April 12, 2021 - Grace and peace from our brother Jesus. Last week was pretty typical as far as spring weather was concerned. We had sunshine, and we had rain. The weather folks say that we’ve seen our last really cold temperatures. I heard from my uncle Kent, who lives in Maine, that they have had several “warm” days that reached the 50s. That still sounds pretty cold to me!
This was “low Sunday,” so-called because the Sunday after Easter traditionally sees churches’ lowest attendance. This was true of small Paxton—but not because of lack of interest. Several in our congregation have been hit hard by illness; our hearts and prayers go out to them with compassion.
Since we resumed in-person worship, our music has been on CD. We can hum the song under our masks but no vigorous singing! Both of today’s hymns were sung by Elvis. He was the king of rock and roll, but he always loved gospel music. We first listened to “He Touched Me,” a Gaither tune in the Methodist hymnal. Later we rocked and rolled with “Put Your Hand in the Hand.” We appreciate Sue DeFee bringing the CD music this morning. One day we will surprise everyone and sing away. I hope we don’t scare too many people when we do!
Our Sunday School lesson this morning reminded us that Sabbath rest is a great gift from God. The author mentioned sacred rhythms: The older I get, the more I realize that setting aside time in our week is important. The main scripture came from 2 Corinthians 5: 11-21, where we hear Paul reminding the faithful that being part of the reconciliation among people is our Christian responsibility. We can sure use a little of this in the 21st century as well!
The Gospel lesson for the second Sunday of Easter came from John 20: 19-31. The disciple Thomas is mentioned in all four gospels—but his importance to the Easter story is really seen in the John narrative. “Doubting” Thomas in John becomes vital to the unfolding story because of his disbelief. It wasn’t that Thomas doubted Jesus and his Kingdom; he was a faithful follower but questioned the stories about the resurrection.
Paxton Methodist is having in-person worship; we respect each other by wearing masks and keeping socially distant. Scientists and medical professionals, who know more than politicians about this subject, say that we can do three simple things to curtail the spread of Covid-19: wash our hands regularly, stay at least six feet apart—social distancing, and yes, wear a mask—or maybe two masks—mask-wearing is the patriotic thing to do. It is also the Christian thing to do, loving your neighbor as you love yourself. And get that vaccine! How has simple science—wearing a mask or getting a vaccine—become a political hot button issue? Let’s all use our common sense and defeat Covid-19 together!
Whoever you are, in whatever faith you were born, whatever creed you profess; if you come to this house to find God you are welcome here. Paxton United Methodist Church is an inviting church that takes to heart the idea of “Open Doors, Open Hearts, and Open Minds.” Worship begins at 10:00. Our email address is paxtonumc@yahoo.com. If you would like the weekly email newsletter about Paxton Methodist, you can send your email address to the Paxton email address, and I will add you to the list. God’s Speed.
