July 13,  2019


PASTOR’S MESSAGE

This week's reading takes us to the well-known story of the "Good Samaritan." This is one of those stories that seems to be very simple and obvious, but those conclusions sit atop a very complexly interwoven fabric of religion, politics, language, and the social location of the writer(s). In short, things may not be what they appear. Isn't that true of our lives as well? Particularly in today's society, where everyone seems to be trying to outdo everyone else on social media by portraying their lives, careers, kids, and marriage as some sort of living fairy tale. Should we judge those people harshly? I don't because I understand the very human desire to portrayourselves in the best possible way. However, we should not endorse doing that with Scripture. If we do that, we risk compressing the Word of God down to clichés and meaningless sound-bites. Instead, let's do the work of unpacking what lies beneath the words in order to hear clearly, in this day and age, exactly what God is trying to tell us. Please join me this Sunday to see what we can uncover.

Your Brother in Christ, Pastor Ernest
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