Roy’s Ramblings

So this has been an interesting week … starting with rain turning to ice, snow on that, bitter cold with more snow. So no church last week, school has been called off for four of the five days and (if it wasn’t a ZOOM meeting) all of my meetings have been called off as well. So yeah, interesting week.

But the forecast is for a warming trend and therefore it will be a great Sunday to come to church. Tammera is still recovering from her surgery, but Andrew and the bells are going to kick things off and we are going to talk about Luke 6:27-38. This is where Jesus tells us that we are to love our enemies and not judge others. You know, that ain’t easy. I know people judge me … I can tell just by looking at them. (Ok – yes that was a bad joke) And that “Loving Enemies” stuff … it is so hard to love someone that has caused harm or destruction or loss or pain.

The fact of the matter is though – Jesus says that there are only two kinds of people in the world … your neighbors (whom you are supposed to love) and your enemies (whom you are supposed to love). Hmmm – but what if they look different or talk different or live different … yup love them too. In fact – right now I want you to think of the hardest person/people in your life for you to even tolerate … go ahead … I’ll wait.

What is it about them that infuriates you so much? Is it actually something about them? Or is it what you have been told/taught about them from others? It has been said that no-one is born hating anyone. You have to be taught how to hate. If you doubt that – look at any preschool room – kids just want to play with each other. They do not care about the differences, unless those differences cause a kid to not be able to play, then instead of hating on the different kid … they simply want to learn what makes them different and how to adjust to include them.

We need to learn from the least of these (or the youngest) – accepting others – do good things – play well with each other – love neighbors and enemies. Sometimes it ain’t easy … in fact most times it ain’t easy. But it is what we are called to do and are supposed to do. So, Good Luck, Blessings, I’ll Pray for You, We are in This Together, Shalom …

Love You All – Pastor Roy