June 4, 2025 Devotional - Saige Plunk

“And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, ‘you heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.’” Acts 1:4-5

This past Saturday, some of the kids from our church and from St. John the Divine met on top of Little Baldy in the Wichita Mountains to celebrate the Feast of the Ascension. As we read these verses with the wind sweeping over us, I began thinking how in a little over a week we’d be celebrating Pentecost, and it was like I was reading those words as if for the first time, “Not many days from now.”

When Jesus spoke this to the disciples, they were probably more focused on the fact that their Lord was leaving than that the Holy Spirit was coming. I imagine it was tempting to be sad and just go on back home now that Jesus had ascended, but in choosing to stay as he instructed them, they received the promise only 10 days later.

Our experience on top of that little mountain this past Saturday filled me with an anticipation for Pentecost Sunday, for celebrating the arrival of the Holy Spirit and the birth of the Church! I look forward to worshiping with you “not many days from now!”

May 7, 2025 Devotional - Saige Plunk

Recently, I saw a storm chaser video of a massive tornado. It was deep, dark grey, with flashes of lightning inside it. The guys who were filming it—while avoiding its path—were much closer than I would ever want to be to such a terrifying force of nature.

One of our daily readings not too long ago was Exodus 20:18-21, 18 Now all the people witnessed the thunderings, the lightning flashes, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood afar off. 19 Then they said to Moses, “You speak with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die.” 20 And Moses said to the people, “Do not fear; for God has come to test you, and that His fear may be before you, so that you may not sin.” 21 So the people stood afar off, but Moses drew near the thick darkness where God was.

Having seen the footage of the tornado with its “thunderings,” and “lightning flashes,” this was the first time I’d ever gotten a visual of why the people were so afraid to speak with God. They were terrified! Yet, despite Moses’s admonishment to not be afraid, the people only wanted Moses to talk to God, and then (supposedly) they’d listen to what Moses had to say.

During this Eastertide, our church has experienced a bit of what’s described here in Exodus 20. Severe weather producing thunderings and lightnings. On Easter Day, there was smoke from the incense and we even had the sound of a trumpet! But these past few weeks, we’ve also encountered the darkness. Not just the literal darkness from days and nights of heavy rain, but from the damage and uncertainty those storms brought with them.

Right now, you might be feeling more like standing afar off. Things look pretty dark. We don’t know where mass will be held now anytime there’s a lot of rain. We’ve got asbestos, black mold, all the scary things… But let’s follow the example of Moses, and choose not to fear. Let’s draw near the thick darkness where God is.