Mid-Week Meet-Up: Intergenerational Sunday

Hi First Presbyterian Church,

It’s time for our Mid-Week Meet-Up! As you’ve read in the newsletter and heard from multiple “Moments for Generosity” during worship, our stewardship campaign is in full swing. As we look ahead to the culmination of the campaign on November 13th with Consecration Sunday, the next four weeks of worship will help us focus our attention. The theme of this year’s campaign is “Make a Difference,” and the focus of worship over the next four weeks will help us to see how it is that our ministry and life as a church makes a difference in our own lives and helps us to make a difference in the lives of others. Specifically, we’ll be looking at how mission, our relationships, our learning, and our worship makes a difference. I’m very excited to worship with you during this time, and I want to draw your attention to one Sunday in particular.

On November 6th, we will be having our very first “Intergenerational Sunday.” Families with children will remember that, on a few Sundays throughout the year during the 10:00 am service, the children of the church have historically been dismissed from Sunday School early to join their families back in the sanctuary so they can participate in Communion. Building on that idea this year, on Intergenerational Sunday, the children of the church will be staying in the sanctuary for the entire 10:00 am worship service. While we will be following a similar liturgy to what we traditionally use during worship (with prayers, scripture, hymns, music, and a sermon), the worship service will also be more interactive and more accessible for our younger worshipers. At the beginning of worship, there will be prayer stations in the sanctuary that worshipers will be invited to go to and take something back with them to their seats (something to color or create). Then, after the sermon, when we take the offering, worshipers will be invited to come to the front of the sanctuary to bring whatever they’ve created during the service and present it as an offering to God. While the service is being designed with the participation of children in mind, it is also something that everyone – no matter their age – will be able to participate in meaningfully.

November 6th is also All Saints Sunday, the day of the year when we remember all the beloved church friends we’ve lost over the last twelve months. The children will help us to remember our dearly departed during worship.

I believe the next four weeks of worship – and November 6th in particular – will be very special and meaningful times of worship. I hope you will join us.

Peace to you,

Pastor Aaron

Mid-Week Meet-Up: Good Samaritan

Hi First Presbyterian Church,

It’s time for our Mid-Week Meet-Up! I recently started a study of the parables of Jesus with my Wednesday Night Bible Study, and, when we started it, I didn’t assume I would enjoy it as much as I actually am! The genius, ethics, and heart of Jesus come through so clearly in his parables.

Last week, we studied the parable of the Good Samaritan, which is obviously a very widely known story. However, because it is so widely known and, therefore, sometimes adapted, the original meaning of the parable is sometimes lost. For example, people often give excuses for the priest and the Levite who simply walked by without helping the man who was beaten by the robbers and left for dead. Since they were religious clergy, it is often said that they must have been on their way to perform a religious duty and didn’t want to defile themselves by touching what appeared to be a corpse. However, they were heading “from Jerusalem to Jericho" (Luke 10:30), away from the Temple, demonstrating that they were not on their way to perform a religious rite. Not to mention the fact that Jewish thought at the time said just the opposite: “As long as there are no other people to look after the burial of a corpse, the duty is incumbent on the first Jew that passes by, without exception, to perform the burial” (from the Jerusalem Talmud Nazir 56a). What does this mean? It means here is the point Jesus is making: the priest and the Levite were obligated to try to save a life but failed to do so. The only one who fulfilled their moral and religious obligation was a Samaritan.

We shouldn't allow the fact that the hero of this story is a Samaritan to be lost on us. Samaritans and Jews hated each other and, honestly, their hatred of one another was sometimes “reasonably” founded. The Samaritans tried to stop the Jews from building their Temple in Jerusalem after they returned from exile (Nehemiah 4:1-8). They tried to kill each other, too (Nehemiah 6:2). Jews and Samaritans didn’t just find it difficult to tolerate each other. They hated each other! So for Jesus to tell a parable in which a Samaritan was the hero and more moral than the Jewish priest and Levite was not only scandalous – it was incendiary! Let me see if I can help you understand what I mean. If Jesus were telling this parable today to a group of Americans from the political far-right, the hero of the parable might have been a member of Antifa. If Jesus were telling this parable today to a group of Americans from the political far-left, the hero of the parable might have been a MAGA Republican. Can you feel the rhetorical effect of this parable now?

What do we make of a parable like this? I think it’s safe to assume that Jesus wants us to put away prejudice and refrain from making quick judgments of others. But I think it’s more than that, too. I think Jesus is trying to get us to humanize our enemies. I think Jesus is helping us to see that not only are we expected to love our enemies, but our enemies are capable of loving us, too. If it’s hard for you to see that, just remember that with faith and prayer… anything is possible.
Peace to you,

Pastor Aaron

Mid-Week Meet-Up: Phos Hilaron

Hi First Presbyterian Church,
It's time for our Mid-Week Meet-Up! Last night as Laura and I were putting our kids to bed, I looked out the window and was surprised to see how dark the evening had become. It seems our journey toward the winter solstice is becoming more and more noticeable as the days become shorter and shorter. I was reflecting on the darkness of the evening and was trying to recall some facts I had learned once about our galaxy. With some help from NASA’s website, here is what I came up with.

• The galaxy we live in (the Milky Way Galaxy) is made up of other galaxies that our galaxy has consumed, and, in fact, the Milky Way is still consuming other galaxies.

• Even though the Milky Way Galaxy is an averaged-sized galaxy, it has over 200 billion stars in it!

• On average, each of the 200 billion stars in our galaxy has at least one planet orbiting it.

Those facts are mesmerizing and awe-inducing, and they also cause me to think about how light is used as a metaphor for Christ throughout the Bible. In John 8:12, Jesus said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.” In 1 John 1:5, we’re told that “God is light and in him there is no darkness at all.” And similarly, we’re told that because of our relationship with Christ, we ourselves are light. In Matthew 5:14, Jesus says about us, “You are the light of the world.” In Ephesians 5:8, were are told that “you were once darkness, but now, in the Lord, you are light.”

