God’s story has embraced you and writes meaning-making into your existence. And you in turn are a meaning maker to and with others. Trevor Hart in Making Good makes this connection that our partnership with God for making good is both eucharistic and eschatological. That is, our co-creating meaning with God is about the Table and the fulfillment of God’s kingdom on earth as it is in heaven, because it is rooted in “…the vicarious self-substitution of Christ for us, and opened out by the work of the Spirit of Christ in and through you in the direction of that New Creation.”
“Beginnings and arrivals. We were all born. We all will die. At birth we began a journey of many beginnings and arrivals over the course of our lives. Death happens. We experience arrival with the One who knows us the best and loves us the most. A new beginning occurred. And eternal life continues the journey of beginnings and arrivals. God’s unconditional love beckons you to allow God to serve you and you in turn to serve others. John Stott, citing the Lausanne Covenant in Christian Mission in the Modern World, writes,
“…We affirm that God is both Creator and the Judge of all men [people]. We therefore should share his [God’s] concern for justice and reconciliation throughout human society and for the liberation of men [all people] from every kind of oppression. Because humankind is made in the image of God, every person, regardless of race, religion, color, culture, class, sex or age, has an intrinsic dignity because of which he [they] should be respected and served, not exploited….the salvation we claim should be transforming us in the totality of our personal and social responsibilities.”
Be embraced by and embrace God’s unconditional love. Jesus will live his life through you. God’s mission of inclusion and well-being is a journey of beginnings and arrivals. Experience and appreciate the beginnings and arrivals on the journey.
On this transition journey with you, I remain faithfully yours,
Steve
The Rev. Dr. Steven M. Marsh
Interim Pastor
