WHAT IS LOVE

Dear Friends:

Perhaps like me, you went to sleep Wednesday night and awoke Thursday morning in prayer for the people of Ukraine and for a peaceful way forward. Opinions could be shared. Arguments could be made.  But prayer asks God to change the world and to change us. Prayer is the most powerful tool toward that peaceful way forward. In Psalm 46 the psalmist writes of God’s capacity and priorities, saying,

“Attention, all! See the marvels of God!  God plants flowers and trees all over the earth, bans war from pole to pole, breaks all the weapons across God’s knee. Step out of the traffic! Take a long, loving look at me, your High God, above politics, above everything.” (Psalm 46:8-10 The Message)

Today, and in the days ahead, let’s take a long look at God, above our political leanings, beyond our opinions, and ahead of our fears, to seek God’s way forward, a way of peace.

It is an odd juxtaposition to focus on sacrificial love during the season of Lent when such an aggressive attack has just been taken by one country over another. Perhaps now, more than before, we need to focus on the love to which God calls us. It is not a love of starry-eyed lovers, but a love that thinks of others first.  Not only will we learn to practice this kind of love, but we will be encouraged to witness to this way of love in the world as the only thing that can and will heal the divisions of our relationships, our families, our neighborhoods, our countries and our world.

Join me Wednesday, March 2, at 6 p.m., live or online, for Ash Wednesday Worship where we will begin our exploration of God’s kind of love.  Communion and the Imposition of Ashes will be a part of that worship.  If you plan to worship online, you may stop into the church any time from now through Wednesday night to pick up communion elements and an envelope of ashes for use in your worship experience.  There will be a station set up near the entrance where you can gather enough supplies for you and your family.

February 27 we will explore what we mean when we say “thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” in the Lord's Prayer. Join me as we look at three examples of how Jesus came to bring in the kingdom (or realm) of God and learn how we can be an answer to our fervent prayers for such.

Praying with you,

Pastor Becky Jo