Our Ancestors of Faith

In our reading Sunday from 2 Timothy, we read encouragement to Timothy to persevere and stick with it. The author of the letter beckons back to Lois and Eunice, who were TImothy’s mother and grandmother, and apparently truly modeled the way of a life in faith. This is a great reminder that children learn from their parents and grandparents. I wonder who it is in your life who modeled the way of a life in faith for you?

We also read from the prophet Habakkuk, who lamented to God, “Why do you force me to look at violence and evil?” I can really relate to Habakkuk. It seems like everywhere we look there are terrible things, violent things, awful things. And I think that as we focus on them all the time, it becomes more and more difficult to us to see the positive and to persevere in our own faith. The ending of the reading from Habakkuk reminded us that God is coming, with good news, and when we receive it we must take it and run with it, sharing it with anyone with ears to listen.

We have a great opportunity to model a life in faith for all of the children and young adults who walk into this building. They have been seeing adults behaving badly in this country and across the globe. We can present a different side of things here as we seek to share a foretaste of the Kingdom of God . We model this by being kind to one another, being interested in each other’s lives, and by sharing the love and peace of God with each other. And I don’t mean just our friends and the ones we are comfortable with, I mean every person, old or young, who walks in those big wooden doors.

Sunday was World Communion Sunday, where Christians across the globe celebrate Eucharist on the same day. We had an opportunity to experience how beautiful the whole world could be on Sunday morning, as we traveled from station to station around the sanctuary, where different continents were represented with textiles, artwork, and regional bread. I saw a beautiful example of healthy, faithful interaction between the adults and the youth who were making their way around the room, tasting bread and touching the fabrics and sculptures on display.

I think that is how we can change the Church and the world. Starting here — we invest ourselves in each other. We show interest and love to one another in the spirit of Christ who commanded us to “Serve one another in love.”

Kudos to everyone who worked so hard to pull off this tremendous feast. It was a beautiful example of what the Kingdom of God can be like, and I feel so privileged to have seen it with my own eyes, and to serve a congregation who is so willing to invest themselves in each other.

In Celebration of Your Love to Each Other,

Rev. Paula