James Derkits

  Sunday, September 29: Be Salty for Jesus! Reflection for church while my back heals.  Welcome everyone to another church on the beach. Fr. James is dealing with his back injury, and sent this reflection to read, so here it goes.  I spent Thursday morning planning for the next two weeks, anticipating that I might need a medical procedure. As I did so, I marveled at how many amazing leaders we have within our church. I was focusing on the worship service, and leading worship on Sundays is a only portion of what we do as a church community, but it is an important part of what we do. It is where we gather together to reorient to God, to open our hearts to the Holy Spirit’s guidance, and to listen for inspiration from Jesus. How fitting that we gather on the beach today to hear Jesus remind us to be salty. Do we have it easier, here beside the sea? We can hardly help but be salty around here. I want to start with that, which is where Jesus lands his somewhat meandering messa...

In the Christian Bible, there are two prominent stories focused on language, although since the Bible we read is in English, translated from Greek and Hebrew all of which is seeking to articulate the ineffable, you could say the whole Bible is about language, but I digress.  The story of the Tower of Babel is a primeval history of why there are so many language groups in the world, and most importantly, it addresses that all-too common theme of hubris: that is when humans think too highly of themselves. There we were, building a tower up to heaven to be on the same level as God, then the confusion happened. All the people were given different languages so they couldn't continue to build up-up-up. We were humbled and scattered. Unless we read those stories regularly, we are likely to forget to be humble and hope on the hubris train again and again and again. The second story focused on language is that delightful story in the book of Acts, when instead of confusion, the gift of...