As Bishop Brian Cole prepared to travel to the House of Bishops gathering, he offered this reflection for the people of East Tennessee as we continue to journey through the season of Lent.
Christ Leads Us Through All Seasons
Hi, I’m Bishop Brian. In the middle of March, probably when you’re actually listening to this video, I will be at Camp McDowell near Birmingham, Alabama, for the spring meeting of the House of Bishops. Our theme this spring will be Discipleship in a Difficult Time, reflecting on the passage from the Gospel of John of when the crowds, the great crowds are beginning to leave Jesus after his hard teachings, he turns to the disciples and says, “Aren’t you going to leave as well?” And Peter responds by, “Where else can we go? You have the words of eternal life.”
It’s an honest, frank conversation they have that, even in the midst of a difficult time, the disciples continue to see in the life of Jesus, the way of life, the way of the cross, the way of resurrection. So, pray for Bishop Curry and all of us who gather at the spring meeting to reflect on our own personal discipleship, how we continue to follow as disciples, as clergy, as bishops, inviting you into that journey with us. We will also travel one day to Montgomery to reflect on the significant history of the civil rights movement in that city, both the trauma and the triumph of that.
So, pray for us in that gathering, the ways in which that moment will touch us and shape our ministries and continue to pray for the ways in which you continue to see the way of life, the words of eternal life given to you in the life of Jesus, and also mediated through the life of the church. This is a time in the season of Lent as we move towards Easter, where we see signs of spring, hopefully also signs of that continued tenacious, persistent love of the Christ who leads us in all kinds of seasons, in difficult times and in hopeful times to grow as mature believers and disciples along the way.
Pray for us as we will pray for you.
Amen.