Announcements and E-formation -- July 26, 2023
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Week 6 -- Mother Theresa -- A Pencil in God’s Hand (1910–1997)
by Vicar Lisa
At age 18, Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu announced to her mother that she intended to join the Sisters of Our Lady of Loreto to serve as a missionary in India. Initially her mother refused consent, but when it became clear that Agnes would not relent, her mother retreated to her bedroom, shutting the door behind her.
When she emerged 24 hours later, she offered Agnes her blessing with these words: “Put your hand in His — in His hand — and walk all the way with Him.”
On December 1, 1928, Agnes set sail for India under her new name: Sister Mary Teresa. She never saw her mother again.
Sister Teresa began her service in the Calcutta convent as a geography teacher before becoming headmistress in 1937. She spent 19 years as a Loreto nun, rarely venturing outside the convent walls. However, on an annual retreat to Darjeelingon on Sept. 10, 1946, Sister Teresa, then 36-years-old, experienced what she came to refer to as “the call within a call.” Settled into her seat while traveling the 400 miles from Calcutta to the foothills of the Himalayas, she experienced a clear mystical encounter with Jesus.
“It was in that train, I heard the call to give up all and follow Him into the slums — to serve Him in the poorest of the poor,” she said later. “I knew it was His will and that I had to follow Him. There was no doubt that it was going to be His work.”
However, simply hearing the call didn’t necessarily entail that it would automatically and immediately come to fruition. In fact, Mother Teresa waited nearly two years to the day before she was granted permission from Rome to leave Loreto and launch her new mission.
During her impatient wait, Mother Teresa struggled to obey both her superiors and Jesus himself. While she sought to put the calling out of her mind, she also wrestled with the fear that in doing so, she was disregarding Jesus’ clear calling for her life. She simply could not suppress the desire to fulfill his command, even though she was fully aware this calling should unfold in his time. She was determined yet impatient.
Finally, on August 8, 1948, Mother Teresa received the news from Rome: Pope Pius XII had granted her permission to leave Loreto and begin her new mission to serve the poorest of the poor. Nine days after receiving the letter, Mother Teresa walked out of the convent toward the Calcutta slums. She wore a simple white sari and carried five rupees in her pocket. From then on, she served the poorest of the poor in the slums of Calcutta.
We know now that Mother Teresa faced a grave struggle during the second half of her life as she battled the demons of doubt and an unrelenting estrangement from God. She described this personal turmoil as a “terrible darkness,” a “terrible emptiness,” and a “feeling of absence of God.” She often wrote about this pain to the archbishop and to her spiritual mentors, begging for their prayers and guidance.
Despite these feelings, Mother Teresa exhibited an extraordinary depth of faith. Those who worked with her, knew her personally, or even connected only briefly with her always commented on her persistent joy, her gentle demeanor, and her beaming smile.
The irony is that she was not pretending to feel this joy — it was genuine, a flame fanned by her connection with the most destitute of India. Instead of stifling her missionary zeal, Mother Teresa’s desperate inner struggles increased her compassion and fueled her dedication to India’s poor.
The poor gave her something as well, as she explained in a 1961 letter to friend and spiritual mentor Father Joseph Neuner: “When outside — in the work — or meeting people — there is a presence — of somebody living very close — in me. I don’t know what this is — but very often even every day — that love in me for God grows more real.”
This correspondence marked a dramatic turning point for Mother Teresa as she began to understand her darkness as a gift that allowed her to share very personally and intimately in Christ’s suffering. The darkness did not diminish, but Mother Teresa eventually felt a peace, an answer, that carried her through to the end of her life.
Mother Teresa’s ministry was not without controversy. Her critics accused her of applying a Band-Aid to a cancer, of being naive about the root causes of poverty, and of not being political or radical enough.
“Mother Teresa takes care of the poorest of the poor but never deals with why they are poor,” said a Catholic charities official in a newspaper article. “She deals only with the disease [of poverty] and not with preventing it,” said another aid worker. Yet her intention from the start was to demonstrate compassion one person at a time.
