October 29, 2021
Dear Prairie Avenue Family,
A greeting from the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island, Michigan! Our days away will be filled with times and seasons of rest, relaxation, and activity. The weather along Lake Huron is crisp and cloudy on this last big weekend of the tourist season on this small island. Planned and unplanned activities abound over the next couple of days.
We begin a new worship series this weekend on living with abundance rather than scarcity. Our first item of abundance is love. God's abundant love makes us able to love others as we do ourselves. Often our scarcity in love is self-inflicted, feeling that we do not have what can be given. Yet the love of God and love of neighbor is ever-filling if we are willing to come to the kingdom of God.
Next Sunday (which is also Daylight Saving Time ends) we will observe as All Saints Day, remembering those of the congregation who have passed since November 1, 2020.
Worship This Sunday:
More Than Enough: Enough to Love
We begin with a rather unexpected exchange between a temple scribe and Jesus, not accusing or testing or questioning, but seeking. Not all temple authorities were against Jesus, nor were all Sadduccees and Pharisees (although as the gospel writers are later in writing, the more hostile they are depicted). This encounter is one of interest: "What is the greatest commandment?"
Jesus responds with two as one: Love God completely and neighbor, too. He is not the first to suggest one or the other, but he is the first to put them as one complete statement. Traditionally, there have been 613 commands or laws/rules that have been identified in the Old Testament. Jesus is not replacing any, he is giving a lens to look intently at them all.
Love is associated with both serious and frivolous ways. You love a restaurant; you love your pet. You love your vehicle; you love your spouse. Hopefully, you demonstrate that love differently in context (although some do love their pets more than their spouses, at times).
And that is what makes the difference here, too. Love must (and always will be) incorporate action, demonstration. The scribe recognizes Jesus' wise saying, and even states it is far better than any burnt offering ritual. Often it is our rituals that we love to the neglect of God and neighbor. Can you cross from scarcity of love to living abundantly in the love of God and neighbor? Are you willing to enter the kingdom of God?
All Saints Service
Sunday, November 7, 2021, 8 am & 9:30 am
On Sunday, November 7, we will be commemorating All Saints Day in worship. At the 8:00 and 9:30 services, we will be reading the names of, and lighting a candle for, our church members who have passed away since last November.
Those specifically recognized at service:
- Ina Woodworth, 2/20/2021
- Kathleen Hubbell, 5/16/2021
- Helen Kater, 6/17/2021
- Marion Gardner, 6/28/2021
- Barbara Kater, 9/7/2021
