Dear friends in Christ,
Today the church today remembers St. Martin of Tours. He was a soldier who, upon his baptism, renounced his military life, saying, “I am a soldier of Christ. I cannot fight.” But before that, as a catechumen, he had an extraordinary experience.
One day, when he was riding his horse, he met a beggar. Using his sword, he cut his own cloak, giving a portion of it to the one who had nothing. The next day, Jesus Christ appeared to Martin in a vision, saying, something like, “Martin, a simple catechumen, covered me with his garment.”
There are plenty of lessons we can learn here. Any Christian, or anyone desiring to become a Christian, can do noble deeds and meet Jesus. We do well to share what we have. But above all, discipleship is likely to call us away from our familiar journey toward a new life in Christ.
Most of us won’t be called to such a dramatic encounter, but I wonder how each one of us might respond to the needs of the world and the opportunities to change the world, in the name of Jesus Christ, one life at a time?
Yours faithfully,
Scott Gunn
Executive Director
P.S. The quotes relating to St. Martin’s Day came from Lesser Feasts & Fasts 2024, the book of saintly commemorations for the Episcopal Church.
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