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Visit our Sunday worship services at 8 or 10:30 am. Sunday school and adult Bible class at 9:15. We are "Making Christ Known" by faith, worship and witness to get the message of Jesus Christ to all people.

September 2018

On: By: Rev. G. Michael Rose

“The wind blows where it wills, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know whence it comes or whither it goes; so it is with every one who is born of the Spirit.” John 3:8

 

Dear Redeemer Family:

If you are wondering why I chose the above verse, it’s simple. I needed a text about the weather, and that is the one which sprang to mind! But, the text does point out something poignant; with all of our knowledge and technology, around here, it’s about 50% guess work! As I write this, we are still in August. But, it has rained several days this week. The Dog Days of Summer are soaking wet. Not to mention that we kind of skipped Spring (about a week does not a Spring make) this year and went straight to Summer. We are living in strange times. Still, there are things that we do know, and can predict.

 

Autumn comes as a signal that inevitable winter lies ahead. To many, especially those of us in this northern hemisphere, autumn’s cool, crisp air is a welcome relief from summer heat. I can’t wait. And its brilliant colors are a thing of beauty. I believe that autumn is the prettiest of the seasons by far. In the churches and communities, this season is also a gathering back in from summer activity, the start of a new school and church program year. The outside air is different, and so is the pace. But just when we think the earth is undergoing its seasonal death, seeds are being planted for new growth; in the soil and in the people.

 

Parker Palmer writes that faced with inevitable winter, autumn “scatters the seed that will bring new growth in the spring. And she scatters them with amazing abandon.” He admits that he is rarely aware of the seeds being planted. He is more focused on the green growth of summer browning and dying, “My delight in the autumn colors is always tinged with melancholy, a sense of impending loss that is only heightened by the beauty all around. I am drawn down by the prospect of death more than I am lifted by the hope of new life.”

 

In a paradox, opposites don’t negate each other, he reminds us. “They cohere in mysterious unity at the heart of reality. We live in a culture that prefers the ease of either/or thinking, and have a difficult time holding opposites together. We want light without darkness, the glories of spring and summer without the demands of autumn and winter.”

 

As we move into autumn, let us allow the paradox of darkness and light to just be. The two will conspire to bring wholeness and health to every living thing. As we experience living and dying, dying and living, our lives will be real and colorful, fruitful and whole. Let’s enjoy our seasons as they come, and look towards those whose coming they foretell. Enjoy the blessed season, whatever it may be.

 

In Christ,

Pastor Rose

July 2018

On: By: Rev. G. Michael Rose

“Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.” Luke 12:27

 

Dear Redeemer Family:

I was driving out in the county the other day, and my eye was caught by some large cream colored flowers. I thought that they were beautiful. I have a weakness for flowers, and especially wildflowers. I think that in our society that they are highly underappreciated. I slowed down when I saw another group of these cream colored gems on the road, and took a closer look. They were yucca. The yucca plant is blooming all over the place. Now, I know many people don’t like yucca. Like I said, it’s a wildflower (closer to a cactus really). People don’t like them in their yards. They can take over parts of your yard and gardens, and their roots can go down 25 feet, so they are a real nuisance to try to get rid of. But there is another side to the yucca. It’s used in many skin products. You often find it listed as an ingredient in soaps and shampoos. And most people don’t know that it is also used to treat some forms of cancers. It has proved effective on certain types of tumors. That’s not bad for a plant that so many people don’t like.

 

And that got me thinking about other things. One of the books that I’m reading is “Saints Behaving Badly.” I found it in the Clearance Section of Barnes and Noble for about a dollar. It tells the story of about twenty saints’ lives before they converted. So, it has chapters on St. Augustine, St. Francis, and other popular saints. But it also discusses the lives of people like St. Columba (if you’re Scottish, you know about him), and St. Olga (whom I had never heard of before). All of these people had very checkered pasts, and some, more so. These are not people that you would think of as persons who would dedicate their lives to the service of God and His people. These people were very much Wild! But each of them had events in their lives that caused them to turn around. In the Church, we call this repentance. And this led them to flower in the service of God. Their lives became stunningly beautiful. They were wild flowers. They just needed the right conditions to bloom.

 

I think of that when I meet people, good and bad. Faith is a journey. No one is born a saint, quite the opposite. We are all born in Original Sin. So, we are all born sinners. But with the call to faith, and spiritual development, we grow and faith and love of God. It is not always an easy nor quick process. It often takes a lifetime. And it usually includes a lot of mistakes and learning along the way. But along that faith journey, the saint-in-the-making also bears witness to the gifts and glory of God to those around them. Especially to those who knew them only as a “wildflower.”

 

When we run into someone whom we wonder about, who does things that we may consider inappropriate, or as a “wastrel,” as St. Francis was described in the book during is young life. Remember that perhaps they will change. Maybe something about us may lead to that event which causes them to change their lives. Because, sometimes, even without our knowledge, God will work even through us. We may be called to bring a wildflower into our garden. And it can be a beautiful thing when it blooms!

 

In Christ,

Pastor Rose