Our minds sometimes trick us into believing that whatever is true for us at any given moment must be true everywhere and forever. When we feel discouraged and defeated, we may feel like saying, “I guess my life is a failure.” When we feel isolated and alone, we may feel like saying, “My life is destined for loneliness.” When we feel overwhelmed and oppressed, we may feel like saying, “There is no escape from the pressure.” But there is another way…

It’s going to start looking dark outside tonight around 7:00. It may feel like the darkness will stay forever, but let me remind you. There are 200 billion other suns in our galaxy that are shining their lights down on you! Our own sun is shining its light on the other side of the world, and, as surely as the sun will rise in the morning, God’s love and mercy are new every morning. Shine your own light into someone else’s darkness, and know that God’s light shines down on you. You are never alone.

Here are the words of a beautiful and ancient hymn called Phos Hilaron (“The Light that Gladdens”), originally written in Koine Greek but translated into English.

O radiant light, O sun divine,
Of God the Father's deathless face,
O image of the light sublime
That fills the heavenly dwelling place.

O Son of God, the source of life,
Praise is your due by night and day.
Our happy lips must raise the strain
of your esteemed and splendid name.

Lord Jesus Christ, as daylight fades,
As shine the lights of eventide,
We praise the Father with the Son,
The Spirit blest and with them one.

Remember the light of God, my friends!

Peace to you,

Pastor Aaron

Mid-Week Meet-Up: New Member Sunday

Hi First Presbyterian,

It’s time for our Mid-Week Meet-Up! (This is coming to you a day late because our mass email service's server was under maintenance, and I wasn't able to send it until now.) With our Homecoming so recently behind us and having seen so many new faces among the familiar faces, I am very excited to offer another new members class this Fall. People continue to express an interest in wanting to become members of our congregation, which is a sign that the Holy Spirit continues to work among us! This three-session class is required for anyone who wants to become a member of the congregation; however, anyone who simply wants to learn more about the current vision of the church is welcome to attend the class, too. The class will be offered at 11:30 am following the worship services on October 9th, October 16th, and October 23rd. The class on October 9th will answer the question: “What does it mean to be a Presbyterian?” The class on October 16th will answer the questions: “Why become a member of a church?” and “Why become a member of this congregation?” In the final class on October 23rd, we’ll tie up loose ends and take a “Spiritual Gifts Assessment.” New Member Sunday (when a prospect’s membership becomes official) will be October 30th, which is also Reformation Sunday – how cool! If you want to become a member or if you are interested in attending the classes, please let me know!

As I frequently say, one thing I love about the Presbyterian theology of church membership is that membership and faith in Jesus Christ are integrally tied together. To become a member of the church, a person must profess to trust in God’s mercy, to turn from sin and renounce evil, to trust in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, to commit to live in obedience to Jesus, and to devote themselves to the life of the church. I can’t think of a better way to celebrate the work the Holy Spirit is doing among us than to profess our renewed commitment to Christ!

Peace to you,

Pastor Neff

Mid-Week Meet-Up: Hymn Sing

Hi First Presbyterian Church,

It’s time for our Mid-Week Meet-Up! It was so great to see so many of you at the outdoor blessing of the animals service on Sunday. It was – of course – just as great to see so many of your household pets at the service. There many dogs. I think I saw a cat. There was even a cockatoo! The weather was nice and comfortable, and all the animals were so well-behaved. What a remarkable and blessed time! I pray all in attendance will have left will a renewed love for all of God’s creation and a commitment to live in a more intentional relationship to it.

This Sunday concludes our Homecoming series with our much-anticipated hymn sing. We asked you send in your favorite hymns, and over 40 different hymns were submitted! If we don’t sing the hymn you submitted this Sunday, don’t worry! We’ll be including your favorites into our worship over the coming weeks and months. So – you won’t want to miss a Sunday!

The service on Sunday will be structured differently than our traditional order of worship. There won’t be a sermon, but Pastor Erin and I will be offering brief theological reflections throughout the service. There will be more scripture lessons. And – of course – the highlight of the service will be all the singing! The chancel choir will be singing. The children’s choir will be singing. And you will be singing many of your favorite hymns throughout the service. I am so excited for worship, and I hope you’ll be there to experience it.

If you haven’t “come home” to see your church family during our Homecoming series, I hope you’ll decide to do that this week. Two weeks ago, we had our annual church picnic and were reminded that families have fun together. Last week, we had our blessing of the animals service and were reminded (with some help from Francis of Assisi) that our church family includes our animals. On Sunday, we’ll be reminded that our family sings together. Singing together is one of the most distinctive aspects of Christian worship. Traditions of worship have changed and evolved over the past 2,000 years, but one thing has remained true throughout that time – the family of God sings together.

Come to worship on Sunday and be renewed by your faith and your family.

Peace to you,

Pastor Aaron

Mid-Week Meet-Up: Blessing of the Animals Service

Hi First Presbyterian Church,

It’s time for our Mid-Week Meet-Up! Our Homecoming has begun, and it was wonderful seeing so many of you in worship and at the picnic on Sunday! In two Sundays, our Homecoming concludes with a hymn-sing during worship at both services. You’ve submitted your favorite hymns and the staff are busy putting together a service structured around those hymns. It’s going to be a great time of worship!

Don’t forget that this Sunday is our blessing of the animals service. The 8:30am service will take place in the sanctuary as usual. Please do not bring your animals to the 8:30am. Your household animals are welcome and encouraged to participate in our 10:00am worship service, which will be held on our Church Street lawn. Bring your own chair to sit in. Please keep your animal(s) with you during the entire service. If you feel as though (for any reason) that you cannot bring your animals to worship, I encourage you to bring a photo of them instead. You will still be able to have your animals prayed for and blessed even if you only bring a photo.

