Love is

We have made it to Friday.  On a normal week this is the day I try to "take off" though, to be honest I'm pretty terrible at it.  Today I find myself actually sitting at home with two attack-cats that aren't sure why I'm here.  It has been a wild week, wouldn't you say?  For many of you it has meant spending more time with your people at home.  I hope the walls are not closing in on those of you who are not only parenting, but also teaching your children.  I hope those of you that live alone, like me, are not feeling alone in this.  I have heard from many of you who are playing games, taking walks, and truly enjoying a bit of a sabbath from the responsibilities of our normal lives.  

It is tempting as we are told more information about this virus to kind of look at other people as dangerous, or to be afraid that somebody might get too close, or that we will touch something someplace that will harm us.  If we let this get into our heads it can almost make us feel paranoid.  While we must follow the guidelines and safety measures being put into place, we cannot start to fear one another.  We really need each other right now.

In his letter to the church in Corinth, Paul talks about love.  This Scripture is often read at weddings, when thinking about the romantic love embodied by two people as they say yes to a lifelong covenant with one another.  But Paul wasn't writing about this type of romantic love.  He was writing to a young Christian community that was starting to face division as they began to live out their newfound faith in Christ. They were trying to do it right - meaning to follow any of the "rules" they felt were necessary and to make sure everyone else was following suit.  Wouldn't you know, that it didn't take long for them to begin having some tension in what that meant, disagreements about what was most important and how to define their community. 

This love that Paul speaks of is one that leads to unity and care of community.  If you want to read the whole passage in your Bibles it is 1 Corinthians 13, the verses below come from The Message translation:

Love never gives up.

Love cares more for others than for self.

Love doesn’t want what it doesn’t have.

Love doesn’t strut,

Doesn’t have a swelled head,

Doesn’t force itself on others,

Isn’t always “me first,”

Doesn’t fly off the handle,

Doesn’t keep score of the sins of others,

Doesn’t revel when others grovel,

Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,

Puts up with anything,

Trusts God always,

Always looks for the best,

Never looks back,

But keeps going to the end.

I chose The Message today because it made me really think this morning.  When we are living in closer quarters than normal, when we are dealing with high levels of anxiety and fear, when we do not have as much control over ourselves and our environment as we normally do, it is tempting to lose our ability to love like this.  This kind of love can be expressed outwardly, but can also focus right in on ourselves - have you been loving yourself well?  If we don't start there, it is hard for us to express it to others. 

Maybe today as you look this over you can give yourself a bit of a check in.  How well are you loving?  How well are you being loved?  

Prayer:  Loving God the struggle to love can be very real sometimes.  Calm our fears this day and help us to recognize the gift of the people in our lives. Your love is sustaining, help us to breathe it in fully that we might share it with others.  Amen.

Have a good weekend everyone - hope to see you online on Sunday morning for worship!

Pastor Devon

Beautiful Things

 He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.  

Ecclesiastes 3:11

Did you see the beautiful sunrise this morning?  It was AMAZING.  It made me get up early and outside for a long walk, which is pretty much the way I am going to stay sane for the next few weeks.  How are you taking care of yourself?  

I was also so blessed this morning by Parker Palmer's daily post on FB, (if you click this link you can read it too: Parker Palmer's Spring is Mud and Miracle) which reminded me that TODAY is the first day of spring!  This new pace has really made me stop and listen to many things, but one of the things I have been enjoying the most is the sound of the birds singing.  It is a gift that while the situation we are in seems really chaotic and scary, we can ground ourselves in the new life that is blossoming all around us.  

The other HUGE gift I received last night was a chance to gather for Bible study with some of the church.  While I can definitely make some improvements on how to do online study, the real joy was just spending time with people, seeing them and hearing them and knowing that regardless of physical distance there is something that continues to connect us.  Maybe you can join us next week, Wednesday at 6:30pm.  I don't know about you, but doing anything remotely normal is really comforting right now.  

The 3rd chapter of Ecclesiastes is one you probably know.  I read it often at funerals, but you'd probably know it best from the Byrds, "Turn, Turn, Turn."  I won't post it all here, because you can look it up and read it, but it basically says that "there is a time for everything and a season for every activity under heaven." Time is a funny thing.  Usually each week I am wishing I had more of it, sometimes I'm not sure where it goes, but if it's the middle of the night and I'm looking at the clock it seems that each minute lasts a lifetime.  Our understanding of time is rooted in spacial metaphors, past-present-future, yesterday-today-tomorrow.  If you're really bored you can read about St. Augustine's understanding of time in The Confessions: Book XI, but the gist of what he had to say is that God is outside of the confines of our understanding of time, that God in creating all things also created time.  

The verse above rings true in times of uncertainty.  We cannot completely fathom what God is doing, has done, or will do.  But, we can trust that God is making all things beautiful in time.  As Christians, we can be clear that the worst thing is never the last thing, because the best is yet to come.  So rather than being anxious and fearful, let's look around and notice the beautiful things God has set in our paths.  Where are you seeing beauty today?

Prayer:  Thanks God, for the promise of spring.  For the dirt and the mud that will lead to the beauty of green pastures and colorful flowers.  Keep us grounded in the knowledge that this season will pass, and help us to be present each day, witnessing to the beauty and gifts around us.  Amen.

Air-hugs,

Pastor Devon

Snacks and Mags.

Well friends, I wonder, how are you holding up today?  What are you reading?  And, how's your snack supply? In the last 24-hours  I've had all sorts of thoughts running through my head:

• Do I really have enough toilet paper?
• Is now the time to adopt a doggy, or ALL the doggies?
• Maybe a road-trip with a full backpack and a long hike is the way to go?
• I should clean my house and match all the socks that don't match. But I don't want to.
• Why am I so sad and grumpy?  I have tons of books to read!
• Why is this day lasting so long, when usually I never have enough time?
• I wonder how to use this time to grow our church...is that possible?

I guess, in the end....and thankfully in much better head/heart space this afternoon, I am finding myself really open to what it is that God can teach me throughout this time.  Obviously, I still have so much to learn. Much like you, I am sure, my pace of life is pretty jam-packed with great stuff.  I get to spend time with wonderful people who remind me every single day that God is moving and working.  I get to love the cutest kiddos, and learn from the wisest elders.  And we laugh....often.

Into the middle of full-speed ministry comes the ultimate slow-down, coupled with high anxiety and all-consuming fear.  These are three things that are contrary to my entire wiring - and they are so easy to get swept up in.  I don't want to get swept up - how about you?  So, let's think about what we can learn about God, ourselves, and each other through whatever may come.  

One of the hardest parts of this has been the realization that there is so much we, as humans, cannot control.  But, isn't that at the very root of our understanding of faith?  Trusting God feels much more difficult when I can't control all the normal things.  There's a great lesson here.  

So far today I have been reminded of the value of the people around me.  They are gifted and generous, loving and kind, intelligent and skilled in ways I am not.  What is God teaching you today?  

Trust God from the bottom of your heart;

    don’t try to figure out everything on your own.

Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go;

God’s the one who will keep you on track. Proverbs 3:5-6

Prayer:  God, who keeps us on track, help us be open to You in the midst of the unknown.  Calm our fears, connect us in new ways and grant us an awareness of those people who are feeling the most isolated and alone.  Help us to hear your voice of calm this day.  Amen.  

Lots of love to you - Pastor Devon