8th Sunday after Trinity

Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

That verse from Luke has stayed with me. It’s more than comforting , it’s clarifying. It tells us the kingdom isn’t earned. It isn’t transactional. It’s already given to the small, the weary, the faithful, the ones who still bother to hope. That’s the kind of faith I believe in. And it’s the kind of church we’re trying to be here in Hinesville.

This Sunday’s lectionary readings feel especially personal as I begin this next chapter. I’ve recently been consecrated as a bishop in the Holy Celtic Church International, and I now serve through Our Lady of Guadalupe Liberal Catholic Church here in Hinesville, Georgia. We celebrate the Liberal Catholic liturgy , deeply reverent, richly symbolic, and radically inclusive. If you’ve been looking for a place where tradition and welcome go hand in hand, you may have just found it.

But liturgy isn’t enough. That’s the message from Isaiah this week, and it lands hard: “What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices?” God asks. “Cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed.” It’s a warning that’s just as relevant now as it was then. God doesn’t want performance. God wants transformation.

Psalm 50 keeps that thread going: “I do not reprove you for your sacrifices… but to the wicked God says: What right have you to recite my statutes?” In other words: don’t pretend. God is not impressed with outward ritual that isn’t backed by inward truth. I think about that every time I approach the altar, and even more now as a bishop. If we preach love, we need to live it. If we offer peace, we need to make it.

Hebrews offers a different kind of challenge: the quiet courage of faith. Abraham left everything behind because he trusted in something he couldn’t yet see. That’s the part that resonates deeply with me. Founding Traveling Light Ministries, stepping into church leadership, and now this new episcopal role , it’s all been about listening, letting go, and walking forward without a clear map. Faith isn’t certainty. It’s trust in motion.

And then we return to Luke. “Do not be afraid, little flock.” Jesus isn’t shouting here. He’s speaking like a shepherd. Calm. Clear. Direct. The kingdom is already yours, he says. So be ready. Keep your lamps lit. Live like it matters.

That’s what I want for us, as a church, as a ministry, as a local community. Not perfect worship, but honest worship. Not just tradition, but transformation. Not fear, but readiness. That’s the kind of spiritual home we’re building at Our Lady of Guadalupe, and the kind of support we offer through Traveling Light Ministries.

If you’re here in Hinesville or near Fort Stewart, and you’re searching for something real, come. Whether you’re full of faith or completely spent, whether you’re LGBTQ+, a veteran, grieving, questioning, healing, or just showing up because you don’t know where else to go, you’re welcome. We hold space for all of it.

Becoming a bishop isn’t a finish line. It’s another beginning. It’s a deeper invitation to serve, to listen, to keep showing up with love. These readings remind me of that. They pull me back to the center. And maybe they’ll do the same for you.

The kingdom is already here. The work is to live like we believe it.

+Mark Colville

Bishop, Our Lady of Guadalupe

Liberal Catholic Church

Founder, Traveling Light Ministries