There is a chance that it may rain on Sunday; although, at this point, the forecast shows comfortable and cloudy weather. In the event of inclement weather on Sunday morning, you will receive an email from me (on Saturday) indicating that the service will be moving inside the sanctuary. If the service does move into the sanctuary, I ask that everyone leave their animals at home and only bring a photo of them instead. If you do not receive an email from me on Saturday, please assume that the service will continue as planned outside.

I encourage everyone to come in-person to the outdoor service at 10:00am; however, if you cannot come in-person and will be worshiping online, please be prepared for a very different livestream experience. As we will need to livestream the service from outside, the quality of the livestream may be affected. I encourage anyone worshiping from home to find Sunday’s bulletin on the website (www.pittsfordpres.org/live) after it is posted on Friday and print it off for yourself, as this may make following the service easier for you.

I also want to remind you that, during Sunday's service, we will be offering a prayer of lament for all of our households who have recently lost pets. If you would like your animal remembered during this prayer of lament, you have until the end of TODAY to send the name of your animal and the name of their person to connect@pittsfordpres.org.

I am so happy to be “coming home” with so many of you. I can’t wait to meet your furry family members on Sunday!

From your brother in the family of God,

Pastor Aaron

Mid-Week Meet-Up: Hymns and Animals

Hi First Presbyterian Church,

It’s time for our Mid-Week Meet-Up! Our Homecoming begins this Sunday, and I can hardly wait for it! I am eager to see so many of you in worship at 8:30 and 10:00 and then for the church picnic at 11:00. Worship will be joyful and celebratory, and you will have an opportunity to reconnect with your friends and meet new people at the picnic. Come home to your church family this Sunday!

I want to mention two things about the rest of our Homecoming series. 1) We have more than enough hymn selections for our hymn-sing on September 25. Thank you for your submissions and for the meaningful reasons you also gave as to why your selection is your favorite hymn. At this point, we won’t be able to include all of the hymn submissions into the hymn-sing, but we will include as many as we can and incorporate the rest of them into the worship services that follow. If you would still like to submit a hymn, you have until this Friday and can do so by clicking this link.

2) On September 18, we will be having a blessing of the animals liturgy during the 10:00 service outside on the Church Street lawn. Please bring a chair and your household pets to have blessed and prayed for during the service. If you feel it is not safe to bring your pet to the service but would still like to be included in the blessing liturgy, I encourage you to bring a photo of your pet to use during the service, instead. I also realize that many of you may have recently lost a pet. I would like to remember you and your departed animal during our time of prayer. If you would like your departed animal to be included in the prayer, please send their name and the name of their person(s) to connect@pittsfordpres.org by Wednesday, September 14.

This Homecoming is sure to be meaningful, fun, and full of joy. I look forward to seeing you!

Peace,

Pastor Aaron

Mid-Week Meet-Up: September Hymn Sing

Hi First Presbyterian Church,

It’s time for our Mid-Week Meet-Up! It’s good to be back with you after spending some time away on vacation and study leave. Today is the last day of August. Tomorrow begins the month of September, and, before you know it, we’ll be in full swing with school schedules, work routines, sports events, and, of course, our church program year. As I mentioned in the Mid-Week Meet-Up last week, we are beginning our program year with a special three-week Homecoming worship series. We’ll kick-off the program year with our church picnic on September 11 after the 10:00am service, complete with food, fun, and fellowship! Worship on September 18 will include a blessing of the animals service during the 10:00am service, which will take place on the Church Street lawn. Bring a chair and bring your household animals to be prayed for and blessed during the service! The Homecoming series will end on September 25 with a hymn-sing during worship. Worship on that day will be filled with verses of your favorite hymns spread throughout the service.

In order to prepare for the hymn-sing on September 25, we need to know: What are your favorite hymns? To help you answer that question, we’ve prepared a simple questionnaire with just two questions: 1) Name your top favorite hymn. 2) What is it your top favorite hymn? By clicking the following link, you can let us know your favorite hymn and you’ll be helping us to put together the service for September 25. (By the way, if you’re wondering about the “Worship Survey” you received earlier this month, many of you completed it [thank you!], and we’re combing through all your submissions and determining how to meaningfully respond to your feedback.)

Favorite Hymn Questionnaire

I am very excited about our Homecoming series, and I hope to see all of you in September!

Peace to you,

Pastor Aaron

Mid-Week Meet-Up: Homecoming

Hi First Presbyterian Church,

It’s time for our Mid-Week Meet-Up! I’ll be back to work next week, but I'm out on study leave this week.

In the meantime, I want to give you the inside scoop on the article I wrote for the church newsletter being published later this month. The article is about some very exciting events planned for worship in September, and so I wanted you to get the news as soon as possible. Here’s your advance copy of my newsletter article!

After a long day of work, it can be very comforting to pull into your driveway, step out of your car, and walk into your house. It is a joy to be greeted by your loved ones, to pet your animals, or to just take in the familiar sounds and smells. At its best, home is about family, and coming home is good.

One thing that I love about the church is that, from its very beginning, its members have viewed each other as family. In those early years, converting to Christianity was controversial and, sometimes, converts were forced to choose between either their families or the church. Often, they chose the church, leading to being rejected by their families, making the church the only family they had. It’s no wonder the church was called the “household of faith” (Galatians 6:10), and early Christians called themselves “brothers” and “sisters” (Colossians 1:2), Christ their “brother” (Hebrews 2:11), and God their “father” (Galatians 4:6). This way of talking about the church has stuck over the centuries, because, when it is healthy, the church is where we have our most important relationships. The church is a family, and First Presbyterian Church is our household within that family.

Right now, approximately half of our congregation worships together in-person and the other half worships remotely. COVID is not behind us yet, and some of you have serious and legitimate reasons to continue worshiping remotely. However, I have also heard from many of you who have said that these past two years of COVID have put you out of the habit of attending worship in-person. You would like to begin worshiping in-person again, but it’s difficult restarting a broken habit. That’s why, in September, the Worship & Music Committee will be hosting a three-week “Homecoming” event. The purpose of the “Homecoming” will be to encourage us to see the church as a family, and home is where our family is.

