ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGOctober 23, 2021How often do we have the opportunity to say, “I love you.” How often do we have the chance to reveal love to someone? How often does someone walk away from an interaction with us feeling loved? I went through a period of my life, a sort of spiritual practice, where I asked myself these questions every evening. At first, I felt guilty as there
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGOctober 22, 2021Does love exist apart from the entities that share and receive love? This was a strange thought I had as I was driving back to the church after a meeting yesterday. Some of you are probably thinking that Bruce must have been really bored. That’s probably true, but don’t we talk about love as a force, a power… as if it could stand alone? We
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGOctober 21, 2021I have noticed a heaviness in my life that I can only name as grief. I am heart-sick about the 730,000 deaths from COVID. I mourn the millions of family members who continue to struggle because of these deaths, in part, because they were unable to say “Good-bye” in a way that was healthy. I lament the young children impacted by COVID, including the thousands
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGOctober 20, 2021Those who have chosen to follow Jesus have only one task, and that is to love. The love of God put on display in Jesus, the love we are to use as our model, is not something we choose to emulate only when it is practical or easy. They say consistency is the best teaching tool, and Jesus was consistent when it came to love.
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGOctober 19, 2021This past Sunday, I talked about how loving your neighbor not only begins with loving yourself, but knowing yourself. In fact, it is hard to love yourself if you do not know yourself. In Galatians 5:14, the Apostle Paul echoed the teaching of Jesus when he wrote, “For the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’”
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGOctober 18, 2021Prayer for the Week:God of All Creation –Source of all goodnessGiver of all Grace.Today, we give thanksFor a sustaining loveFor the breath of lifeFor the sustenance of the earthFor the welcome of your church.Our hearts are filled with gratitudeFor the beauty of creationFor the birds of the airFor the fish in the watersFor the animals upon the land.We give you all praise and honorWe give
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGOctober 17, 2021Many different people have said it many different ways, but let me say it this way: Do not live vicariously the blessings of others while ignoring your own. Today in worship, we will talk about envy. To have envy is to lose all excitement for what we have as we grow in excitement for what is not yet our own. We can still be happy
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGOctober 16, 2021On this day in 1984, Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. I had only been involved in the Anti-Apartheid movement for about six months at that point, but I knew the name Desmond Tutu. Six months after he received the award, I protested outside the South African Embassy in Washington, D.C. Less than ten years later, I met Desmond
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGOctober 15, 2021I would visit a friend’s office often, and on his wall was a beautifully framed poster which read: Happiness is experienced when you stop comparing yourself to others. Funny thing is that I envied my friend’s office. It had more square footage than my first apartment, a private bathroom and a door that lead to an outdoor prayer garden. It is one thing to read
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGOctober 14, 2021Though I have read the words from John 15 more times than I can count, I was struck differently in a recent reading. It says, “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you.”