June 1: Interpersonal Wellness - 2

In June, the Interpersonal Wellness stuff gets practical. On June 2 -- Ascension Day, followers of the Lord are told to quit staring at the heavens where Jesus went. Instead the disciples headed for fellowship time, for Bible Study, and witness. (Acts 1 and 2) We Christians still gather for worship regularly to glance heavenward, to receive Christ’s gifts, and to be strengthened for life’s journeys, then we also go out from worship for fellowship time, Bible Study, and witness. By the 12th of June (Pentecost Sunday’s date this year), we are reminded of the gracious gift God has given all the baptized: the Holy Spirit. Again, not a gift to direct our eyes heavenward for long, God’s spirit stirs new gifts up within each of us to assist the community of faith to grow and thrive as well as to serve this world the Lord has created! The following week we are reminded of the ultimate Interpersonal Relationship: “God in Three Persons, Blessed Trinity.” Just as it takes all three Divine Persons dynamically touching our world and our lives, it takes all persons of faith to work together to present God to the world today. (And the 19th is also Fathers’ Day, a point of contact for many still.) Then the 25th of June, we could remember the Presentation of the Augsburg Confession – a celebration for the Lutheran fellowship of faith, a remembrance of a fellow-laborer in Christ and a friend of Martin Luther’s (Philipp Melanchthon) who wrote the majority of the Augsburg Confession, and thus helped frame the Lutheran understanding of our Christian Faith. Again, we do not have the Augsburg Confession merely to gaze at it or ignore it as a mere historical artifact, but the Confessions also inform our faith and practice, then sends us to gather with others for Fellowship, Study, and Witness!