On September 11, we will be having our annual Kickoff Sunday, including the church picnic that follows the 10:00 service. “Family’s have fun together!” On September 18, we will be having a blessing of the animals service at the 10:00 service. The entire service will take place on our Church Street lawn, because you will have the opportunity to bring your pets to church so they can be prayed for and blessed during worship. “Our families include our animals!” Then, on September 25, our worship at both services will be a hymn-sing. In the weeks leading up to that service, you will have the opportunity to tell us what your favorite hymn is and why. Then, we will incorporate those hymns into our service. There will be lots of singing and music that day! “Families sing together, and these are our songs!”

There will be more information coming to you about these services as the dates get closer. For now, mark your calendars and, if you can, make plans to come home to see your church family!

The newsletter will also include a full-page insert promoting the Homecoming events for you to put on your refrigerator. I hope to see you there!

Peace to you,
Pastor Aaron

Mid-Week Meet-Up: Rain is a Gift from God

Hi First Presbyterian Church,

It’s time for our Mid-Week Meet-Up! This is another pre-written and scheduled email coming your way, because I’m tent-camping with my family this week at Stony Brook State Park. I had planned to send you something else this week, but I changed my mind when I saw the weather forecast. For the second year in a row, we’re going to get rained on while we camp! As dry as it’s been this summer, I can hardly believe my eyes as I sit looking at the rain forecasted for much of the week in Dansville. Oh well! At least we know that the next time we’re in a drought, just send the Neffs camping - it’ll be sure to rain a lot!

 As I sit here thinking about rain and the fact that, despite the inconvenience for my family, we are in desperate need it, I’m reminded of a hymn I came across that talks about rain, God’s wisdom, and salvation. It’s beautiful lyrics we’re written by an Anglican priest and hymn-writer named Christopher Idle. I hope you enjoy the hymn “Rain on the Earth.”

Rain on the earth by heaven's blessing,

showers for the land from laden sky,

water for well and spring and river:

God grant us rain, or else we die!

Rain is your gift for wise or wicked,

humans and cattle, herb and tree;

praise for its promise and its warning,

showing your wisdom, flowing free!

Come to our world of drought and flooding;

hold back their danger and their fear;

dwell in the lands of dearth or drowning.

help them and save them by our care.

Early or late, on hill and valley,

thunderous torrent, gentle mist:

visit in mercy, not in judgement;

this is our prayer, who pray in Christ.

God send us rain, to green our pastures,

feeding our flocks, our fields and grain;

God fill our streams in all due seasons:

God of all grace, grant us good rain!

Peace to you,

Pastor Aaron

Mid-Week Meet-Up: The Mystery of God

Hi First Presbyterian Church,

It's time for our Mid-Week Meet-Up! It seemed my sermon on Sunday about the theological “problem of suffering” resonated with many of you. I’m grateful for that. Since then, I’ve heard from some you offering feedback and one congregant asked a follow-up question. I figure I’d address that question publicly so that the rest of you might also benefit (hopefully).

In my sermon, while discussing the mystery of God described in Colossians, I said, “We are in Christ; indeed, everything is in Christ, and yet – somehow – Christ is also in us… Everything is surrounded by God, and yet God is also deep down inside everything as well.” (As a side note, I am a regular blog contributor for the Presbyterian Outlook, and I recently wrote an article for them on this topic. You can click here, if you’d like to read that article.) In response to the idea of Christ being in everything, one of you asked me: Does this mean Christ is even within non-Christians? Here is my short answer to that question: Yes.

Now I should clarify that I don’t mean to suggest something like universalism, but, rather, that God must be within everything in order for it to exist at all. Let me explain. First, notice that I am not saying that God is everything; I am saying that God is within everything. To say “God is everything” would be a heresy (specifically, the heresy called pantheism). To believe that God is within everything is rooted in two of God’s attributes: 1) God is the Creator, and 2) God is omnipresent (i.e., everywhere at all times). As the Creator, God is the sole source of life of everything in the universe. So, in this sense, even inanimate objects like rocks have “life” from God because they exist. Even more, scripture describes how living creatures like animals (Genesis 7:22) and humans (Genesis 2:7) are animated by the very breath of God.” There is no place in creation where God is not present (Psalm 137:7-12), and, in fact, we have a word to describe when God is absent – "death" (the opposite of life). It is because God is omnipresent that God is the source of life.

So then why do we talk about the Holy Spirit “coming” at Pentecost or a person “receiving” the Holy Spirit in baptism? Was the Holy Spirit not here before Pentecost? Did the person not have the Holy Spirit before baptism? If God is (as I said above) truly omnipresent and the source of all life, then the answer to those last two questions must be “no.”

So then what is the difference between a Christian and a non-Christian as it relates to the Holy Spirit? Let’s use baptism as an example to answer that question. In baptism, what we are really doing is acknowledging a new awareness of God’s pre-existing presence. In other words, when we baptism a baby, that baby’s parents (and, indeed, the whole congregation) is saying, “God has claimed this child as his own, and it is our job to help this child learn that God’s Spirit is within her, within her parents, within the church, within creation itself, and within the scriptures.” However, just because God’s Spirit is within us all doesn’t mean all of us are aware of that fact or even care about that fact! The purpose of Christianity is for us to become aware of that fact and to care about it! The mystery of God is all around us. Are we paying attention?

Now, of course, there is SO MUCH more I could say about this, but, for now, I hope I have given you some meaningful answers to your questions. More importantly, I hope I have given you more questions. After all, how could I possibly explain a mystery?

