Associate Pastor's Note
We cross over into another year, and there’s something about that symbolic breath we take as the ball drops! A simple marker of time shifting, and yet it seems like maybe we can let go of things we want to leave behind, and look ahead to new resolutions and plans in a future where anything is possible.
We have just celebrated the birth of Jesus, God-with-Us, and are still in the days of Christmas/Epiphany season, walking to discover him with the shepherds and magi, following the star. What does it mean for God to come near to us in our own flesh and blood? In the opening passages of the Gospel of Mark, Jesus begins his ministry saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news”! (Mark 1:15) Jesus is saying I have come telling you — it is not in some future time, but NOW that the kingdom of God is here — believe! Let your life be changed!
What if our New Year’s resolutions could be about making our gifts shine that much brighter, sharing them with the world, being kinder, more generous, more forgiving, and sharing more love? What if in this polarizing time, we promised to listen more deeply to others, and cross divides? Alone we may think we cannot do this, but we have the promise of the newborn God in Christ – we are not alone, and nothing is impossible with God. This is what the Angel said to Mary, (Luke 1:37) and Jesus told the disciples (Matt. 19:26)
I invite you to consider joining me in a New Year’s practice I will be doing for 2018 – a great resolution to support a better year! I am joining with Harvey Hill, Associate Pastor at St. Andrew’s, in reading the bible in one year using Eugene Peterson’s “The Daily Message”. We are going to do this as a private daily practice but meeting once a month over food to discuss it. We’re inviting everyone at First Church and St. Andrews to do this with us – get your own copy of the book (see elsewhere in this issue of COG!) either on your tablet or in paper. Peterson sets up the scriptures so we alternate between Old and New Testaments, with shorter books of the bible in between – and lays out the readings in 6 day/week format, approx. 10 mins reading per day. We’ll be providing links to The Bible Project videos, which give a visual overview for each book of the bible, and an online chat room where we can talk to each other about what we’re reading each week.
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