We live in a world where you have to pay for air to put in a tire and where some people wouldn't give you air to breathe if they had it in a jar; we live in a world in which war is practiced in the name of patriotic peace and the deaths of our young support the increasing wealth of the privileged. And into this world, the community of St. Thomas' announces that the reign of God is near when you work a full day and find the energy to stop by someone's home with a warm chicken or perhaps illness has rendered your energy level to the place where your mission is to sit quietly in your room, praying for the work of the vestry and for the good of the next generation at St. Thomas'-and you do it. The reign of God has drawn near when you summon up the courage to sit by the side of someone you have played with, danced with and cooked with, for a big chunk of your life, while she cries with the pain of debilitating cancer and the fear of never seeing you again. The reign of God draws near when you work jobs that make a difference in the quality of lives for people you don't know and will never meet; when you put aside differences about gender and politics and do what needs to be done for fair housing and wages in the district; the reign of God draws near with peace and healing through our dedication to the newly confirmed of this parish and each one of us does our fair share to bear the financial responsibility of our bills and mission. The reign of God was near as we hosted several hundred people on June 10th with good food, a generous welcome and gave hours and hours of our time preparing materials and booths and cook-outs...the reign of God drew near as we listened to the story of Davis Mac-Iyalla this last week and when we commit our lives to gather in worship, Sunday by Sunday. We are the humble community of St. Thomas', passionate about God's hold on us and it is this authentic voice that is expanding our membership as we expand our hearts and our resources so that anyone seeking to find God and be found by God, can sit side by side and share the story of encountering the greatest gift and mystery of life.

This is what's worth living and dying for. When you have encountered God's peace and healing and are willing to share this with your neighbor, when the reign of God draws near -indeed, everything else is commentary. You can rejoice that your names are written in heaven. It may cost us everything...if we say no or hesitate it will cost our neighbor everything!