Peace to you,
Pastor Aaron

Mid-Week Meet-Up: God's Voice

Hi First Presbyterian Church,
It’s time for our Mid-Week Meet-Up! My family and I are driving back from Wisconsin today, so I’ve automated this message to go out to you. But I wanted to reflect on something that happened to me during my time away. During our trip to a family reunion in Green Bay, we made a few stops along the way to reconnect with friends and to discover some new places. We stopped in Wheaton (where Laura and I met), Chicago, Milwaukee, and Indiana Dunes National Park. If you’ve never been to the Indiana Dunes, I highly recommend it! It’s one of our newest national parks, and it is awesome! In addition to magnificent sand dunes, it has beautiful beaches along Lake Michigan. You can look out over the lake and see the skyline of Chicago!
Well, we stopped for a couple days to enjoy the beaches of the national park. Now, if we’re all being honest, I think many people don’t like to be seen in their swimsuits. I’m not immune from that, and it’s sometimes hard not to think that everyone is looking at me when I’m at the beach. However, I discovered something interesting during this particular beach visit.
I’ve been dealing with an eye infection for the past week, and one thing that has meant is that I haven’t been able to wear my contact lenses. I don’t have prescription sunglasses, so, if I’m not wearing my contact lenses, I can’t wear sunglasses and expect to see very well. While we were at the beach, I was wearing my normal prescription glasses, but the sun was so bright that it was hurting my eyes (even more because of my eye infection). So, I decided to take off my normal glasses and to wear my non-prescription sunglasses. It was a huge relief to my eyes, but I couldn’t see anything very clearly… including the other people around me! I couldn’t see whether they were looking at me with judgment, with approval, or if they were even looking at me at all! Do you know what happened inside me as a result? I felt so much more present with my family and able to enjoy my time with them more fully! The only difference in my experience happened inside myself. The same beach and the same weather would have been there regardless of whether or not I was wearing my prescription glasses. The same crowd would have been there regardless of whether or not I was wearing my prescription glasses. My family would have been there regardless of whether or not I was wearing my prescription glasses. The only difference was my eyewear and the fact I couldn’t see very well!
Maybe this is silly thing to reflect on, but it really made me realize how much I sometimes worry about other people’s opinions. I have a feeling I’m not alone in that. What if we didn’t worry about what other people see when they look at us? What if we didn’t worry about other people’s opinions of us? What if the only opinion we cared about was God’s, who says about each one of us, “I love you no matter what”? If that was true, I think life would be a lot like my experience at the beach. We would be able to enjoy ourselves and the people we care about more. We could be more fully present in each moment of life. And we would discover that other people’s opinions of us don’t actually matter that much after all.
My prayer for you today is that the loudest voice you hear in life is God’s voice of love and embrace.
Peace to you,

Pastor Aaron

Mid-Week Meet-Up: God is with us

Hi First Presbyterian Church,

 It’s time for our Mid-Week Meet-Up! I’m on my way to Wisconsin for a family reunion, so I scheduled this weeks’ meet-up to be sent in advance. One of the lections for this Sunday is Colossians 2:6-15. In verse 9, Paul says something very interesting and powerful: “In [Christ] the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily.” In saying this, I think Paul is saying that, while born a human, the fullness of God’s divinity also dwelled in him. This is the sort of thing we like to talk about around Christmas, when we remember the way by which God became human. As I was reading this verse, an idea came to me – Christmas in July! So, for our meet-up today, I’d like to share with you a not-widely-known Christmas hymn by modern hymn-writer Marty Haugen. In this hymn, called “Carol at the Manger,” the theme of Colossians 2:9 comes through loud and clear. Enjoy!

 Holy Child within the manger,
long ago yet ever near;
come as friend to every stranger,
come as hope for every fear.
As you lived to heal the broken,
greet the outcast, free the bound,
as you taught us love unspoken,
teach us now where you are found.

 Once again we tell the story--
how your love for us was shown,
when the image of your glory
wore an image like our own.
Come, enlighten with your wisdom,
come and fill us with your grace.
May the fire of your compassion
kindle every land and race.

 Holy Child within the manger,
lead us ever in your way,
so we see in every stranger
how you come to us today.
In our lives and in our living
give us strength to live as you,
that our hearts might be forgiving
and our spirits strong and true.

 May the hope of Immanuel – “God with us” – live in us every day!

Peace to you,

Pastor Aaron

Mid-Week Meet-Up: The Cross of Jesus

Hi First Presbyterian Church,

It’s time for our Mid-Week Meet-Up! I’m on vacation this week, so I automated this week’s note to be sent before I left. I’m still reflecting on my sermon text from this past Sunday – Galatians 6:1-16. In particular, I’m reflecting on verse 14: “May I never boast of anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.” There is an old, lesser known hymn that focuses on the theme of the cross of Christ and how special and powerful it is for followers of Christ. Elizabeth Cecilia Clephane, a Scottish hymnwriter from the nineteenth century, wrote the following stanzas for a hymn entitled, “Beneath the Cross of Christ.” I hope you are encouraged by them!

 Beneath the cross of Jesus
I fain would take my stand,
the shadow of a mighty Rock
within a weary land;
a home within the wilderness,
a rest upon the way,
from the burning of the noontide heat
and the burden of the day.

 Upon the cross of Jesus
mine eye at times can see
the very dying form of One
who suffered there for me.
And from my stricken heart with tears
two wonders I confess:
the wonders of redeeming love
and my unworthiness.

 I take, O cross, thy shadow
for my abiding place.
I ask no other sunshine than
the sunshine of his face,
content to let the world go by,
to know no gain nor loss,
my sinful self my only shame,
my glory all the cross.

