Pastor’s Letter: February 13

Pastor’s Letter: February 13

11 Feb 2022 | Posted by: chadmin

The February 13 bulletin is available online. 

Dear friend,

The words of the Prophet Jeremiah challenge us to reflect on who we trust most. Trust is the foundation for any successful relationship. The more we trust someone, the more hope we have they will fulfill their promises. Those that we trust we rely upon. Every human person trusts the self. It is commonsensical to trust the self, as we know ourselves best. We know our motivations, desires, abilities and most of all our personal reliability. The question that the Prophet Jeremiah proposes in this weekend’s readings is do we trust ourselves or God more? “Cursed in the one who trusts in human beings, who seeks strength in the flesh.” This biblical point is not aimed at distrusting the self or another, nor does it diminish the importance of trusting relationship; but, it is about who we trust most. If we trust in human beings most, it leads to pride, vainglory, honor, prestige, and recognition. These are all fleeting aspects of the material world and ones that don’t have eternal significance. Trusting in God, however, is about seeking the wisdom that is eternally reliable. Trusting in God is like putting our roots in the river of God’s grace. The wise person trusts God over self and others. The wise one allows the wisdom of God in Scripture and Theology to guide all decisions on what matters most in life. It is important that we grow our trust in ourselves and building trusting relationships but most importantly it is life giving to trust that God loves us best. God is the only one who truly wills our personal good, no matter how supportive or challenging. May we seek to grow our trust in God, who all of our relationships of trust are strengthened and filtered by.

The Beatitudes are often described as the New Testament commandments of Jesus. Moses went up the mountain and received the Ten Commandments. By comparison, Jesus gives the Beatitudes as part of the Gospel teaching as a means to assess the success of one’s life. This Sunday we read the Beatitudes as recorded in the Gospel of Luke. I often wonder how many times Jesus gave certain talks. No matter the subject field today, we often see presenters perfecting one or two talks and delivering those talks over and over at different conferences, to different crowds. Many of the stories of Jesus are personal and particular to the situation, but there are some that could have been repeated to the many different crowds Jesus encountered throughout his ministry. I find it interesting to look for deeper meaning in the truth revealed by Christ. Have a great week.

God bless,

Father David