Although she dedicated 40 years of her life to the Missionaries of Charity and saved thousands from destitution in the streets of Calcutta and around the globe, Mother Teresa always maintained that the work was God’s alone — she was simply his instrument.
“I don’t claim anything of the work. It’s His work,” she said in a 1989 interview for Time magazine. “I’m like a little pencil in His hand. That’s all. He does the thinking. He does the writing. The pencil has nothing to do [with] it. The pencil has only to be allowed to be used.”
She died on Sept. 5, 1997, fulfilling the parting words her mother had offered nearly 70 years earlier. Through thick darkness, loneliness, and despair, against nearly insurmountable challenges, Mother Teresa had kept her hand firmly in God’s and walked all the way with him.
9th Sunday after Pentecost, July 30, 2023
10 a.m. Outdoor Worship (weather permitting) with Holy Communion
Announcements:
- 5th Sunday: The 5th Sunday offering will go to the Trinidad Ministerial Alliance and the Way Ministry.
- Summer Hiatus: Sunday morning Bible Study and Friday Women's Bible Study are on summer hiatus. Watch for schedule updates in e-formation, the newsletter, and worship bulletins.
- First Sunday Potluck: Our next potluck lunch will be Sunday, Aug. 6.
- Temple Talk: After worship on Aug. 13, Lana Geier will talk about ACTS and the Samaritan Clinic. All are welcome.
- Celebration of Marriage: Doris & Terry Blalock are reaffirming their wedding vows on Aug. 20 after the service. All are welcome to attend. A potluck in their honor will follow in the fellowship hall.
- Outdoor Services: We continue Summer Outdoor Worship through August. Each Sunday, we need people willing to help set up and to help clean up after worship. We have lists of what is needed to guide you. Please let Vicar Lisa or Sharon Sorensen know can help.
- Garage Sale: Zion's annual garage sale will be from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 5. Call Julie Wersal if you want to drop off items at the church and if you need help loading/unloading. Also, let Julie know if you can help with set up, clean up, and/or the sale itself.
- Flower Sign Up: We share heartfelt thanks for our flower guild and the beautiful additions they make to our worship. There still are Sunday in 2023 available for flower dedications. The recommended minimum donation is $35, so sign the flower book today.
- Save the Date: We are looking for suggestions for God’s Work Our Hands service projects for God’s Work Our Hands Sunday, Sept. 10, 2023. This day is an opportunity to celebrate who we are as the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America –- one church, freed in Christ to serve and love our neighbor. If you have suggestions, please see Vicar Lisa. If you don’t have a Zion’s Lutheran Gods Work Our Hands t-shirt, you can order one from the following link: https://oldlutheran.com/collections/elca
- Save the Date: Zion's 135th Anniversary celebration is Sept. 24. If you would like to be part of this committee, please see Vicar Lisa.
E-formation – 9th Sunday after Pentecost, July 30
The gospel reading for this coming Sunday includes six very brief parables about what Matthew calls “the kingdom of heaven.” At worship, choose which picture of the mercy of God is most appealing to you, and at the Lord’s Supper, take this treasure into yourself.
The standard Sundays continue to encounter Matthew in light of Romans and to move from the word to the table.
It is too easy to rush through these parables without encountering the surprises: the mustard bush is not, in fact, a great tree; the woman is baking leavened, thus nonreligious, bread; the treasure calls for total commitment; the net includes both eatable fish and trash. Many but not all Christians have literalized Matthew’s apocalyptic imagery about punishment following the final judgment.
Tradition has idealized the wisdom of Solomon. Christians recognize Jesus Christ as the divine wisdom who embodies both blessing and judgment and who speaks to the church in surprising parables.
As we ready ourselves to hear Matthew’s warning about a final judgment, we rejoice to share Paul’s confidence in the overarching love of God is for us. Christ is interceding for us, transforming all things with the paradoxical wisdom of the cross. It is Christ who was slaughtered for us.
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