Good morning, Beloved,

I pray you are well and feel all the love God has to offer. The love which is given freely to each and every one of us. I am reminded of this love often when reading the Bible, a truth which I hope we all understand and witness both in the times when we are distressed and in those times which are joyous throughout our lives. I hope you witness this gift and have found comfort in scripture.

Yet too often when we read scripture or truly anything, our own biases can get in the way. We can get sidetracked just at the right moment and miss the full understanding of a newspaper clipping, a book, or yes scripture. I was reminded of this truth today as I read the Daily Devotional from the UCC by Matt Laney (see below). 

The reality is, beloved, we all have done the light reading or headline skimming in our Bibles and in the news. But just as Rev. Laney points out, if we only read John 3:16 without the P.S, we are missing Christ’s Love being revealed. Moreover, we risk becoming righteous against the evil doer – the person who does not love Jesus as ourselves – and turn to a practice of condemning said person. Yet, reading the full context of the word reveals another truth. The truth of God’s Love for everyone throughout Creation.

With these thoughts in mind, I invite you into a practice of deep reading once again. Reading the full context and words of that which is written, whether biblically or in everyday texts. I invite you into this practice for it truly is the only way we may witness the Truth of what is being said and discern if we are remaining on the path to the kin-dom with Christ. The only way to discover if something is Holy or Unholy. The only way to understand the world around us. I invite you into this practice; so, you may faithfully discern and follow the call God has placed in your soul.

May your week be blessed with the practice of deep reading one text, article, or Biblical passage in this preparatory season of Lent.

Your pastor and teacher, Brian

Please consider the ways you care for your own spirituality and faith throughout Lent. If you would like, you may text, call, or email me always to talk and discover ideas to help you refresh your soul. As I am here to support you and your relationship with God wherever you are on the journey. My number is (207-350-9561) if you need anything or simply want to talk. Next week, my pastoral care hours are Mon. 9-4, Tues. 12-5, Wed. 9-4, Thurs. 10-2 to provide some time for visiting. Many blessings and Love to you all.

The All-Important P.S. to John 3:16

by Matt Laney | published on Mar 23, 2022

“For God so loved the world that God gave God’s beloved Child, so that everyone who believes may not perish but may have eternal life. Indeed, God did not send their Child into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” – John 3:16-17 (NRSV)

This passage includes one of the most well-known verses in the Bible, John 3:16. “John 3:16” can be found on t-shirts, memes, bumper stickers, signs at sporting events, even on the eye-black of an NFL quarterback.

John 3:16 is often used as a litmus test. If you believe in Jesus (which is code for “if you believe what I believe about Jesus”), then you will be saved from eternal damnation. If not, your ultimate destination is bleak. The verse is used and abused as a pretext for condemning people to hell.

I think the writer of John saw that coming as he first penned 3:16, so he included an addendum—a postscript—as a safeguard: “Indeed, God did not send their Child into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him” (John 3:17).

When John talks about the world being saved through Jesus, he’s not envisioning a luxurious post-mortem retirement in the clouds for those who “accept Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior,” a phrase which occurs exactly zero times in the Bible.

For John, salvation begins now by checking the impulse to condemn, and committing instead to the Jesus way of love, forgiveness, nonviolence, doing justice, showing mercy, walking humbly. In short, to love the world as God loves it.

Jesus did not come to condemn. For that, we should be eternally grateful. Jesus came to love and serve and thereby to save.

Prayer

World Lover, help me check the impulse to condemn others and to love as Jesus loves.

About the Author

Matt Laney is the Senior Pastor of Virginia Highland Church UCC in Atlanta, GA and the author of Pride Wars, a fantasy series published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for Young Readers. The first two books, The Spinner Prince and The Four Guardians are available now.

Good morning, Beloved,

I pray you are joyfully held in God’s open hand on this overcast day, a feat which is sometimes difficult. Sometimes difficult because our environment, the world we live in really does influence our mood as many studies have validated throughout the years. Of course, we in New England did not need a study to prove this fact; for, the long winter months tend to make all of us a bit more depressed or somber. The rainy days can make us feel gloomy. And the tall buildings of our cities can make us feel insignificant and small.

