial Episcopal Church in Houston, Texas, where these words remind us that Jesus’ peace goes with us into the world. 

If you walk into the pulpit in the church, you might notice a small brass plaque on top of the railing that is engraved with these words: “. . .  we wish to see Jesus.”  Those words were spoken to a disciple of Jesus by what the Gospel of John describes as “some Greeks” who had come to worship in Jerusalem.  They may have been Jews from the diaspora.  They may have been Gentiles, foreshadowing the fact that the message of Jesus would eventually reach the ends of the earth.  At the end of the day, however, these Greeks represent you and me.  We seek the presence of Jesus here. 

The Rev. Liz Parker, our new Associate Rector, will be in that pulpit for the first time today.  I’m grateful for her presence on our clergy team and for the wisdom that she brings to the table for all of the church staff.  I’m also grateful that she counts herself among those who seek the face of Jesus.  For us, this happens though the eyes of faith, as promised to us in the words of Jesus to Thomas at the end of John’s Gospel:

Have you believed because you have seen me?  Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe. 

So pray for the preacher this morning, who is on the same pilgrimage of faith as the rest of us.  And come to the Rector’s Forum this morning at 10:15 a.m. in Room A102, when I’ll be interviewing our preacher about her journey with the God of surprises from Pennsylvania and New York City to Abilene, Amarillo, and Houston.