 Peace to you,

Pastor Aaron

Mid-Week Meet-Up: Predestination and Free Will

Hi First Presbyterian,
It’s time for our Mid-Week Meet-Up! If you’ve been worshiping with us on Sundays, you know that I’ve recently been preaching on freedom through Christ, which Paul writes about in the book of Galatians. Tonight during my Bible Study, I’ll be addressing the questions, “Is human free will the result of all the evil on earth?” and “Will we have free will in the next life?” As I sit here this week dwelling on these concepts of freedom in Christ as described in Galatians and the questions of human free will we’ll be answering in Bible Study, I’m acutely aware of another question: “What is the relationship between God’s predestination and human free will?” As Reformed Presbyterians, we traditionally have held to the belief in predestination, that God has chosen us for salvation before we were ever even aware of our need for salvation (“before the foundations of the world,” Ephesians 1:4) and that, based on God’s foreknowledge and sovereignty, God has indeed predetermined all of human history. Many theologians throughout history have drawn out slight nuances in the doctrine of predestination and many have held to the doctrine with varying degrees of acceptance. I don’t personally believe in predestination the way that John Calvin (and other sixteenth-century Reformers) described it. I tend to agree more with the twentieth-century Swiss Reformed theologian Karl Barth’s concept of it. Without getting into the nitty-gritty of the differences in how the doctrine has been expressed over time, I want to simply reflect with you on the question, “What is the relationship between God’s predestination and human free will?”

I’ve been repeating during my sermons recently the refrain from Galatians 5:1, “For freedom Christ has set us free.” So, what kind of freedom do we actually have, if we’re all predestined and human history has been predetermined? Aren’t we all just sort of acting out the script of God’s master narrative? Even for Calvin who believed that all of human history is, indeed, predetermined (which I don’t necessarily agree with), he believed that humans do have self-determined, voluntary choice but that nothing humans choose is ever against God’s will (even it it’s evil). So, we can see, that even Calvin believed in some degree of human free will. Others who hold to a less strict definition of predestination that Calvin would obviously have more room than Calvin in their beliefs for the possibility of human free will.

For me, one of the most important aspects of the doctrine of predestination is that it is almost entirely philosophical and theoretical, as opposed to practical and experiential. In other words, as you and I try to go about living our lives, we have no way of knowing whether our choices are 100% our own or in some part predetermined by God. If they are predetermined by God, we really have little way to know that. For example, I thought it might be a good idea to write to you today about the relationship between free will and predestination. I assume having that idea is my own free choice, but perhaps God predetermined that I would send this email ong ago. I would have no way of knowing that. And so… the responsibility for our actions must ultimately remain our own, whether we believe in predestination or not! We cannot abdicate responsibility for our actions by claiming, “God made me do it!” any more than we can by claiming, “The devil made me do it!”

So here’s my encouragement to you today. Whether you are a Calvinist or not, you have freedom of choice. So…use whatever freedom you have to try to grow love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control in your lives, and trust that God’s grace will make your efforts effective.

Peace to you,

Pastor Aaron

Mid-Week Meet-Up: Summer Solstice

Hi First Presbyterian,

It’s time for our Mid-Week Meet-Up, and I want to begin by reminding you that this Sunday we go to our summer worship schedule of only one service at 9:30am. As has been the case recently at the 8:30am service, the balcony will be reserved as a masks-only sitting area during our 9:30am summer service. I hope to worship with you!

Yesterday was the first day of summer, which means it was the longest day of the year. Today, the daylight will be a little briefer than it was yesterday. Tomorrow it will be even briefer. I can’t help but think about the relationship of this solstice with the winter solstice. In recent years, we’ve been hosting “Blue Christmas” services on (or around) December 21, the winter solstice. The purpose of these services is to intentionally make space in our church life for people who may not be feeling like Christmastime is the “most wonderful time of the year,” because of grief they are experiencing. They may not experience Advent as filled with love, joy, peace, and hope – the characteristics we usually associate with the season – because they are feeling the pain of loss. This “Blue Christmas” service is alternatively called “The Longest Night” service, because of its associate with the winter solstice. The idea is that the night of the service is indeed the longest night of the year, and that all the nights that follow will be a little shorter. The night, like our grief, is real and very dark, but with each day that passes is the hope of more life on the other side of grief.

When it comes to the climate, the seasons occur on a cycle. Winter happens every year. Summer happens every year. By associating grief with the solstice cycle, are we suggesting that grief is also experienced in cycles – or is that stretching the connection too far? Does our grief “get better” and then “get worse” in the same way that winter turns to summer and then eventually back to winter? That may be stretching the analogy past its usefulness, but I do think it is true that we find ourselves in cycles of grief. Whether in connection to the same loss or multiple losses, we periodically find ourselves in seasons of grief and seasons of joy.

Yesterday was the shortest night of the year. Maybe your soul is experiencing a “summer solstice” right now. Be grateful for the season of joy you find yourself in, and hold onto to every moment that you have. Maybe your soul is experiencing a “winter solstice” right now. Take hope that it will get better.

No matter which season you’re experiencing today, the Lord of Life, who conquered death through his resurrection, is with you and offers to fill you with his love.

Peace to you,

Pastor Aaron

Mid-Week Meet-Up: Father's Day

Hi First Presbyterian,
It's time for our Mid-Week Meet-Up! I love the Parable of the Prodigal Son from Luke 15:11-32. However, I’m not really sure the focus of the parable is on the prodigal son, as much as it is on the son’s father. I think the parable should, instead, be called the Parable of the Magnanimous Father. With Father’s Day approaching, I think this is a wonderful parable on which to reflect.

If you look closely, you’ll notice that in Luke chapter 15, Luke puts three parables together that each have to do with losing something and then finding it. Luke compiles for us the Parable of the Lost Sheep (vv. 3-7), the Parable of the Lost Coin (vv. 8-10), and then the Parable of the Prodigal Son (vv. 11-32). In each parable, something is lost and found (a sheep, a coin, and a son - respectively), and then we’re told about the reaction of the one who had lost it (a shepherd, a woman, and a father – respectively). I think (generally speaking) these parables are supposed to be stories about our relationship with God, to the extent that, in each parable, the thing that is lost represents us and the one who lost it represents God. However, I don’t believe the point of the parable is about us – per se – but about God. I believe Jesus told these parables in order to teach us something about God, and what he teaches is actually kind of radical.

