Jordan Paul

Glory to God whose power, working in us, can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine: Glory to him from generation to generation in the Church, and in Christ Jesus for ever and ever.

Friends,

The above quotation from Ephesians is not from today’s readings, but I think it is a good verse to tie all of today’s readings together. From God’s radical inclusion in Isaiah, to St. Paul’s reminder of the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit in his letter to the Ephesians, to Jesus’s transfiguration in St. Mark’s Gospel, God continually shows (sometimes more directly than others) what is possible with and through Him.

As recently as two years ago, I would have rolled my eyes while reading this type of reflection, let alone have written one. I won’t recount my story of coming to faith (although I have done a little of that here), but, suffice it to say, I had no shortage of opportunities where converting would have made sense that I happily blew right through at the time.

I joke that since I first started coming to Saint Philip’s, I’ve been doing a speed run of the sacraments—from my baptism at Easter Vigil to my confirmation last Sunday to my wedding next January—but it’s not entirely false! It sounds corny to say, but a lot of what I attribute to my decision to come to Saint Philip’s was what St. Paul calls the “fruit of the Spirit.” I came to Saint Philip’s and faith when I was at a pretty low point, but had it not been for the grace shown to me, throughout my life, by Christians, then I’m not sure I would have made the leap. It was as if I had built a meticulously constructed dam to forestall any intrusion by faith but that only meant that it kept piling up outside, waiting to flood in. And when I finally let it flood in, I really let it flood in.

I owe all of this to those who helped me along the way who were so infused with love and joy and patience that even I was able to be put on the path to find God. Being that light for someone else is something that we should all strive for and, God willing, will be able to do.

In Christ,

—Jordan