.
Do you remember Bugs Bunny?
Do you remember Yosemite Sam?
"Jumping Jehoshaphat!"
Say it fast.
It sounds like a shout of joy.
And with a name like Saint Josaphat,
you should be happy.
Then there's Philemon.
A name derived from phileo, beloved
I wonder if his friends just called him Phil.
Paul writes to his friend
that he may have called Phil:
"...the hearts of the holy ones
have been refreshed by you, brother."
Refreshed hearts.
That's what love does.
Then Paul asks for more:
welcome back a runaway slave
"as you would me."
Josaphat spent his life on that kind of welcome,
calling divided Christians back to one another.
The Pharisees ask when the Kingdom is coming.
Jesus says you won't spot it.
No "Look, here it is.
No "There it is."
The Kingdom is among you.
Not a place.
A beloved people.
The Kingdom of God
is the joy, hope, and peace
we bring to the world.
Whose heart can you refresh?
Who needs you to say, "Welcome"?
Prayer
Lord Jesus Christ,
Refresh the hearts around me today.
Give me the courage to say,
"Welcome."
Heal what divides us,
as Saint Josaphat prayed.
Let your Kingdom
be found among us.
Amen.
St Josaphat, pray for us
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