From the Pastor's pen

A Gallon of Milk
Be still and know that I am GodS the Lord Almighty is with us; the
God of Jacob is our fortress. Ps. 46:10-11

A young man had been to his Wednesday night Bible Study. The Pastor
had shared about listening to God and obeying the Lord's voice. The
young man couldn't help but wonder, "Does God still speak to people?"
After the service he went out with some friends for coffee and pies
and they discussed the message. Several different ones talked about
how God had led them in different ways. It was about ten o'clock when
the young man drove home. Sitting in his car, he began to pray, "God,
if you still speak to people, speak to me. I will listen. I will do
my best to obey."
As he drove down the main street of his town, he had the strangest
thought to stop and buy a gallon of milk. He shook his head and said
aloud, "God is that you?" He continued on toward home. But again, the
thought, "buy a gallon of milk." came to him. The young man thought
about Samuel and how he didn't recognize the voice of God, and how
Samuel ran to Eli. "Okay, God, in case that is you, I will buy milk."
It didn't seem like too hard a test of obedience. He could always use
the milk. He stopped and purchased the gallon of milk and continued
toward home.
As he passed Seventh Street, he felt the urge..."Turn down the
street." "This is crazy," he thought and drove past the intersection.
Again he felt that he should turn down Seventh Street. At the next
intersection he turned back and headed to Seventh. Half jokingly he
said out loud, "Okay, God, I will." He had driven several blocks,
when suddenly he felt like he should stop.
He pulled over to the curb and looked around. He was in a
semi-commercial area of town. It wasn't the best but it wasn't the
worst of neighborhoods either. The businesses were closed and most of
the houses looked dark, as if the people were already in bed. Again
he sensed something, "Go and give the milk to the people in the house
across the street." The young man looked at the house. It was dark
and it looked like
the people were either gone or were already asleep.
The young man started to open the door and and then sat back in
the car seat. "Lord, this is insane. Those people are asleep and if I
wake them up, they are going to be mad and I'll look stupid." Again
he felt he should go and give the milk.
Finally he opened the door, "Okay, God, if this is you, I will go
to the door and I will give them the milk. If you want me to look
like a crazy person, okay. I want to be obedient. I guess that will
count for something but if they don't answer right away, I'm out of
here." He walked across the street and rang the bell. He could hear
some noise inside. A man's voice yelled out, "Who is there? What do
you want?" Then the door opened before the young man could get away.
The man was standing there in his jeans and T-shirt.
He looked like he had just gotten out of bed. He had a strange
look on his face and he didn't seem happy to have some stranger
standing at his doorway. "What is it?" The young man thrust out the
gallon of milk, "Here, I brought this to you." The man took the milk
and rushed down the hallway speaking loudly in Spanish.
From down the hall came a woman carrying the milk toward the
kitchen. The man was following her, holding a crying baby. Half
crying, the man said,"We were just praying. We had some big bills
this month and we ran out of money. We didn't have any milk for our
baby. I was just praying and asking God to show me how to get some
milk."
His wife in the kitchen spoke out, "I asked him to send an angel
with some milk. Are you an angel?" The young man reached into his
wallet and pulled out all the money he had on him and put it in the
man's hand. He turned and walked back toward his car as tears were
streamed down his face. He knew that God still answers prayers.
This is a simple test....If you believe that, God is alive.

Your friend and pastor
Samuel King-Kabu
pastor@st-ansgars-montreal.ca

Bishop Raymond Schulz
A statement to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada
February 5, 2003

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, these are perilous days for the
human family. The United States seems intent on war. The Canadian
government is struggling whether or not Canada should support this
effort. The United Nations, while calling for more time for weapon
inspections, faces the prospect of a unilateral military action by
the United States to disarm Iraq. The prospect of a peaceful
diplomatic solution seems to diminish as each day passes. Most
importantly, the hope that alternative pathways for establishing an
international order founded on peace and justice seem to be
threatened.
I know that many people in our congregations are deeply concerned
about how these events are unfolding. It is right that we ask what
these events mean to us, for the people we love who may serve in the
military, for the innocent people of Iraq and the Middle East who
have suffered much already, and for the world that we are still
creating for our children. World events do challenge Christians and
people of faith to ask: What is required of us as peacemakers in such
a volatile world?
As Lutheran Christians, we believe that God intends that people
live in peace and harmony. This peace that originates in God, is what
the bible call shalom, that ancient recognition that peace is not
simply the absence of war, but a sustainable state of well-being and
harmony among people and with creation. This is not a naive hope. The
Gospels are rich with examples of how Jesus, through his ministry of
healing and reconciliation, sent his followers forth with just such a
mission of peace.
Yet as we know only too well, the shalom that should characterize
our life together is too often broken and fractured in our imperfect
world. Peace-building is not utopian but rather willingness to work
for peace and justice through the social, political and economic
institutions of our world. Lutherans have not historically been
pacifists. We understand that in the face of the disorder that
results because of human sin, there are occasions when the chaos and
destructive forces of this world must be restrained in order to
protect the innocent.
Our Lord sends us into the world. Our concerns about war can be
expressed in our witness to peace. I encourage you to remain fervent
in your prayers for peace and praying for our leaders that a spirit
of peace may guide them. I encourage you to call and write to your
elected Members of Parliament to express your views. I also invite
you or your congregation to endorse the ecumenical statement
undertaken by the Canadian Council of Churches' Commission for
Justice and Peace, Kairos: Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiative,
and Project Ploughshares . You can find it through the ELCIC's
Lutheran Office for Public Policy web site (www.elcic-lopp.ca) or
directly at Project Plough-shares web site (www.ploughshares.ca).
Endorsements will be collected and shared with the federal
government. Congregations and organizations that endorse the
statement are encouraged to share your statement with other faith
communities, civic organizations and the local media.
The Rev. Raymond Schultz
National Bishop

Web Page prepared by:
Roger Kenner & Jette Blair.
Content-New Topics Last Updated: 2003/11/24
St. Ansgar's Lutheran Church - Montreal