Consider the Parable of the Lost Sheep. A shepherd has one hundred sheep and loses one. In the parable, the shepherd then leaves the ninety-nine sheep in the desert and goes to find the one lost sheep. This parable is so familiar to most of us that we simply nod our head along as the story is told, without realizing that Jesus is actually saying something very ridiculous! The Judean desert is a very unforgiving place. It’s blazing hot. You or your sheep could easily, in a day, die of exhaustion. You or your sheep could fall to your death off the side of any number of steep rock faces. You or your sheep could be bitten by a poisonous desert reptile and die. And then there are the jackals, who would gladly eat you or your sheep. Shepherds were working to make a living, and their livelihood was invested in their sheep’s health. As a business owner, a shepherd had to do a cost-benefit analysis of his entire flock if he lost any of them. In the Parable of the Lost Sheep, the cost-benefit analysis leads to a very clear solution: Do not go after that one lost sheep! The shepherd should just cut his losses and leave well-enough alone. He would not only be risking his own life but also the lives of the ninety-nine sheep by leaving them unattended in the desert to go after the one lost sheep. Ancient listeners to the parable probably would have thought, “Jesus, it’s ridiculous to suggest that a shepherd would go after the one lost sheep!” And that’s exactly the reaction Jesus wanted to evoke from his listeners! Here’s the point that Jesus wants to make: God pursues with reckless abandon even those that the rest of us have written off as “too far gone” or as “not worth” saving! God’s love is radical and effusive.

The point is the same in the Parable of the Prodigal Son. After the son returns from wasting away his father’s inheritance, his father welcomes him with a lavish party. In ancient Israel, no father would have been expected to do such a thing for a child who treated him with such humiliation, disregard, and disrespect. The father in this parable is magnanimous and even recklessly loving.

As Father’s Day approaches, let me encourage those of you who are fathers to believe that our own children need to know that God’s love is like this, and the best way to teach them that lesson is to love them that way ourselves. Let’s be merciful, bighearted, accepting, and kind.

As Father’s Day approaches, I know that many of you are missing your fathers, your husbands, or your children. What Jesus tells us in these parables is that grief cannot push us beyond God’s attention. God sees you, feels your emptiness, and is pursuing you relentlessly. You are loved and not alone.

Peace to you,

Pastor Aaron

Mid-Week Meet-Up: Trinity

Hi First Presbyterian Church,

This Sunday is Trinity Sunday. I sometimes like to talk in detail about the Trinity in my sermon on Trinity Sunday, but I won’t be doing that this week. But because God’s triune nature is such an important aspect of who God is to Christians, I didn’t want to miss the opportunity to write to you about it today.

I’m going to take the risk of getting a little technical today. Hang in here with me.

What makes the persons of the Trinity distinct from one another? We say God is “one God in three persons.” Why isn’t the Trinity three distinct gods, instead of three “persons”? Or, if we look at it from the other perspective: What makes God one, despite having three persons?

I guess the fundamental question I’m asking is: Where do God’s “oneness” and “threeness” begin and end? Believe it or not, there is actually an answer to this question. I should say: Theologians have done their best to provide an answer to this question, and the answer has to do with God’s distinct interactions within himself and God’s interactions with the world. Theologians use Latin phrases ad intra and ad extra to differentiate between these two types of interactions.

Ad intra means “within” or “internally” and refers to the way that the persons of the Trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) relate to each other.

Ad extra means “outside” or “externally” and refers to the way that the persons of the Trinity relate to everything outside themselves.  

Here’s the bottom line: The primary distinction between the three persons of the Trinity (and the reason Christians even insist that there are three persons instead of just one person) is found in God’s ad intra relationships (i.e., the way that Father, Son, and Holy Spirit relate to each other). The primary characteristic that makes each person unique is as follows: The Father is “unbegotten” (i.e., has no beginning). The Son is “eternally begotten” of the Father (i.e., has an origin in the Father). The Holy Spirit “eternally proceeds” from the Father and the Son (i.e., has an origin in the Father and the Son).

You might be thinking: “What a minute, Aaron! Are you telling me that the Son of God had a beginning?” Yes, I am! But notice that his beginning is described as “eternally begotten.” So, if the Son’s existence originated from the Father, when did the Son come into existence? That’s an invalid question, because he’s always existed. It’s the same for the Holy Spirit who originated from the Father and the Son, and yet has also always existed. See for yourself in the text of the Nicene Creed. This is what Christians have been professing for centuries. This is part of the mystery of the Trinity. The Son and the Holy Spirit have origins that we’ll never find, because they’ve always existed.

Let me see if I can put this another way. Unbegottenness is the unique personal property of the Father; eternal begottenness is the unique personal property of the Son; and eternal procession is the unique personal property of the Holy Spirit. Everything else the persons of the Trinity share with each other. The three persons share the same mind, the same will, the same substance, and even the same actions. What the Father thinks and does, the Son and the Holy Spirt think and do, too. And vice versa.

Does your brain hurt yet? Mine does, too.

Here are some practical take-aways from thinking about the Trinity.

1) In Western “enlightened” thinking, we tend to think in binaries. Good or bad; friend or enemy; true or false; conservative or liberal; Republican or Democrat; white or black. I think, if God’s fundamental nature resists binary thinking (after all, 3=1 is either right or it’s wrong, isn’t it?!), then our thinking ought to resist binary thinking, too. For me, this means I should seek to live my life with humility and with an openness to having my mind changed.

2) If the persons of the Trinity can be distinct from one another and yet work together in mind, will, and action, then we ought to seek to live together the same way. The persons of the Trinity share their life with each other (begetting and proceeding) and yet work together. Let’s do that for each other, too – in humility and love.

Peace to you,

Pastor Aaron

Mid-Week Meet-Up: Christ and Paganism?

