Bible Reading: Mark 1:4-11
Sea Point Methodist celebrates 120 years of existence next week the 14th of January. I thought of what that means for us the present generation. I couldn’t help but share few thoughts about the church and the bible. And that’s the Good News I want to boldly share today.
The Church and the Bible represent hospitable spaces within which we can reflect upon our lives. The Church and the Bible represent the guides that can lead us to looking more deeply, seeing more clearly, living more fully. At least, that’s what the Church ought to be. And as we enter the hospitable space that is the Church, as we enter the powerful, imaginal world of the Bible, we can experience friendship with other people who inhabit this space and who are likewise reflecting upon their lives. And as we reflect together, we come to be joined in love.
And not only that, we find ourselves linking our hearts and hands to touch others, to invite them into that reflective space where they, too, can ponder what it means to be alive. And in the Church and in the Bible, we meet a man named Jesus, whose love is without condition, without boundary. We meet Jesus, whose heart is without judgment and full of mercy. And he can help us deal with the talking snakes that tempt us. He can help us be free from the things that bind us. He can show us how to love and how to forgive and how to refrain from being judgmental and how to see and how to hear and how to serve.
And he welcomes you. He welcomes you into the space where you can reflect upon your life. Whatever you’ve done, whoever you are, whatever you think, whatever you believe, whatever you don’t believe, he welcomes you. If you’re divorced, he welcomes you. If you’re gay, he welcomes you. If you’re an unwed parent, he welcomes you. If you’re dealing with addiction, he welcomes you. If you’re a liar or a cheater or a thief, he welcomes you. If you don’t believe everything you were taught in childhood, he welcomes you.
There is a place for you. It’s a place of welcome and embrace, a place of hospitality and acceptance, of unconditional positive regard. It is the Church of Jesus. I think we can honour the tradition of this church and the bible when everyone who enters the doors of our church, beginning with those who entered before us and those who will enter here throughout this year by being a welcoming, non-judgmental and hospitable community. A Blessed and hospitable New Year to you all.
Solomzi