From the Pastor - April 2017

By -
Dear Friends in Christ,

“Love each other just as I have loved you” (John 15:12, CEB).  Jesus offers these words as a new commandment to his disciples. 

A beautiful example of Jesus’ love for his disciples is his washing of their feet.  Although Peter objects, Jesus uses the deed as an object lesson.  The Master acts as a servant to demonstrate how we are to love each other. 

This year during worship on Maundy Thursday, you will have the option of participating in the act of footwashing.  First, someone washes your feet.  Then, you turn and wash someone else’s feet. 

When I have participated in footwashing, I have been touched by the tenderness and humility of this simple act.  It turns love from invisible emotion into visible action. 

As usual, Jesus leads us by example.  He models a life of serving others so that we can know what love looks like.  Through the act of footwashing, we participate in a humble act of service toward one another.  Such love is the basis of Christ’s for us. 

In John’s gospel, a single disciple stands out as “the one whom Jesus loved” (John 13:23, CEB).  At the Last Supper, he is resting on the breast of Jesus.  He is so close that he can hear Jesus’ heartbeat.  At the Crucifixion, he is keeping vigil at the Cross until Jesus’ heart stops beating.  

Because this beloved disciple is never named, he may be a figure representing every disciple. 

We are all invited to be beloved disciples, to find our place close to the heart of Jesus.  How do get there? 

An old story may help.  According to legend, the beloved disciple lived spent his final years in Ephesus.  He was unable to walk and had to be carried into the sanctuary to preach.  Week after week, his sermon consisted of a phrase repeated over and over: “Love one another.  Love one another.  Love one another.”


We draw close to the heart of Jesus by loving one another and the world Christ gave his life to save.

Yours in Christ,
~Brian

  

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

"Wholeness of Being" Series 2026

By -
Image
“Wholeness of Being” Series Summary for Eastertide (April 12-May 24) Easter reveals God’s commitment to the wholeness of the world.   T heologian Ilia Delio argues that science and faith are not rivals but essential partners in understanding the mystery of life and God's ongoing work.  She says: “We are one body, and we seek one mind and heart so that the whole may become more whole, more personal and unified in love” ( The Unbearable Wholeness of Being ).   Join us this spring as we explore connections between science and faith for a season of becoming whole so that we can live as agents of love’s unfinished future.  Apr. 12 | Easter 2 - Communion  LOVE IS COMMUNITY: One is the loneliest number, according to the 60s ballad.   In Luke 24:13–35 , Jesus accompanies the disciples to Emmaus and eats with them.   Resurrection is discovered in relationships, not isolation.   Delio argues that, in an evolving universe, Christ is found in communal belongi...
Read more

"Transofrming Generosity" Series 2025

By -
Image
  “Transforming Generosity” Series Summary (November 9-23, 2025) Generosity has the power to reshape us, like soft clay in a potter’s hands.   When we see giving as an investment in God's kingdom rather than merely meeting budgets, we become vessels shaped by divine love.   In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus teaches us to prioritize the righteousness of God’s kingdom and trust God to provide for our needs as we commit ourselves to the Master Potter's loving work.   Too often, we settle for surviving and let our hearts harden like clay left out in the sun.   Join us this fall as we place ourselves in God's hands and discover the transformative power of generosity.    November 9 | Thirty-Second Sunday of Ordinary Time FROM SCARCITY TO ABUNDANCE : Imagine if your “not enough” could become “more than enough” in God’s hands?   Instead of clinging to a fear of scarcity, we can trust in God’s abundance.   In John 6:1-14 , Jesus takes a boy’s small...
Read more

"Healing Wounds" Series 2026

By -
Image
  “Healing Wounds” Series Summary (Feb. 18-Apr. 5) What do we do with wounds that won’t close—grief that lingers, shame we carry quietly, a world that feels fragile?   In Lent, we will take those questions seriously through an encounter with Jesus, not as a distant savior but as a wounded healer who knows pain firsthand.   Guided by Erik Varden’s Healing Wounds and a medieval devotional prayer by Arnulf of Leuven, we will linger with Christ’s scarred body and discover how God’s love works not by erasing suffering, but by entering it and transforming it.   Each week, we will recommend a different prayer posture.   Join us this Lent for a season of honest prayer and surprising hope as we open ourselves to the promise that what hurts most can become the place where new life begins. Feb. 18 | Ash Wednesday AFFLICTION: We are wounded people living in a wounded world.   In Mark 8:31-35 , Jesus says that following him means taking up a cross rather than chasin...
Read more