new church life: march/april 2015
they told them everything that had
happened. And then again Jesus
appeared in the midst of them,
saying, “Peace be to you,” reassuring
them and – again – eating with
them: celebrating the goodness and
the truth of His life with them.
Can we do this, too? Absolutely.
Every time we consider the real
meaning and impact of the Lord’s
life we can be impressed anew with
the infinite power of His love and
wisdom, and we can rejoice together
with Him in the assur ance of eternal
life. For this is why He came: not
to extend our wealth, influence or
power in this world, but to expose
the vanity of selfishness and superficiality, in fact to “overcome the world” and
restore our freedom to choose a heavenly life.
Remember, the angel told Joseph he should call the baby “Jesus, for He
will save His people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:21) And so He has, and so He
will if we commit to learn from Him and follow Him, and break the bread of
heaven with Him in the goodness of His love.
Amen.
Every time we consider
the real meaning and
impact of the Lord’s life
we can be impressed
anew with the infinite
power of His love and
wisdom, and we can
rejoice together with
Him in the assurance
of eternal life.
The Rev. Michael D. Gladish is pastor of the Washington
New Church Society and School in Mitchellville, Maryland,
where he lives with his wife, Virginia (de Maine). He was
ordained in 1973 and into the second degree in 1974. He
has been a pastor in Hurstville, New South Wales, Australia;
Los Angeles, California; the Olivet New Church in Toronto,
Ontario, Canada; the Calgary New Church in Alberta,
Canada; and the Dawson Creek Society in British Columbia,
Canada. He was Executive Vice President of the General Church in Canada and is
regional pastor for the Southeastern United States. Contact: [email protected]
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