Pastor’s Epistle

Whenever either of my children complain about having to run out in the rain to collect the mail from the mail box, or unhappily notice in the morning that they might have to stand out in a light drizzle for a few minutes while waiting for the school bus to arrive, I hear myself replying to them by asking a question that my grandparents used to ask me in similar situations saying, “What are you made of, sugar? You’re not going to melt!” It was their way of saying that a little bit of rain wasn’t going to hurt you, since, as we all know, none of us is so sweet as to figure we’re made of sugar!

What we are in fact made of, figuratively speaking, is dust. The creation story, specifically Genesis 2:7, describes how God breathed life into Adam after forming him from the dust of the ground, the dirt. What this teaches us is that it is God who created us, it is God who gives life, and when life ceases to exist, “you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” (Genesis 3:19) It is this very sentiment that the season of Lent seeks to remind us. Beginning on Ash Wednesday, we gather as a faith community in worship to receive the imposition of ashes in the form of the cross and hear said to us, “Remember you are dust. And to dust you shall return.” Together this act and those words remind us that if not for the love of God, the grace of gospel of Jesus Christ and the presence of the Holy Spirit, very truly, we would end up where we began, ashes to ashes, dust to dust.

During this season of Lent, I encourage everyone to discern in what ways you can help remind yourselves how we must utterly and completely rely on the providence and mercy of God all the days of our lives, as well as to remember the good news of Jesus Christ, for “we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his… if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.” (Romans 6:5&8)

Blessings,

Pastor Justin

 

 

Why do we always have a prayer of Confession in our service? Isn’t that kind of negative?

      In our tradition we believe that when we come before God in worship it is important to remember that we come with our pockets empty and turned out.  We don’t bring God something that God needs and we have nothing to trade for God’s grace and mercy.  Our worship is a joyful response to the fact that God is Good … all the time … even when we have done nothing to deserve it.  So we begin by confessing sin so that we are free to receive and celebrate God’s goodness.

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