March 25
Beloved families of Good Shepherd,
Peace be with you! Today is a special feast day in the life of the Church known as The Annunciation of our Lord. The Annunciation of our Lord is one of eight feast days (called “Feasts of our Lord”) which focus on the life of Jesus. The Feast of the Annunciation celebrates the mysterious Incarnation of Jesus in the womb of His mother, Mary. In the Gospel of Luke, the angel Gabriel says to Mary,
“Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And now you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end…The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God.”
Mary replied to the angel, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.”
The angel Gabriel’s announcement to Mary that she would bear the Son of God reveals the amazing truth that God desires to break into our lives for the mission of Love. Author and mystic Thomas Kelly perceived that we simultaneously live our lives in time and in the timeless, eternal dimension of God. Kelly says God is a second Reality who “hovers, quickens, quivers, stirs, energizes us, breaks in upon us and in love embraces us, together with all things, within Himself.” God broke into Mary’s life powerfully and unexpectedly through the Annunciation. Mary courageously said “yes” to God and surrendered her life to become the mother of our Lord Jesus.
The stories of our faith we teach our children are all stories of God breaking into the lives of ordinary people in extraordinary ways. God entered the lives of the people of God in our Holy Scriptures, such as Abraham, Sarah, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, the prophets, Esther, Mary, Paul, and the Twelve to call them for the holy mission of Love.
Right now God is breaking into our lives, too, to call us into the noble mission of Love! The season of Lent is a time to slow down and deepen our prayer life to perceive the many loving nudges from God. Thomas Kelly writes, “the Hound of Heaven is on our track, the God of Love is wooing us to His Holy Life.” (If you would like to learn more about Thomas Kelly, you’re invited to join Fr. Hendree’s Mystics class this Monday, March 30, 5:30-7:00 pm)
This Sunday is Palm Sunday, which marks the beginning of Holy Week. During Holy Week we walk alongside Jesus and enter into His Passion and Resurrection. Our Maundy Thursday service is at 7 pm on Thursday, April 2. Our Good Friday service is at 7 pm on Friday, April 3. Holy Saturday Prayers will be at 8:30 am on Saturday, April 3, and the Flowering of the Church will take place at 9 am. Our Easter Vigil gathering will have an Easter fire and the singing of the Exsultet at 8 pm followed by Scripture readings Saturday evening through Sunday morning. Nursery care is available for our Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday services. Easter Sunday services on April 5 will be at 7:30 am, 9 am, 11 am, and 5 pm. Children’s chapel will be offered at the 9 am and 11 am Easter Sunday services. Our Easter Egg Hunt will be at 10:15 am on Easter Sunday. We’ll gather near the front of Good Shepherd Day School at 10 am and then start our Egg Hunt at 10:15 am. Please have your kids bring their own Easter baskets!
This Friday and Saturday families are invited to make Palm Crosses that will be worn this Sunday. Join us in the Undercroft from 9 am to noon!
Since this Sunday is Palm Sunday, we’ll gather on the sidewalk near Entrance A at the start of the 10 am service and then process into the nave with our palm branches.
We hope to see your family this Sunday!
Many Blessings,
Patty