17 July 2020
Greeting on the LLSTA 25th anniversary celebration
„The Kingdom of God is like leaven,
which a woman took and mixed into three measures of flour, until it was all leavened.“
Dear sisters in Christ – sisters in the office,
I greet you on the celebration of your work with this short but so familiar parable of Jesus about the Kingdom of God.
I wish to emphasize three things:
1) In his proclamation of the Kingdom of God, Jesus gladly sees a parable precisely in the activity of a woman!
2) Jesus gladly points to what power can lie within that which is small and inconspicuous.
3) Of course, this requires time and skill –
but then something wonderfully delicious can come about, to be savored and celebrated.
May your anniversary already carry something of the foretaste of this Kingdom of God, as you become aware of the significance of your work in bearing witness to the One whose power is shown mightily in weakness. And may you therefore have endurance,
knowing that your work, too, still requires time and ability, until in full gratitude we will be able to savor its fruit in our Church and in the Kingdom of God.
Being with you from the heart
Yours
+Elmārs