While attending seminary, I often visited Lutheran churches near my home in upstate New York. One Sunday morning, at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Lansingburgh, a neighborhood in Troy, I met its pastor, the Rev. Richard Schue. When he learned that I was a seminarian, he quickly pressed me into service. Although I protested that I was not yet adequately trained, he sent me to preach at small rural congregations in Rensselaer County that were without pastors. It was truly a baptism by fire.
Pastor Schue was also the organizer and driving force behind an ecumenical Good Friday tradition in the community. On that solemn day, hundreds of worshipers followed a volunteer carrying a large cross to five nearby churches. At each stop, a visiting clergy member read a portion of the Passion story and preached on it. The procession then continued until the final reading was proclaimed at the last church.
Not surprisingly, Pastor Schue twice included me in his Good Friday plans when there were not enough clergy members to fill every pulpit. The first time, I was assigned to St. Augustine Roman Catholic Church and asked to preach on John 19:26-27:
When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her, he said to his mother, “Woman, here is your son.” Then he said to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” And from that hour the disciple took her into his own home.
That day, this novice preacher reflected on a mother’s final earthly encounter with her son. It also seemed fitting that this tender passage was proclaimed in a church named for another son whose faith was deeply connected to his mother: St. Augustine, son of St. Monica.
That memory returns today as the church commemorates St. Monica. Tomorrow, the bond between mother and son is highlighted again with the commemoration of St. Augustine.
Monica faithfully prayed for Augustine through years of wandering and restlessness. Her patient witness helped lead him to embrace the Christian faith and become one of the church’s most influential theologians. More than a thousand years later, Augustine’s writings on sin, grace, and God’s mercy helped shape Martin Luther, who began his ministry as an Augustinian friar. In that sense, Monica’s persistent faith helped nurture not only her son, but also generations of Christians, including our own Lutheran tradition.
Join us this Sunday, August 30, at 9:30 AM, as we celebrate our faith tradition and give thanks for those whose prayers, patience, and love have helped lead us home to God. Weather permitting, we will hold our worship service outdoors (if available, please come early to help us set up!). Our worship bulletin is attached.
Blessings,
Pastor Marc
