The Reach of God's Embrace

More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.”

--Philippians 3:8

Beloved in Christ,

Today is the feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul. Paul is not particularly fashionable among many Episcopalians, I’ve found. Like all of us, he was not without his faults, and the few places where those show up in his writing have often been used by Christians as weapons of exclusion or oppression, so I get the aversion. 

Despite his limitations, Paul a saint to whom I am particularly drawn. Mostly what I love about him is the way in which, after his conversion, his whole life burned with a singular passion for Jesus. He was an example of what a life that is completely dedicated to Jesus might look like, and the passion with which he loved and was trying to nurture early Christian communities jumps off the pages of his letters.

Paul’s conversion, from an overt persecutor of the Jesus movement to its principle spokesperson, is also a reminder that no one is ever beyond the reach of God’s embrace. Radical change and transformation are possible for each of us in every moment. 

This feast is the same day you elected me to be your tenth bishop two years ago. Many bishops will tell you their life changes more on the day they are elected than the day they are consecrated, and I’d say that is true for me. I’m grateful this anniversary will always fall on a day we remember that God’s grace can always make the most out of even the most unworthy, because one thing I have in common with Paul is a recognition that I am the least of the apostles, one who can only be of any use by throwing himself daily on God’s grace, and who regards everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus as Lord. 

Grace and Peace,

The Right Reverend Craig Loya
X Bishop
Episcopal Church in Minnesota