June 2026 NEA
- Brad Mathias
- May 29
- 2 min read
My dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
We are entering into what some of our denominations call “Ordinary Time”. However, this time is anything but ordinary. We are entering a time that we will hear in our lessons on Sunday morning how it is that we live in this broken world as Christians, as followers of our Lord Jesus.
I was speaking recently to a member to the Diocese who was feeling guilty that he was not doing enough to have God (and the Church) be pleased with him. He wondered how much of a failure he is. I first had to remind him that God does not look at him counting his successes or failure, determining by them whether he is worthy to come to heaven when he dies. God looks at us who call on Jesus and sees that we have been cleansed by his blood on the cross. “And you, who were dead in your trespasses … God made alive together with [Jesus], having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.” (Colossians 2:13-14)
Imagine that! All of my and your sins were nailed on the cross with Jesus. We do not have to worry or feel guilty that maybe we are not good enough. Jesus made us good enough.
Jesus does want us to live lives worthy of that great blessing. Paul said to one church, “We … give thanks to God for you, brothers, as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing.” (2 Thess 1:3). As we move through this “ordinary time”, let us ponder how we too can have our faith grow abundantly. Let us ponder how our love for one another might increase. There are churches and denominations that preach and live strict adherence to rules and reject anyone who might think differently from them. Let this not be known among us. Let us work to promote true love and charity with one another, that our faith might grow abundantly!
Your brother and bishop,
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