Tues. Feb. 1, 2022

Callings

Dave DeSalvo

Hello from Oviedo, Florida, where Mary and I are spending a week with our oldest son, his wife Kelly and our five-year-old grandson Brayden. The weather is in the 50’s, but the sun is supposed to come out soon. We are just happy to be with family we have not seen in two years!

In the Church calendar this week, we celebrated “The Conversion of Saint Paul the Apostle.” Remember him? He was a Pharisee who approved of the persecution of the earliest followers of Jesus. On the road to Damascus, where he was going to round up more of Jesus’s followers, he saw a bright light and heard the voice of Jesus calling him. Paul had a change of heart and began to preach that Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of God. Was he thankful for this new vocation? Did it make life easier? Probably not, but he found his calling.

Today I am thankful for the gifts and talents of the good people at Common Table. Each person who serves at CT has a special calling: they bake cookies, cook and package the lunches, serve coffee and water, make conversation, and show small acts of kindness to all comers.

Like Paul, each of us is called to love God and our neighbor in ways that are consistent with our strengths and supported by our faith. What will be our next steps as we travel along the road of discipleship? What is next for St. John’s Church in this new year? As Rob Stevens has often said, “Whatever we do, we will do it together.”