"Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?" He said to him, "'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' On these two commandments hangs all the Law and the Prophets."

~ Matthew 22:36-40

Mission and Service

Bricks are one of the oldest building materials. Buildings made with bricks have been dated back to 7,000 BC at archeological dig sites. Many of these bricks were found near the ancient city of Jericho in what is now southern Turkey. Buildings made from brick are known to be environmentally friendly and energy efficient because they are resistant to many types of weather conditions. In many ways, bricks help to create structures that are strong and enduring. Like bricks, the works of mission and service help to build communities of faith that can be both resilient and lifegiving.

For Saint John’s, mission and service are values that help to shape and guide our church. There are many ways that members of Saint John’s participate in being the hands and feet of Christ throughout our community. Weekly, members of Saint John’s volunteer at Hope Food Pantry, Meals on Wheels, Lamar Middle School, and The Charlie Center, among other places. Since January, we have also donated almost 1,000 pounds to Hope Food Pantry.  The year Saint John’s had 11 riders and raised over $5000 dollars for the Hill Country Ride for AIDS. At this year’s Austin CROP Hunger Walk our church had a total of 65 walkers and were the second highest fundraising team among all participating churches and organizations throughout Austin. Also, through our blood drives with We Are Blood, we have provided a lifesaving resource for 15 individuals. This year alone, through our Communion Rail Offering, we have supported organizations like The United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR), Any Baby Can, The Austin Clubhouse, and Habitat for Humanity.

Christian mission and service is the humble involvement of the body of Christ in the practice of God’s incarnational love for all creation. This work is expressed through the communion of love and justice which embodies the church’s solidarity with all of humanity. In today’s text the lawyer who asks Jesus to identify the greatest commandment in the law perhaps hopes he will speak dismissively of parts of the law. Jesus responds by identifying the fundamental duty of the people of God: the duty to love God with all one’s being and to show the same care and devotion to one’s neighbor as one naturally devotes to oneself.

As a United Methodist Church, we continue to be guided by the work and words of John Wesley, and for Wesley there was no religion but social religion, no holiness but social holiness. The communal forms of faith in the Wesleyan tradition not only promote personal spiritual growth, but they also equip and mobilize us for mission and service in our communities and throughout the world. We are currently in a worship series about our individual gifts and how each of us brings something special to the life of the church. God has given gifts to each of us, and each of those gifts are unique and very important. Please consider how God is leading you to use your unique gifts in helping to build something amazing together.