"Inscribed on the very heart of God's grace"

Notes From the Pastor:..

There is a question lingering in the back of our mind; it is lodged somewhere between our perpetual planning of dinner and the memories of summers spent at grandparents.  The question arises a few times a week
when we are confronted with the reality of faith, and it often is drowned out by the constant chatter of the urgent.  The question takes different language, nuance, and colloquial tone, but it always expresses the same sentiment: What should I do to practice by faith?

At Palm Sunday we hear a simple, yet challenging directive to the question of faithful behavior.  The Jerusalem crowds are overjoyed at the entrance of their possible Messiah.  They gather on the road and offer a joyous reception in song, palm branches, and the laying down of their coats on the road.  The scene
depicted by all four Gospels has Jesus received in great hospitality.  And there is not one among us that would not rush out to highway 70 to do the same if Jesus approached Ruidoso.

Hospitality is a simple, yet challenging means to practicing our faith.  Throughout Scripture we hear a divine decree to offer hospitality, and in doing so, we are informed that we actively welcome God in our midst.

Theologian Miroslav Volf writes in  Exclusion and Embrace: “Inscribed on the very heart of God’s grace is the rule that we can be its recipients only if we do not resist being made into its agents; what happens to us must be done by us.  Having been embraced by God, we must make space for others and invite them in  – even our enemies.” 

May First Christian Church continue to be known for her hospitality, and may we consistently invite friends and neighbors into our life of grace; as such, we live out the grace we have received.

Grace,
Pastor  Ryan