Yet, the winter is coming to an end. The season is changing, and each day brings warmth and more sunshine into our lives. How glorious are the blessings of Spring – the gifts of God that remind us of who we are and how we are called to live in this world of Her creation.

It is in the ending of the long winter – in the changing of the season – in the first moments of Spring that I tend to witness God in everything. I see the beautiful tulips in front of me on the kitchen table. I am astonished by the life-giving lettuce plants which grow beside me daily. I feel the hopeful breath of Spring as the buds of new life grow on the bushes outside our church. Yes beloved, while admiring His beauty throughout Creation, I cannot help but feel all the gloominess of an overcast day recede as it is replaced with hope, joy, and humble admiration for all that God has created.

I bring these thoughts to you today; for, too often in the UCC, we remain in the heady space of intellectual thought and forget that God’s love is all around us throughout nature. The spiritual practices of simply being and witnessing nature around us can be as life giving to our spirits as the deep Biblical study of ancient tomes. Therefore, I pray that you take time this week to let go of some of our egos and simply be present to the awesome glory of God throughout nature in the coming of Spring.

May your week refresh the joyful feelings we are called to feel as beloved disciples of Christ.

Your pastor and teacher, Brian

Please consider the ways you care for your own spirituality and faith throughout Lent. If you would like, you may text, call, or email me always to talk and discover ideas to help you refresh your soul. As I am here to support you and your relationship with God wherever you are on the journey. My number is (207-350-9561) if you need anything or simply want to talk. Next week, my pastoral care hours are Mon. 9-4, Tues. 12-5, Wed. 9-4, Thurs. 10-2 to provide some time for visiting. Many blessings and Love to you all.

Good afternoon, Beloved,

I hope the day finds you well, safe, and at peace in the loving hands of God. A prayer that may not seem so easily filled today with all of the conflicts, troubles, and wars of the world. Troubles which seem to never end. No respite or vacation from one anxiety of the world before another becomes a deluge of pain and suffering on our hearts. I noticed this onslaught of issues a couple years ago. However, a simple example is that we have not even been able to celebrate the end of Covid before now facing war in the Ukraine. And a growing fear amongst people that this will become something far worse. The world almost seems like a never-ending diet of bad news with no time to recover in between cataclysmic events. 

However, this path is that of humankind. It is not the Way of God, Christ, the Holy Spirit, and you, beloved. Our Way, the Way of God is one which remembers we must have a vacation from time to time. God reminds us there are times in our day where She is calling us to … breathe. Times of the year when He invites us to…reflect. Times in life where They welcome us to be…at peace. Lent is one of those times. One of those times where we are called to recover from the world’s problems and simply focus on our personal spirituality. Focus on the Way we love God with our whole heart and care for ourselves spiritually.

Yes, it is also a time where we are invited to repent and recall our own mortal nature. But this invitation is really a spiritual gift for us. For, it is a chance for each of us to let go of the anxieties we are struggling with, the concerns weighing us down, the burdens which make it hard to love our neighbor. This practice is a gift which we are invited to explore before our lives end and there is no time left in this world. For, we are made from dust and to dust we shall return. We recall these words tonight not to inspire fear; but to remember that there is no time like right now for us to care for ourselves. No time like today to forgive and seek forgiveness. No moment like right now to heal our relationships and be at peace. So, we may be refreshed and prepared to continue the loving ministry which Christ calls us to do every day: love God, Love your Neighbor as YOURSELF.

May each of you nurture the spiritual side of yourself throughout this Lent and find the peace, safety, and wellness of God in this season of reflection.

Your pastor and teacher, Brian

Please consider the ways you care for your own spirituality and faith throughout Lent. If you would like, you may text, call, or email me always to talk and discover ideas to help you refresh your soul. As I am here to support you and your relationship with God wherever you are on the journey. My number is (207-350-9561) if you need anything or simply want to talk. Next week, my pastoral care hours are Mon. 9-4, Tues. 12-5, Wed. 9-4, Thurs. 10-2 to provide some time for visiting. Many blessings and Love to you all.