Jesus says: “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.”
The recent acts of violence, threats and intimidation in our community are abhorrent. We can point fingers at the perpetrators, but as a community we had a hand in raising them and a hand in shaping the world of inequality around us. What are we going to do to for a different future for our children and grandchildren? Jesus calls us to a love that includes repentance, reconciliation and sacrifice. As he laid down his life for us, we are to lay down our lives for others. If we love only the people within our circle or who share a common culture or characteristics, we fall short of the goodness God has created us for. The only way out is love: deep, abiding, unafraid, patient and enduring love. A love that sees others unlike ourselves and seeks understanding, connection and mutual goals. Love that calls us to account for the apathy, prejudice, fear and self-interest that has laid the groundwork for the terror that is breaking out everywhere around us. Love is willing to work to reshape our priorities, laws and choices to bring justice and peace to all the inhabitants of our city. True love will not rest until all of God’s children in our community share the same sense of security, belonging and opportunity that currently only a portion of us enjoy.
Join us for worship on Ascension Sunday, May 28th with Pastor Greg Ikehara-Martin at 10:30am. He will be preaching on Luke 24:44-53 and Acts 1:1-11, “The Plan Just God Bigger.” Jesus is sending upon us what our Father promises: You will be clothed with power from on high. (Luke 24:49)
