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Dear Friends,
If I start out saying "This message is all about love," what comes to your mind, especially this weekend when the stores and online sites are abundantly filled with flowers and chocolates as gifts of affection?
I love a great mystery story; but honestly, I am more likely to watch or read a story about a relationship – a love story. I want to see the puppy saved from the cavern in the mountains. I like to see the people get together and save their downtown, parks, or schools.
There are other kinds of stories of love that are unlike mine. These stories stir my heart. I can watch movies of prejudice or personal triumph. I can watch historical movies that provide a life-changing view of the world. February is the month of Black History, an opportunity to embrace one another with openness for one another.
When it comes to a love story, I want to hold in my heart the promise that our God does not merely show up in glory and then remain on the top of the mountain. No, the Son, Jesus Christ, comes down the mountain and walks along side of us in our everyday breathing in and out. This is God’s love story of grace to you and me. It is our story of grace with one another.
In our passage from the Gospel of Mark 9, we listen to God speak. God reveals that Jesus is the beloved Son of God, who is fully human and fully God. How can this be? We do not understand. This is when faith in a God who loves us transcends (rises above) the need for perfect understanding or explanation. We have FAITH Jesus is the fulfilment of the promise of God to God’s people that we are to be loved and forgiven forever. This weekend we will talk about transfiguration(changes in outward form). Jesus is fully human and fully God. It calls to us to be transformed (changes in thoughts and actions inwardly) so that our witness and our actions are different, merciful, and compassionate.
This is our last week to dig deeper into what it means to be called into a deeper relationship with God and a more fulfilling relationship with one another. This work never stops, even when the building may be closed. The work of the church in 2020 was vibrant, meaningful, and engaging. We are working to post a special thank you created by Laurel Hibbard on the church website.
Beginning next week with our special visit with Bishop Amy Current, we will dig into a conversation on growing in our relationship with the “other.” You are welcome to check out the ELCA’s statements of social justice. You are encouraged to join in one or more opportunities listed below. However your heart is stirred, begin with prayer for one another as Jesus taught us to pray…
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen
Blessings to you always,
Pastor Katie