A Full Copy of May 8th Thursday Thoughts Can Be Found HERE

May 5, 2022

Dear Congregation:
In Sunday’s Gospel lesson from John 21, we read that Jesus’ disciples have gone back to fishing.  Jesus has died.  Jesus has risen.  He has appeared to them twice in the upper room after Easter.  Now what?  So, they go back to fishing, something they know, something they were doing when Jesus first called them to follow him.
That day they fished and fished and caught nothing until Jesus invited them to try something else.  Do something different.  “Put your nets on the other side,” he says. It is an invitation to look at what they already know, something they have been doing over and over again, in a new way.  As the story goes, when they took those nets and put them out on the other side of the boat, they caught an abundance of fish.
Not only did they receive a miraculous catch of fish, but they also saw Jesus in a new way.
In her book, The Soul of a Pilgrim, Christine Valters Paintner, suggests that a spiritual practice we can adopt is to take a contemplative walk on a route familiar to us.  She writes, “Beginning again is about letting ourselves be surprised by God and encountering the familiar with holy wonder.  Instead of feeling cynical or dulled because of our experience, pilgrimage invites us back to our lives, open to receiving the gifts that are present even in the mundane.  As you walk, stay open to receiving new gifts, to seeing things in a new way, to noticing something you have never noticed before.  What is waiting for you to discover it, and what might it say to you about where you are on the journey?”

Another Note:  I will be traveling May 11-21 with a wonderful group of 15 people as we explore Alpine Europe and the Passion Play.  During my travels, please contact Tyler York or Kim Sexton with any needs or concerns.
The Rev. Dr. Barbara Kershner Daniel

Senior Pastor
Evangelical Reformed United Church of Christ
bkdaniel@erucc.org
15 W. Church Street, Frederick, MD 21702
301-662-2762