A message from your Interim Rector 9/30/2026
We celebrate the Feast of St. Michael & All Angels on September 29th. You will rarely hear these readings on a Sunday, unless you attend a parish named for Michael the Archangel. Many of you know that Michael is one of only four Archangels named in scripture. Do you remember the names of the other 3 archangels? The readings for the feast of St. Michael and All Angels include: Genesis 28:10-17; Revelation to John 12:7-12 & John 1:47-51.
The reading from Revelation reminds us of the great battle in heaven where evil was confronted by good. All the angels had to make a choice for good or evil. The archangel Michael was and is the leader of the forces of goodness and truth. Notice the description given to the Devil or Satan. He or She is called the deceiver of the whole world.
And we deceive ourselves if we think that evil is always obvious to us. In fact, we are frequently deceived into believing that what we seek is good for us. That the world will not corrupt us. That is how it happens. Scripture warns us of the lure of the world's promises. The world says that we can seek after power and success and wealth; and it will not hurt us. Yet, when we seek the world's goals, we frequently put our full attention on success and we have little time for God. Jesus frequently cautioned the disciples that they could not serve two masters; and neither can we - even though we think we can.
Michael the Archangel serves as a symbol. Michael reminds us to seek goodness and truth. Michael calls us to love and serve God with all that we are and all that we have, putting God at the center of our lives. Michael reminds us that we can only serve one master; and he represents those who serve God.
God wants us to live a life patterned after Jesus' life of prayer and service. No matter what we intellectually tell ourselves, our real priorities are how we spend our money and where we use our time. Have you done an analysis of your checkbook and your calendar yet? You may be surprised to see what percentage of your time and money go to God and what percent goes to the world.
St. Michael challenges us to put God first and to give our time and treasure to the building of God’s kingdom. And what of our baptismal commitment to continue in the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of the bread and in the prayers. Perhaps keeping those promises is sometimes difficult when we want to sleep in on Sunday or perhaps catch up on yard work rather than come to church.
Everyday, we are faced with choices and they are difficult ones. Not just the decision to make Sunday worship a priority, but all the choices we make about where to shop or which coffee to buy can make a difference in the battle for good or evil, the striving for justice and peace. If we choose not to shop a certain place or not support unfair labor practices; then we are often seen as fanatics or crazy.
Committing time to be with God, honoring the Sabbath, and working for justice for all people may be the hardest parts of our lives as Christians because we live in a pagan world. It is no longer the norm to be in church every Sunday. It is no longer the norm to expect that we love our neighbor and give of ourselves to others. Yet, as Christians, we are called to a different way of life.
Making God a priority everyday and having a Sabbath discipline actually frees us to simply say “no” to other obligations. If we commit to weekly worship, then we no longer have to make a conscious choice. The decision has been made - we will honor God with the gift of our time and our presence every week at Christian Education and at Worship.
Over the past 5 weeks, Jesus’ words recorded in scripture have challenged us to explore God's claim on our lives. Each of us has been asked to pray. We have been asked to assess what treasures of time, talent and money we will offer to God's service. Now you are being asked to commit. To commit your time to honor the Sabbath, to commit your time to the work of God's kingdom promoting justice and loving our neighbor, and to commit your treasure both talent and money to God's work in the world through this parish.
Each of us has been called by God to serve. So I invite you to prayerfully commit to ministries and to financial support of St. Catherine’s. If you have not yet completed your ministry commitment form, please do so and put it in the offering plate or in the stewardship box. You know in your heart what God is asking of you so now we offer ourselves to God in all the ways God calls us to serve.
On October 3rd, we will have food and fellowship to celebrate our ministries for 2026 and our commitments for 2027 (helpful if you RSVP). On Sunday, Oct 4th we will gather at both services to offer all our gifts to God and to seek God’s blessings on us as we commit to each and to the work God has called us to do at St. Catherine’s. The Holy Spirit has called us together and empowered us for the work of discipleship.
Mo Pat+
By the way, the 4 named Archangels are Michael, Uriel, Gabriel, and Raphael. The meaning of the Greek word for angel is “messenger” and all the names end with “el” meaning of God. So messengers of God.
