August 5
Beloved families of Good Shepherd,
Peace be with you! I hope all of our families are savoring the last week of summer before the new school year begins. This Sunday’s Gospel reading from Matthew is masterfully depicted in one of my favorite paintings of Jesus called “The Hand of God”. The viewpoint of this painting shows Peter looking up at Jesus right below the surface of the water. Jesus is standing on top of the water, calmly reaching out his hand to save Peter. Right before this scene, Jesus had been walking across the lake to reach the boat where his disciples were struggling against powerful winds. Peter is shocked to see Jesus walking on the water and wants to go to him. Jesus invites Peter to walk on the water toward him. Peter, distracted by the strong winds whirling around him, takes his eyes off of Jesus and begins to sink. Peter cries out to Jesus to save him. The text says, “Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him”.
I am moved by Jesus’ abundant mercy in immediately extending his hand to Peter to save him from the waters below. This image of Jesus saving Peter reminded me of the time our priest from St. Michael’s, Fr. David Boyd, explained the sacrament of baptism to our family. We were new to St. Michael’s and were discerning baptism for our daughter Madeleine who was a toddler at the time. We had invited Fr. David over to our house for dinner and a conversation about baptism. I remember being seated on the couch in our family room as Fr. David described the transformative power of baptism. Fr. David, a strong swimmer, extended his hand to me and effortlessly lifted me up from the couch to a standing position to illustrate the power of baptism. He said in baptism Jesus extends his hand and invites us to hold on so that God can lift us up into a new life of grace, truth, and love. We decided to take Jesus’ hand on behalf of our daughter Madeleine and she was baptized on All Saints’ Sunday a few months later.
Our next baptismal date at Good Shepherd Church is November 1, 2026, which is All Saints’ Sunday. If you would like to consider baptism for one or more of your family members, we invite you to join us for lunch on Sunday, September 13, 11:30-12:30 pm, in our library upstairs. Fr. Hendree will discuss baptism and answer any questions parents might have. Child care and a child-friendly lunch will be offered in our nursery. Email me HERE if you would like to join our pre-baptismal lunch meeting to learn more about baptism and also enjoy lunch with other young families.
We hope you will join our Back to School Blessing of Students and Teachers, Parish Picnic, and Lifeline Meal Packing event on Sunday, August 16. We’ll gather for lunch that afternoon at Ashland Elementary for a wonderful time of fellowship and service. Our goal is to pack 10,000 food bags for our partner schools and our neighbors across the region. Register to be part of our food bag packing team HERE!
We hope to see you this Sunday!
Many Blessings,
Patty