Pastor's Pen for September

Dear Friends in Christ,

By the time you read this the sate Fair will be coming to a close and students across the area will have returned to their classrooms. These are sure signs that a glorious summer has come to an end. Much of our lives is directed by the various seasons that we experience. The end of one season leads to expectations for the next. This is also true in the seasons of the Church year and our spiritual lives as well. Moving from one season to the next is to anticipate what is to come as much as it is to remember and to celebrate what has been.

In September the Sunday Schools will once again begin for the young people of the congregation. As important as this is , it is good to be reminded that education is not just for young people anymore. This is certainly true in the secular world where there is ongoing education for almost every occupation. It is also important for the religious world as well. Learning and growing in the faith is important for every age group. We never reach a point where we know everything that we can know about God’s gracious love for us. The more we learn and grow the more we appreciate the gifts that God has so freely offered in the Savior and the more comfortable and humble we are to share the story of those gifts with others who are longing to hear them.

Education in the life of the Church and the people of faith is not for the purpose of providing ready made answers to the questions of life. Rather education and spiritual growth are intended for us to more faithfully and confidently grapple with the questions of life that we face every day. The more we are open to the questions the more open we will find ourselves to God and God’s message as well. As we learn and grow, we can become less anxious about the unknowns in the world around us. As we learn and grow we become more certain and confident of those things that do not change, i.e. the love and grace of God that has been showered upon us.

As a new season of Sunday School begins for the young people, think about how everyone might be a part of the educational ministries of the congregations. More importantly, consider how you might be a part and as a result grow in your faith and understanding of our loving God.

The Pastor's Pen (August 2005)

In the Letter to the Romans, the Apostle Paul asks a rhetorical question. “What then shall we say to this? If God is for us, who can be against us?” At least it would have been rhetorical to him. Now a rhetorical question is one for which the answer is already assumed to be obvious and the question is asked to make that very point. For the Apostle Paul the answer that was obvious was that no one can be against us and prevail when God is on our side. Unfortunately, for many today the question would not seem to be nearly as rhetorical.

With so much violence, hate, and destructive behavior in the world, many would wonder today if God is in fact for us. At the same time there are those who would like to speak on God’s behalf suggesting that such events are some sort of punishment from God. In either response, where is the word of assurance that was the hallmark of the Apostle’s faith and witness? Where is the word of God’s love and grace poured out upon the world in the ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus the Christ?

Some would suggest that words that create fear and engender the specter of hell and damnation are the words that are needed in these days. The belief is that somehow such words and the images that they create will scare people to a living faith. One can only wonder about such assumptions as they do not seem to have ever really been effective in the lives of God’s people. Too often the human response, even of those who profess their faith in Christ, is one of using fear and coercion. The ultimatum of believe or else rings through the land. Though some increase in numbers of church members and/or participation may be seen following such a cry, what really is its lasting impact?

Jesus came to love people into God’s kingdom. He did not come to scare them nor to coerce them. He came to offer them himself as the embodiment of God’s love and grace. The powers and the forces of this world rejected him and his gift, but some came to believe through the power and work of God’s Spirit and continued to be means by which the love of God was shared in the world. We are called to love today with a similar love for the sake of God’s creation. The reality is that such love may still be rejected by the powers and the forces of this world. But with the assurance that God is for us, we can be bold and confident to share what has been shared with us in the risen Lord and Savior. For Paul’s question is still rhetorical and we do know the answer!