In Matthew’s gospel, we meet Jesus calling his disciples. As they are working, Jesus invites them, “follow me.” It’s been my joy to work for the NEMN Synod with candidates for ministry. One of the things I love is to listen to their story of sensing God’s call. They come to me once they realize the invitations God has been offering and the experiences they have had are leading them towards ordination. By the time they’re talking to me, they’ve put the pieces together and we can marvel at the ways God has been nudging them, sometimes over the course of many years. This gospel might provide the preacher with an occasion to speak of their own call story and invite others to consider that they might also be called to ordained ministry.

            The preacher might also celebrate that Jesus is out among the people at work as he calls them. Jesus invites us to follow him through the choices we make throughout all the hours of our days, not just that one hour on Sunday morning. Might there be one arena in daily life that parishioners could be challenged to make more mindful choices in the coming week? Care of creation conscious challenges might include avoiding single use plastics, carpooling, biking/walking, or using public/ school transportation, or exploring their food sources. Perhaps someone in the congregation could speak about their experience celebrating “Veganuary” or other choices they have made to follow Jesus by caring for the world God made. After a synod assembly in which we passed a resolution on climate change, our household was all the more inspired to consider our faithful response to God’s call to steward creation. We found we had the means to invest in solar and a more efficient heat source. We’ve certainly not arrived at always making the best choices for the sake of creation. The good news is that Jesus continually invites us to follow.

            Today is the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul with its primary text: Acts 9:1-22.   Out of Paul’s powerful encounter with Jesus, his perspective and actions change. I am captivated by Paul’s vulnerability after Jesus meets him. He allows himself to be led onward and then allows Ananias to come into the home where he is staying and lay hands on him in prayer. Paul is met with skepticism and yet continues to hold firm to his new conviction. The community Paul had been hurting extends grace.

            The preacher might explore how Jesus has appeared to them and changed their perspective and actions. In a culture in which we tend to not allow people to change, easily accessing what they have said, written, or been affiliated with in the past, Paul’s conversion can be an opportunity to encourage the congregation to extend grace to those seeking to live out of a new perspective. In conversation with parishioners, we are likely to find many who have had experiences that shifted them. This could be an occasion for people to give their own powerful witness highlighting Jesus’ work to open their eyes to the harm they were causing and move them into humility, learning, relationship, and advocacy.

            January 25th concludes the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. This time period was chosen for its location between the feasts of St. Peter and St. Paul. The theme text for this week is Ephesians 4:1-13.

            Some key verses that invite us to interpret this occasion with an ecological lens include verses 4-6, "there is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.” A preacher might build from here to explore how all of creation is interconnected. We are living together on one earth. How is our lack of unity and recognition of our impact on others who share our planet contributing to its destruction? Might there be a positive example of people coming together across divides to care for the earth and each other? What is the one hope of our calling as it relates to the restoration of all creation?    

            Another place a preacher might land is verse 10, “He (Christ) who descended is the same one who ascended far above all the heavens, so that he might fill all things.” There is no where that Christ is not. Bring your congregation into visualizing the vastness of creation with images from the James Webb Space Telescope (https://www.flickr.com/photos/nasawebbtelescope/albums/72177720323168468/with/54960149350 https://science.nasa.gov/mission/webb/#Latest-Images) down to the macro or microscopic (https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/hidden-world-microscopic-life-revealed-extraordinary-pictures https://www.canadiannaturephotographer.com/microscopicplants1.html).

            In times of stress, I can find myself turning inward and closing off relationship. My congregation can start to see other churches as threats rather than partners in our shared gospel work. When I ground myself in nature, whether physically or through images like those shared above, God reminds me that the scope of God’s care is so much bigger than me, and yet also includes me. God turns me towards awe as I contemplate the vastness and intricacy that I so often overlook. That wonderful humility helps me re-engage as a member of God’s beautiful creation.

            You can find a “Week of Prayer for Christian Unity” resource packet from the World Council of Churches here: https://www.oikoumene.org/sites/default/files/2025-07/EN%20%202026%20WPCU.pdf