Human & Divine
Dear friends and members of St. Matt's,
In the Gospel for today, Thursday in the Fifth week of Lent, Jesus is answering a lot of questions about who he is. And then there is an exchange about Abraham and some of the prophets. And Jesus responds to the questions by saying, "Very truly, I tell you, before Abraham was, I am.” What he means by that, which is nigh on impossible for people at the time to believe, is that he is the Messiah. The One who was there at the beginning of time, the One of whom John's Gospel says, "through him all things came into being, and without him not one thing came into being."
We lose sight sometimes that this Jesus we follow, this man who was a tangible human so long ago is also the incarnate Word. When God spoke all of creation into being, that creation happened through the part of Jesus that is timeless, immortal, divine. So human though he was with us, having taken on flesh to live among us and die for us, this Jesus we seek to follow was and is still the cosmic Messiah, coming on the clouds, the beginning and the end, the One coming into the world.
Today, amidst the tangible, normal, routine parts of you life, I hope you'll take some time to try to read through the lines a little bit. To find the miraculous things, the blessings, the surprises, the glimmers of the eternal that God has left for you. Just like Jesus of Nazareth was both human and divine, so too is our life, our being filled with the human and divine sparks that God gave us when we were created in God's image. We can't always see it, we can't always feel it, but the Spirit is always there undergirding us all and of creation. Make time at the end of this 5th week of Lent to find and give thanks for the presence of God in your very normal, tangible life.
I hope you'll make time in your calendar next week, too, to join us for as much of Holy Week as you can. There are opportunities every day for prayer and reflection, to experience the divine in our life together.
I also want to say a big THANK YOU to Sam Perry for his hard work and leadership transforming our Fire Pit area. What an amazing transformation. Look further down in our e-news for a thank you and further explanation from Brian Angerame as well as a picture of the good work!
Finally, I need to update you that since my email yesterday, I've been notified of two more people who were here on Sunday who have since tested positive for COVID. Please see below my note from yesterday about self-monitoring and reporting. If you or someone you love is positive and you need help or could use some supplies or support, please don't hesitate to be in touch.
Faithfully,
--Marissa +
