February 20, 2022 - Grace and peace from our brother, Jesus. Amen. We Paxton Methodists had a nice Sunday: We always like to visit before we get down to the serious business, and we did so joyfully today. We hope our dear friend Joe is doing well. We are looking forward to seeing Carolyn one day soon. Our daughter and her best four-legged friend Stella came for a weekend visit; we had a good time catching up—and eating out, of course. Our three dogs—Sam, Gunter, and Stella—romped and played in the yard, the park, and our neighborhood roads. Next week Sue’s Uncle Eddie will be visiting us from Monroe. He’s especially looking forward to seeing his sister, my mother-in-law Dixie.
Our Sunday School lesson came from James 1: 19-27. The author wanted us to see that connection between what we say we believe and our daily living, teaching that faith or belief without action is just an empty gesture. If we are not doers of the word, we are being dishonest with ourselves.
February is almost gone. Paxton Methodist has been collecting soap and shampoo to take to Community Christian Services. In March we will collect cans of chili. Delta Gamma met at our church last Monday, and Fannie said they had a nice crowd. Madeline complimented the clean church and festive decorations. And, of course, when you have Jason and Glenn doing the cooking, you know it’s going to be some good-tasting food! We took our daughter out to dinner on Saturday night and saw Madeline, Glenn, Jason, and Larry there. I think we all left full!
Our Gathering Words were based on Psalm 37, urging us to always trust in God’s goodness. We have been using a belief statement called the 21st Century Affirmation, which carries on the long tradition of defining what the followers of Jesus maintain as true and hopeful. Today’s first song, “Onward, Christian Soldiers,” is a hymn I remember from when I was younger. It certainly speaks with determination, and Sue said we could march in place while singing. Our second song, the more modern “Hymn of Promise,” is one of the most beautiful in our hymnal. Our bulletin quote was from poet Amanda Gorman, fitting all today’s lessons together: “If we merge mercy with might, and might with right/ Then love becomes our legacy/ And change, our children’s birthright.”
The Gospel was a continuation of Jesus’ Sermon on the Plain, where he is telling his disciples that they must love their enemies. I glanced through my files, finding I have preached on those verses at least seven times in my 21-year ministerial career. It is such a difficult thing Jesus is asking of us that I decided to use the Old Testament lesson for today. This lesson came from Genesis 45, toward the end of the story of Joseph, when the brothers who had betrayed him come to Egypt for aid. Several writers called this wonderful story of forgiveness and reconciliation a novella, or short novel. This story of jealousy and despair could easily have ended in revenge, but it didn’t. And though I tried to avoid Jesus’ hard words all week, I was constantly confronted with the idea that we must forgive those who have wronged us: As Christians we must be part of the reconciling world.
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.
