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"They were exceedingly astonished and they said, 'He has done all things well. He makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.'" - Mark 7:37

If you follow me on social media, you probably know I am a sports fan, and I'm sure many of you are too. Here in Tampa Bay we've been on a good run with winning championships lately. At the conclusion of a championship game, occasionally you'll hear a victorious player say, "First, I want to give glory to God for making this possible!" The athlete is so excited that they want to proclaim God's goodness in victory. Most viewers smile, although some non-believers might roll their eyes in doubt that God had anything to do with it. 

In Mark's Gospel this weekend, we read the account of Jesus healing the deaf man, thus allowing the man to hear and speak normally. The man was ecstatic, but Jesus instructed the man and the witnesses not to tell anyone. But, like an athlete in victory, they were so astounded that they couldn't help but tell everyone who would hear that it was Jesus who had performed the miracle. 

Most of us will not win the Super Bowl or Stanley Cup, or be a witness to a miraculous healing, but we have everyday victories we can celebrate. I often say that we need to celebrate the small victories in life. Maybe you or a loved one recovered from a severe illness or got a job that you'd been hoping for. Maybe you passed a test that you were unsure of. You might have uttered, "thanks be to God" when you received the results. We should be grateful to God. 

This passage reminds us to be thankful for the big events in life, but also the little, everyday blessings. We should start our day in thanksgiving for the gift of a new day of life and end it with a prayer of thanksgiving for the day we lived. Why not come to church this weekend and be thankful for every blessing – big and small – that we've received in life.

Bishop Gregory Parkes

Did you know...

Most Reverend Gregory L. Parkes is the fifth Bishop of St. Petersburg. Prior to his appointment to the Diocese of St. Petersburg, Bishop Parkes served as the fifth Bishop of the Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee from 2012-2016. He was ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Orlando on June 26, 1999. Before answering the call to the priesthood, Bishop Parkes worked for several years in Tampa's banking industry. 

I charge you before God, who gives life to all things,...to keep the commandment without stain or reproach

1st Letter to Timothy 6:13

After the hurricane passed, it took several days before my 13 year old shepherd would go outside in the early morning without trepidation.  She kept looking around side to side as if waiting for something to blow around at her.   The kids had taken her outside right before Irma started really gusting at night, and the winds were so strong that she got knocked down.  So it didn't surprise me that she wanted to check out her surroundings before venturing too far from the shelter of the porch for the following days.

In this letter to Timothy, Paul speaks of the importance of turning all glory to God and God alone.  In a previous verse in the same chapter he speaks of love of money being the root of all evils.   When we are distracted by the love of money and let ourselves be preoccupied with how much we are going to make and where we will spend next, let's remember how many people all around us are still recovering from the severe weather events this summer.  Notice Paul did not say money was the root of evil, but the love of (preoccupying attachment to) money is the problem.  There are lots of ways to volunteer to rebuild and to help out financially if you are called that way.  For me, I just remember my sweet dog's trepidation the days afer the storm, and that reminds me of the very real fears people are having right now, living without electricity and supplies they are accumstomed to having.  Let's continue to pray about ways we can help.