WEEKLY ENOTE |
|
Nov. 8, 2019
Dear Village Family,
Last Sunday we began our new series, “I Believe. Help My Unbelief.” It was a wonderful Sunday at Village. A highlight was the congregation extending a call to Rev. Sally Wright to be our associate pastor for pastoral care. I have valued Sally as a colleague in ministry and I celebrate this call with the congregation that moves her ministry from Interim status to a permanent basis. If you missed worship, you can catch up by listening to the sermon from last Sunday by CLICKING HERE. Or you can download it as a podcast (the options are on the same web page).
This Sunday we turn to an amazing moment in the life of Jesus, when he shares breakfast on the beach with Peter. It’s in John 21. As they talk Peter experiences both forgiveness and calling. The forgiveness is palpable, as the last time we found Peter by a fire he had denied his Lord three times. But here, three times, he is invited to express his love for Christ. It’s grace!
This flawed disciple is then called to care for the “sheep.” When Jesus talks about his sheep, he is speaking of the church. As I read the Gospels, the church is clearly called to engage in mission, but that mission is based on the assumption that the church has cared for herself as well. It is in love for one another that we discover love for others. This Sunday I want to talk about the importance of the church practicing friendship in a lonely world. I hope you can join me for this. It will be good news for flawed disciples, like me and you.
As I sometimes do, here’s a poem you may enjoy.
“To the Student Who Asked Why He Earned a ‘C’ on an Essay about Love”
by Clint Margrave
Because love has its own grammar,
its own sentences,
some that run-on too long,
others just fragments.
It uses a language
not always appropriate
or too informal,
and often lacks clarity.
Love is punctuated all wrong,
changes tenses abruptly,
relies heavily
on the first person,
can be redundant,
awkward,
full of unnecessary repetition.
Every word is compounded.
Every phrase, transitional.
Love doesn’t always know the difference
Between lie and lay,
its introductions sometimes
lack a well-developed thesis,
its claims go unfounded,
its ad-hominem attacks
call in question
its authority.
With a style that’s inconsistent,
a voice either too critical
or too passive,
love is a rough draft
in constant need of revision,
whose conclusion
rarely gives any sense
of closure,
or reveals the lingering
possibilities of a topic
that always expects high praise,
and more often than not
fails to be anything
but average.
Blessings and Shalom,
Tom
Dear Village Family,
Last Sunday we began our new series, “I Believe. Help My Unbelief.” It was a wonderful Sunday at Village. A highlight was the congregation extending a call to Rev. Sally Wright to be our associate pastor for pastoral care. I have valued Sally as a colleague in ministry and I celebrate this call with the congregation that moves her ministry from Interim status to a permanent basis. If you missed worship, you can catch up by listening to the sermon from last Sunday by CLICKING HERE. Or you can download it as a podcast (the options are on the same web page).
This Sunday we turn to an amazing moment in the life of Jesus, when he shares breakfast on the beach with Peter. It’s in John 21. As they talk Peter experiences both forgiveness and calling. The forgiveness is palpable, as the last time we found Peter by a fire he had denied his Lord three times. But here, three times, he is invited to express his love for Christ. It’s grace!
This flawed disciple is then called to care for the “sheep.” When Jesus talks about his sheep, he is speaking of the church. As I read the Gospels, the church is clearly called to engage in mission, but that mission is based on the assumption that the church has cared for herself as well. It is in love for one another that we discover love for others. This Sunday I want to talk about the importance of the church practicing friendship in a lonely world. I hope you can join me for this. It will be good news for flawed disciples, like me and you.
As I sometimes do, here’s a poem you may enjoy.
“To the Student Who Asked Why He Earned a ‘C’ on an Essay about Love”
by Clint Margrave
Because love has its own grammar,
its own sentences,
some that run-on too long,
others just fragments.
It uses a language
not always appropriate
or too informal,
and often lacks clarity.
Love is punctuated all wrong,
changes tenses abruptly,
relies heavily
on the first person,
can be redundant,
awkward,
full of unnecessary repetition.
Every word is compounded.
Every phrase, transitional.
Love doesn’t always know the difference
Between lie and lay,
its introductions sometimes
lack a well-developed thesis,
its claims go unfounded,
its ad-hominem attacks
call in question
its authority.
With a style that’s inconsistent,
a voice either too critical
or too passive,
love is a rough draft
in constant need of revision,
whose conclusion
rarely gives any sense
of closure,
or reveals the lingering
possibilities of a topic
that always expects high praise,
and more often than not
fails to be anything
but average.
Blessings and Shalom,
Tom