Be Still and Know

“I go among trees and sit still.

All my stirring becomes quiet

around me like circles on water.

My tasks lie in their places

where I left them, asleep like cattle.”

--Wendell Berry

I love this imagery… chances are you can also see it in your mind… a time to relax, feel the breeze, and breathe deeply. But the truth is rarely do we find ourselves near a patch of trees so we trudge on, dismissing the time to sit still. In Jewish tradition a person would take their prayer shawl and place it over their head. This was their way of “shutting out the world” and allowing the True Light to shine and to speak.

So what if today you set your timer for 15 minutes, 5 minutes, or even 3 minutes and shut out the noise, put down your to-do list and simply said, “God, I love you. God, I do not come with a fix-it list. I only come because I love you.” And what if you simply sat still and let come what may?

Would you find a moment to reconnect to what is important? Would you find the direction to help settle the conflict in your schedule or your heart? Would you sense God’s love for you? Would you sense a call to embrace that love?

There’s only one way to find out.

Pastor Jo

October 4, 2022

A Day Full of Choices

Sunday we had the opportunity to see how our church’s core values intersect with scripture and with our individual choices. As I pondered that experience in my morning prayer time I thought of the temptations Jesus encountered during his 40 days in the wilderness.

Like those 40 days and numerous times afterwards, Jesus made choices. And isn’t that what temptations are for us — choices?

Today you and I are free to choose gossip and harsh judgment of others. We are free to choose selfishness and self-serving motives. We are free to choose complaining and neglecting others. We also have the freedom to choose to resist the aforementioned options that do nothing to prove our love for Jesus or Jesus’ love for us.

This day offers us the opportunity to choose honor, faith, compassion, unity, and engagement. It is important to know that each choice we make will be a testimony to God and to one another what is truly important to us in the moment.

The choices sound simple enough, yet I am also reminded of Paul who confesses that at times he choses to do things he doesn’t want to do and ignores the things he wants to do. Saint Paul was a follower of Jesus who wanted nothing more than to bring God glory… and yet — even St. Paul struggled with choices. Paul also chose not to lean into excuses but to learn and grow in God’s love.

What will we do with our day full of choices?

Pastor Jo

September 12, 2022

A Reason for Hope

In his book, Humbler Faith, Bigger God, Samuel Wells writes, “There are plenty of reasons not to be a Christian, and yet I am one.” As Gretna UMC continues to explore what it means to truly live our church’s core values of honor, compassion, faith, engagement, and unity, we might also confess that there are plenty of reasons to ignore these values — especially when we feel challenged, or questioned, or ignored.

Yet, as Christians who strive to follow the life and teachings of Jesus, we find his path was constantly filled with challenges, questions, and reasons why he should be ignored and/or dismissed. Think about it: even for those of us who claim to be Christian, there are so many great reasons not to go to church, or not to follow Jesus’ example of honor, compassion, faith, engagement, or unity.

So, how are we to counter these reasons? Wells goes on to suggest that we are not to ignore or dismiss the reasons but to work our way through them until we are able to claim our own convictions, get honest about where we’ve gotten it wrong, and seek

“a renewed, gentler, yet even more dynamic faith.”

"But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord.

Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you

to give the reason for the hope that you have.

But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience…"

--1 Peter 3:15-16

That sounds reasonable.

Pastor Jo

August 23, 2022