News Redeemer Christ's Commandment
From Pastor Anderson,
In the Gospel according to John, Christ steps away from the last supper and takes time to wash the disciples feet. Then Christ says to them “I give you a new
commandment…to love one another as I have first loved you.” This commandment, something new and different than what had been given by God before, is given to all of us. We are all invited to step beyond life as we have known it and into a new life, a life where God’s love is shown forth through us. Whether we recognize it or not, we are all searching to understand how God intersects with our lives and how our lives intersect with the world, and what we should do about it all.
As a child I would walk to an old stone quarry in the Catskills and stand there, looking out across the incredible beauty of the Hudson Valley, a view of the world much wider than my own backyard. As people searching in this world for meaning, for lives that have content and worth, we all must strive to balance the demands of our own backyard with the important task of gaining a wider view of the world, God’s world.
The invitation to love and serve others may seem overwhelming through the lens of our busy lives and our fears of inadequacy, but through the lens of the cross all things are possible because God is the agent, and we are merely earthen vessels. God has chosen us, cracked pots though we may be, to love, to serve, to struggle with how God and life and faith and the world all intersect and connect. We can be sure that this invitation comes backed with a lifetime guarantee of help and guidance, support and love for us, poured out by God through Christ. Amen!
