March 22, 2021 - Grace and peace from our brother Jesus. Sunday was the 5th Sunday of Lent. We are reaching the end of this Christian time of reflection, with next Sunday being Palm Sunday. Over half of each of the Gospels deals with that last week of Jesus’ life between Palm Sunday and Easter morning. Life, death, and new life is at the heart of Christianity, so it is Easter—not Christmas—that is the most important Christian celebration. But the events of Maundy Thursday and Good Friday make it the saddest time also.
Spring has sprung as of last Saturday! The weather has been dry, but a few days have been jacket-wearing time because of the north wind. My two best four-legged friends, Gunter and Sam, join me each morning for a two-mile hike at the park. Later in the day we take another walk around downtown Joaquin. Sam and Gunter are always ready to go. I have also enjoyed working in the garden. Amazingly, most of my perennial plants are coming back after February’s near-zero temperatures. This rebirth is awe-inspiring and makes me think of Easter.
Our daughter came in for a visit this weekend: It was so nice to visit with her and her little dog too—not Toto but Stella! We went Friday afternoon to Mimi’s Nursery on Highway 7 in Joaquin; Melissa has some really nice plants and hanging baskets at good prices. The next morning I went down to Haslam where the Bravos have plants set up, including a tree I bought that grows black apples with yellow meat! On our way to Nacogdoches on Saturday, we went to the Lily Farm on Highway 7, where Megan filled a wagon with plants to take back to Dallas. Gardening with flowers, vegetables, and trees is always my therapy, but especially during the pandemic quarantining, and it seems my daughter has inherited that love.
In Nacogdoches we visited Sue’s mother, along with our nephew. It’s good to see Dixie so lively and perky at 93! After picking up his daughter and his girlfriend, our nephew took us to meet his dad—my former roommate and brother-in-law Dave—for dinner (wood-baked pizza, yum) and live music at a Pineywoods outdoor venue.
Our Sunday School lesson emphasized that living a holy life requires spiritual, mental, and physical commitment. The text for the lesson was 1 Corinthians 6: 12-20. Paul really stressed that the community in Corinth was the living body of the Christ, and they should do nothing that would tarnish that perfect image.
My sermon focus was the Gospel, John 12: 20-28, but I started out talking about the Old Testament lesson from Jeremiah. Jeremiah was certainly one of the angriest prophets, and he characterized God as angry too. Today’s lesson, though, had a ring of hope as Jeremiah said God was going to make a new covenant, written directly on the human heart.
Since we resumed in-person worship, our music has been on CD. We can hum the song under our masks but no vigorous singing! The two songs we used during worship were from CDs, one a favorite and the other a new one for Paxton. “Hymn of Promise” was our first one, a song Brother Billy called The Methodist Anthem. Our Hymn of Joy was the “Prayer of St. Francis.” We have this famous prayer in the hymnal, but I don’t remember hearing it set to music before.
All during March, Paxton Methodist has been collecting cans of chili for Community Christian Services. Next month we will be collecting toothpaste and tooth- brushes. This week Community Christian Services had two giveaway days, one a program from the federal government that helps farmers as well as those who need food. During this time of pandemic, economic crisis, and high unemployment, the need is greater than ever.
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!
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.
