Greetings from Chuckatuck on the Sunday of Daylight Saving Time and our prayers go out to those who advanced their clocks one hour today. We have been trying to get a bunch of things done around church: roof repair on the Parish House and the light in the yard are our two long-standing repairs recently accomplished. We remembered yesterday the beginning of Coronatide – one year ago yesterday we suspended in-person worship and established social distancing as our norm. Yet, we are stronger in ways today that were unimagined in January 2020. Our prayers are with you and your families as we wind our Lenten journey to a close.
In worship we asked in our collect to be aware of God sending Jesus to nourish us in our journey and give life for a deeper and more rewarding relationship with God. In our Psalm we were reminded of to whom we should offer thanks – God, and that God will hear and deliver us when we ask. In our reading from the letter to the Ephesians we hear the reiteration of the claim – that God’s grace alone is what saves us. Salvation through grace is important for us, because our works fail to live up to our imagination. The gospel reading from John relates that Jesus’ presence in the world was not something that was meant to only condemn, but that Jesus coming to earth is the sign of God’s grace.
Our sermon today was focused on our lesson from Numbers, Moses and the “snake on a stick.” Israel complained that the life they were “forced to live” after leaving Egypt was unsatisfying and questioned God’s providence. God sent them a sign, the snake on a stick, to serve as a reminder. Ultimately, Israel turned the sign into god, leading to the sending of Jesus to help us return to relationship with God. What is God asking us to set aside to grow closer to God?
I invite your comments,
Les+
Readings: Numbers 21:4-9; Psalm 107:1-3, 17-22; Ephesians 2:1-10; John 3:14-21
Video of worship: https://youtu.be/hm8hw3ZCfi8
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