Hi First Presbyterian,

This Sunday is Pentecost (and, therefore, also Confirmation Sunday – yay!), so don’t forget to wear red! But did you know that, in the church calendar, yesterday was a day called “Visitation of Mary to Elizabeth.” Protestant churches hardly ever celebrate it (that I know of), even though it does show up on our calendars every year on May 31. It commemorates the visit of Mary to her relative Elizabeth, while Mary was pregnant with Jesus (Luke 1:39-57). It was during this visit that Elizabeth exclaimed when she saw Mary, “Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb!” It was also during this visit that Mary proclaimed the well-known Magnificat. We often think of this episode in the New Testament as part of the Christmas story. So, why do we celebrate it every year on May 31? Well, if we assume that this visit took place shortly after (maybe 1-2 months after) Mary conceived Jesus and that Jesus was born on December 25, then May 31 is the approximate time that this visit would have occurred. In a previous Mid-Week Meet-Up, I’ve written about the fact that Jesus was almost certainly not born in December and that one of the reasons his birth is celebrated on December 25 is because it was believed that his death and his conception by Mary happened on the same date (March 25). There is usually more than one reason for something, and since we are confronted again with the question of the date of Jesus’ birth because of “Visitation of Mary to Elizabeth” happening on May 31, let me tell you about another reason we celebrate Jesus’ birth on December 25.

You’ve probably all heard that Christmas was established on December 25 because it coincided with the Roman pagan festival of Saturnalia, which occurred around the time of the winter solstice. The fact of the matter is: that’s true! You may have also heard that bringing in evergreen branches (which has led to our Christmas tree tradition) has pagan origins; or that other Christian holidays have connections to other Roman pagan festivals, like Easter is connected to the pagan Anglo-Saxon goddess Eostre (hence the reason we call it “Easter.”) Well, the bottom line is: those explanations are also true! Now, I’ve met some Christians who find these historical explanations problematic, insisting that Christians mustn’t have Christmas trees or that we must call it “Resurrection Sunday” not “Easter.” They insist that we must distance ourselves from these pagan connections.

Not me, though.

Here’s the reality. Early Christians didn’t establish Christmas on December 25 because they believed in Saturnalia. They believed in Jesus but wanted to be able to tell the story of Jesus to Roman pagans in a relatable way. Early Christians didn’t make connections of Jesus’ resurrection to the celebration of Eostre because they believed in Eostre. They believed in Jesus but wanted to tell the story of Jesus to Anglo-Saxon pagans in a relatable way. The Church didn’t make any connections to paganism because their belief in Jesus was rooted in pagan ideas. The Church made these connections because they believed the story of Jesus was true and wanted to tell that story in a way that made sense to the cultures they lived among. It’s the same reason that Luther sometimes borrowed tunes from non-liturgical music (like popular love songs) to set with his hymn lyrics. The story of Jesus is meant to be told, and it is best told when people can understand it.

I don’t believe the Gospel was ever meant to be overly academic or highfalutin. It was always intended to be relatable and accessible. That doesn’t mean the way we tell it can’t be thoughtful and beautiful. It simply means – the goal must be accessibility.

Jesus used parables. The Church used pagan language and concepts. Luther used non-liturgical music. How are you accessibly and clearly telling the story of Jesus through your life? Do you need help? That’s one reason the Church exists. Let’s do it together.

Peace to you,

Pastor Aaron

Mid-Week Meet-Up: Ascension Day

Hi First Presbyterian,

It's time for our Mid-Week Meet-Up! In St. Michael’s Church at Brent Knoll in Somerset, England, there is an interesting image on some stained glass art. It depicts the Evangelists (i.e., the Gospel writers) Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. You’ll notice that each Evangelist is depicted using different symbolism. Mark is depicted as a lion. Luke is depicted as an ox. Matthew is depicted as an angel. John is depicted as an eagle. The stained glass in St. Michael’s Church is from the Middle Ages, but the depiction of the Evangelists as these four symbols can be found in even much older Christian art. Why? Well, the simplest answer is that early Christians have always recognized that, although the four Gospels tell us about the very same Jesus, they emphasize different aspects of his life and ministry. I want to focus on the Gospel of John. He is depicted as an eagle. Why? Well, eagles are often seen flying high in the sky, so high that you might think, “Surely nothing is as close to heaven as an eagle.” When you read the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke (which are very similar to one another), it seems that those Evangelists are emphasizing different aspects of Jesus’ humanity. The Gospel of John, on the other hand, seems to emphasize the divinity or heavenliness of Jesus - hence, the high-flying eagle. John shows us a Jesus who seems otherworldly at times, a heavenly and divine being. John’s Gospel gives us an eagle’s-eye view of Jesus.

Tomorrow is Ascension Day, the day in the Christian calendar where we remember that, after spending 40 days with his disciples following his resurrection, Jesus ascended back into heaven - the unseen realm of God. The Gospel of John and Ascension Day remind us that Jesus is no ordinary human. Jesus is God. Jesus was God before his birth as a human. Jesus was God during his life on the earth. Jesus is God today and forever. In John’s Gospel, we see that, in his birth, Jesus came from heaven and took up residence in a human body. And, likewise, once his mission on earth was complete, he returned to the place he had come from and took his human body with him. Notice the complete narrative of John’s Gospel. Heaven… to earth… back to heaven. 

Here’s what that means for us. Jesus is not just with God right now. Jesus is God right now. Whatever you would do for God, you can do for Jesus because they are one and the same. Do you pray to God? Pray to Jesus. Do you worship God? Worship Jesus. Do you trust God? Trust Jesus. Since Jesus is God, that has enormous ramifications for our lives. That means Jesus made us and loves us as his very own creation. That also means when we follow the example that Jesus lived his life by, it is not like trying to emulate some other person, who though you may love and admire greatly, is only a human with flaws. Following Jesus is not like trying to emulate your grandmother, or your mother, or Mother Teresa, or anyone else you might admire and respect. When you seek to follow Jesus, you are seeking to live your life the way God lived in this world. There is no greater example to follow than the one God has left for us to follow in Jesus. For me - and I hope for you, too - that is incredibly reassuring. 

Peace to you,
Pastor Aaron