Grace to you, and peace from God our Creator and the Lord Jesus Christ! I smile often when colleagues talk about how life in the church slows down over the summer. Not here in Blue Hill! That said, we are shifting to fall mode, which includes some gearing up for our annual meeting on the 22nd and for new programming as we work to invite children and create new music opportunities. All of this is part of our responding to the movement of the Spirit among us. How is it that we respond to our faith with our actions?
That question is at root in this week’s scripture readings, as it was in those for last week. James continues to nudge us toward living a life fully reflective of our faith in a loving, transforming God, and the story we hear of Jesus’ interactions with and healing of those even on the periphery of “acceptable society” makes us consider who in our lives we may meet similarly. How is it that we respond to our faith with our actions? Who and how may we be in the year ahead, such that our presence in community is a sure sign of our faith in a loving, transforming God? As we gather in worship and praise, we celebrate the opportunities offered to us in this new season.
Grace to you, and peace from God our Creator and the Lord Jesus Christ! Growing up in the Reformed Church of America, an offshoot of the Dutch Reformed Church, our worship bulletins on Sundays were organized around The Word, which is to say that scripture lessons from the Bible were at the center of worship, in typically Reformed Protestant tradition. So, the three sections of the bulletin were The Approach to the Word,The Word of God, and The Response to the Word. I was reminded of this as I studied the lectionary texts for this weekend. James’ letter is one to which I have always looked for sound reason and loving suggestions of how one should be in response to one’s faith in a loving God. Jesus’s interactions with his followers and the Pharisees in our Gospel lesson from Mark similarly direct us, in no uncertain terms, not to simply talk about what we believe, but to do what Jesus would have us do.
Jesus was frustrated with the behavior of those who claimed to speak with authority about religion. I wonder if you have similar frustrations. Our response to that frustration mustn’t sound or look like more talking about religion, but more like living out our faith in God, who calls us to love–indiscriminately. James tells us what this looks like, and Jesus tells us what it doesn’t look like. So, how do we respond? With our annual meeting coming up in three weeks, we are looking at what may be called the more tedious aspects of being church together: we are going to talk about governance structure. Rather than regard this as tedious and superficial, I invite you this week to consider how our being church is the most explicit response to the Word there is. So, we will talk tomorrow about the church’s ministries and what role we each, individually, would like to play in them. In so doing, we will live to be doers of the Word of God.
Blessings and peace, Lisa.
P.S. Other things to note this weekend: Please do stop by Hannaford today in support of our church’s drive to collect canned goods for the Tree of Life! From 10:00-2:00 you may exchange cans for cookies there, but you also may bring them to church tomorrow for collection! You also cannot miss the remains of the 158-year-old Elm tree that is now lying on the ground at the edge of the parking lot. We have the opportunity to make use of 2.75″ cross sections of the trunk that are approximately 36″ in diameter. Please let me know if you are interested in one, as I have been speaking with Phil Norris (BH tree warden) about how we will obtain them as the wood is processed.
Grace to you, and peace from God our Creator and the Lord Jesus Christ! What do we do when our lives feel tied to the issues of the day, including politics that can produce anxiety even when discussions of them are hopeful and exciting? What do we do when our endeavors feel too often focused on temporary things, when we know in our hearts that what matters is more eternal? Trying to discern between what is temporary and eternal, individual and universal, significant or incidental can be difficult. Sometimes, in our focus on the stuff of religious ceremony, we can forget our need to connect with the aspect of God and our faithlife that is above and beyond the immediate. So, on this Sunday, I invite you to slow down for conversation about what matters, revealed to us as it is through scripture, and also revealed to us in our observations of all that is good and life affirming. Join us in worship of God, who unites us and invites us to love.
Grace to you, and peace from God our Creator and the Lord Jesus Christ! Hunt and I have been pleased to fill in for Pastor Lisa as she takes a much-deserved vacation, and I will be leading worship tomorrow. This Sunday, we will continue our study of the Gospel of John by considering John 6:51-59, which contains one of Jesus’s most mystifying and divisive statements: that his flesh and blood are real food and drink and are essential for eternal life. Why did he say these things, and how did people react when he said them? And what might they mean for us?
Enjoy your weekend in this magical corner of Creation.
Grace to you, and peace from God our Creator and the Lord Jesus Christ! In this fractious political landscape do we, as followers of Jesus, have any particular responsibility? What does God want us to do? Is it best that we stay out of it and not let ourselves be contaminated by the anger and hate speech? Or should we jump in with both feet and make certain that our voices are loud enough to be heard over the din? This Sunday we will take a look at Scripture and try to discern what guidance God is giving us on this topic.
