Pastor’s Message

Reflection on the Readings

A woman went shopping for a new dress and found the most stunning creation she had ever seen. But it was expensive: $750. She knew she couldn’t afford it, but she had to at least see how she looked in it. So,
she tried it on, and it made her look beautiful. She knew someone else would see it and buy it before she could ever save up for it and she knew she just had to have it. So, she bought it. That evening as she showed her husband how beautiful it was and how beautiful she looked with it on, he asked the inevitable question: “how much did it cost?”

When she told him he had a fit! She explained the temptation was more than she could resist. He told her when she is tempted, she needs to tell
the devil: “get behind me, Satan.”

She pleaded “that’s what I did, and the devil told me it looks fantastic from the back too.”

As we enter the Lenten season, we are invited by the Church through our readings to reflect not only on our individual stories but on the great stories throughout the history of salvation.

Sometimes I think the reason people still go to church after all these centuries is because they’re that desperate. Now granted, some church services are wonderful and worth the effort for aesthetic reasons or even for entertainment value.

Then, too, some faith communities are genuine communities, and the
gathering is warm and desirable in its own right.

Most people, however, can go elsewhere for music and art, entertainment and social gatherings. There are better places to get coffee and doughnuts on Sunday morning, let’s face it.

There’s one thing, however, you get in church that you don’t get anywhere else: And that’s the story.

It’s not only any story. Romance and adventure, mystery and horror, sci-fi and fantasy, are realms into which you can immerse yourself at the touch of a remote, mouse, or old-fashioned hardbound book. Here you gather with others as Church to hear the story of hope and transformation.

Quote of the Week