This coming Sunday – Palm Sunday – we will be welcoming new members into the life of our church. In so many ways, by so many paths, the Holy Spirit has led each of these people to our church and they feel a sense of home and welcome here that is very deep and meaningful. I cannot remember the last time we had this many people join our church at one time, but it was most definitely before the COVID-19 pandemic.
A lot of congregations carry a strong sense of anxiety about their present and their future, when it comes to membership demographics. “We’re not getting any younger,” you might hear them say, among other things.
At the same time, we are a people who believe in the resurrection – both the bodily resurrection of Jesus, but also the resurrecting power of God in our own lives, the life of the church, and the life of the world. If we are to be a “resurrection people,” then one might hope that we believe in the reality of the resurrection in the here-and-now as well as in the yet-to-come. If we set our hearts on resurrection – if we look for it, long for it, hope for it, and work for it – there is no telling what kind of blessings we might receive.
I am excited that we are adding new members to our church family and trust that they will be welcomed in with all of the warmth and connection that many of you felt when you joined BPC. This little corner of the Kingdom of God, here at Bedford Presbyterian Church, is a place that is full of blessing.
The kingdom of God – defined and fueled by the Holy Spirit’s resurrecting power – is alive in the world.
The Reverend Dr. Brandon Nappi, a faculty member at Yale Divinity School, writes:
Here’s the question I got wrong as a young student at Yale Divinity School in front of 50 classmates: “What is Jesus’ central teaching?”
The answer to this question is the basis of the mystical teaching of Jesus.
I guessed, “Love God and your neighbor.”
Nope.
It’s “the Kingdom of God is at hand” or “within you.” Repent.
Now, “repent” is a terrible translation of the Greek word metanoia, which means “change (or turn) your mind.”
Awaken to a new way of thinking, of being, of living where you’re attuned to the divine presence around you, in you, in others at every moment.
You are never separate from your Source. When you know this, everything changes. You have within you an endless resource of love animating your life. This isn’t about guilt or shame or groveling. It’s about waking up to what’s already true and living your life in alignment with that truth. The divine isn’t distant. It’s not waiting for you to get your act together. It’s here. Now. In you. . . The invitation isn’t to become worthy. It’s to remember you already are.
As we approach Holy Week, you might feel like you need to be sad and/or extra penitent. And, you do have permission to spend some time with these feelings. BUT, we live in a world where the resurrection has already occurred. We live in a world in which the truth of God’s new life is – as Nappi implies – already at work around you and within you.
So, as you prepare for the high’s and lows and high’s of Palm Sunday, and Maundy Thursday, and Good Friday, and. . . especially the joy of Easter, I want to encourage you to live with the hope and trust that the Kingdom of God has, indeed, come near and is around us and within us. May the Kingdom of God – a kingdom of justice, peace, and joy – open our hearts and minds to all that God offers. . .
See you in church!
Grace and Peace,
John
PS – See you at the Meetinghouse Concert this coming Saturday at 7 PM! It’ll be a whole lot of fun to see you and hear the music of Cold Chocolate! 🙂
Prepare for Worship
This Week: “It Will Get Messy” (The Good News is. . . Inspiring Us to Act)
Read Psalm 24
Read Psalm 118
Read Mark 11:1-11
Read or sing Hymn # 199 – “Filled With Excitement”