Well, maybe it’s that too, but most importantly for us, St. Paul is the man who expanded the Jesus movement from being a Jewish sect to a distinct fellowship of Jesus’ followers throughout the Mediterranean world. We learn a great deal about Paul from the Book of Acts wherein his missionary journeys frame the second half of the intrepid, dangerous, and joyful work of sharing the Good News of Jesus.
We learn even more from Paul’s own writings, passed down in the letters that follow the Book of Acts. The longest of those letters is addressed to the Christian community in Rome, and it is from this book that we are reading the Epistle this month of August. We have the opportunity to hear Paul frame his understanding of what it means to follow Jesus and how the community of followers should live.
I’m excited as our August preacher to have the opportunity to reflect on St. Paul’s ministry and story over the next five Sundays. We will learn a bit more about him, about how the earliest Jesus movement became the Church and about how the Church we know today might better reflect Paul’s vision for a community of welcome, of mission, of prayer, and of fellowship.
See you Sunday in Church to learn about St. Paul…the man, not the city.
Peace,
James+