Hi everyone,
Today was a good day.
Busy, but good. Busy because it was very full with interaction and activity, and good because God could be seen in all of it.
It started with our joint worship service with our Anglican friends from All Saints. Then the presentation from the Burnaby Taskforce to End Homelessness, then a very filling lunch with a lot of fellowship, then another service at another Lutheran church that had a lot of people that I’ve never met before, but very very very welcoming. It was a good day. Busy, but good.
Like I said, God was seen in it all. In the hustle and bustle, in the running around and arranging, in the conversations and relationship-building, God was there. And so as busy as it was, as tired as some of us might feel, in all the juggling of pieces that had to be done, there was hope.
Hope in knowing that God is with us. That God is proclaimed through our relationships and community. That God is honoured through our love.
And I guess that was the thing. In all the activity of the day, it was very clear that love was present. In the joint worship, in the presentation, in the fellowship, in the meeting people with whom all we share in common is our love for God… and I suppose more importantly… God’s love for us.
While the business and fatigue might be there at the forefront, we don’t forget that it is God’s love for us that sustains us, lifts us up, and ultimately saves us to be God’s people in the world today.
Here are the readings for next week, Palm/Passion Sunday:
Luke 19:28-40 (processional gospel)
Isaiah 50:4-9a
Psalm 31:9-16
Philippians 2:5-11
Luke 23:1-49 (alternate)
And a video of these readings being read:
The Palm/Passion Sunday combo is always a difficult one. It’s difficult because there is so much activity and emotional levels involved. It’s difficult because we can’t always make heads or tails of it. It’s difficult because… it just is.
But in the midst of it, we don’t forget why we have this day. We don’t forget what we are commemorating. We don’t forget the hope that resides in the midst of the pain, the hurt, and the brokenness.
And we especially don’t forget how God is with us in the midst of it. How God leads us, guides us, and gives us wisdom. How God decidedly loves us regardless of how we might feel abandoned or overwhelmed.
So in the busyness of life, in the times where we might feel pain and hurt, in those moments when we just don’t see God, we remember how the contemplation of Lent leads us into the joy of Easter. We remember how in the brokenness and death we can see restoration and new life. We remember how when life is seemingly just too difficult, there is love.
Thanks be to God! Have a great week, everyone!