The Rev. David Lynch; Rector; Episcopal Church of the Resurrection; Blue Springs, MO
From the Rector . . .                         April 22, 2016

Fr. David Lynch _
 
Fr. David Lynch
Rector
To Love as Christ has Loved us...
 
How easy is it to truly love as Christ has loved us?   This command to love one another has been a central theme of the message we hear in each worship service.  We celebrate the love of Christ in our sacraments and fellowship, but do we really embrace what Jesus is expecting from us in our daily lives?  How Christ loves us is unconditional.  The focus of love is to reach beyond our comfort zones of loving those for whom it is easy to love, to loving those for whom it is very difficult to love.
 
Christ never taught a message of hate or indifference. He never identified a group or an individual that should not be loved.  Even those that would do Jesus harm and wish bad things for Jesus, ...Jesus loved unconditionally.
 
We are living in a very bi-polar world where almost nothing happens expectedly. We cannot predict our future, and we have concerns that if the future continues as the present, then it will become even more difficult to cope with all the things that make us uncomfortable and that cause us to fear our safety and well being.
 
Christ's resurrection marks a new age.  An age that tells us that what we fear really has no bearing on our outcomes as Christians.  We have nothing to lose when we love others.  We only gain in spirituality;  we gain in knowing that by loving others we are not being indifferent, and in loving, we open doors for reconciliation that allows us to reach out to respect the dignity that any person deserves regardless of who they are and their "station" in life. 
 
Jesus calls us to be like innocent children who recognize no difference in what separates them in gender, race or traditions.  We hear in the gospel of Matthew chapter 18 what Jesus said to his followers:

At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?"  He called a child, whom he put among them, and said, "Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.  Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.

Innocent children have not been contaminated by hatred or taught to discriminate except by other contemptuous people who would turn their hearts.
 
The only judge for our salvation is Jesus Christ!  As much as we may like to predict who will, and who will not be saved at the fulfillment of time, only Christ will choose.  Our time must be spent not trying to determine who is "savable", but to love unconditionally in the expectation that those who do not believe will be changed and will believe.
 
As we revel in our Eastertide celebrations and hear the stories of how the church of Christ has been established by the Apostles and early Christian leaders, may we all recognize and profess the unconditional love that Christ has for us, so we too may continue that work in the world.... "To love one another as Christ loves us"
                                                                                    
Blessings and best wishes..

Fr. David