August 11, 2013, "Ultimate Things"

Zechariah 1.1-6; Luke 10.38-42

Charley, newly retired, had a new job - a greeter at WalMart.

He did fine, but could never get to work on time - 5, 10, 15 minutes late. He was a good worker, neat and tidy in appearance, sharp-minded and a real credit to the company, demonstrating the very best of company policy - “Older Person Friendly.”

One day the manager called him into the office a chat … “Charley, I have to tell you, I like your work ethic, you do a bang-up  job when you finally get here; but your being late so often is quite bothersome."

"Yes, I know boss, and I am working on it."

"Well good, you are a team player. That's what I like to hear. 

“Yes sir, I understand your concern and I will try harder.”

The manager, slightly puzzled, went on to comment, “I know you're  retired from the Armed Forces. What did they say to you there if you showed up in the morning late so often?"

The old man looked down at the floor, smiled, chuckled and then said with a grin:  "They usually saluted and said, Good morning, Admiral, can I get your coffee, sir?”

Things change for us all the time … time moves on … what we were, we are no longer; what we shall be remains to be seen … and in the flow of time:

Moments …

Opportunities …

When kitchen-duty needs to be set aside and we need to sit at the feet of Jesus.

Martha was irritated by Mary’s behavior … 

Martha, a good person, but she failed to recognize the sacred moment … Martha choose the normal pattern - what she always did, and what she was good at - she could prepare a fine meal, and do it quickly, and everyone was satisfied.

Martha ran a clean ship, a good operation - if you’re hungry, go to Martha’s house - she’ll take care of ya … and Mary, her sister, is right there - the two of ‘em set a fine table - their home is open to friend and stranger alike.

And today, Jesus came a-calling … 

Martha defaulted … she did what she always did … she went to the kitchen to prepare a meal for Jesus and those traveling with him … 5 people, 10 people? 

It was a house full, no doubt, and when Martha went to the kitchen, she expected her sister, Mary, to be right there … “Mary, where are you? I need some help.”

Martha relied on Mary … if help was needed, Mary was there … the two of ‘em worked together; they made their house into a home … Martha knew what she was doing in the kitchen, and Mary was always there, ready and able.

But today was different!

Mary didn’t follow Martha into the kitchen … she stayed near to Jesus, and “sat at the LORD’s feet.”

That of itself was slightly unusual, if not controversial … to sit at the feet of Jesus is to declare her status as a disciple, and for Jesus to allow it was unusual, too ... it was very rare for a rabbi to welcome a female disciple, and rarer still for a woman to boldly go where only men are welcome.

Martha steps outta the kitchen and scolds Jesus for letting Mary get away with it, especially when Martha is working so hard.

“I need help in the kitchen - a lot of hungry mouths to feed, and I need Mary to help me. I can always count on her; I need her in the kitchen with me right now.”

“Martha, Martha,” says Jesus … saying her name twice, to get her attention … “you fuss and fret about many things, but today, here and now, there’s only thing that counts, and Mary has made the right choice; it won’t be taken from her.”

Many a sermon has been preached on the different talents we have - some work in the kitchen, others sit and study … true enough, but that’s not what this story is all about. It’s not about talents and ability.

It’s recognizing the sacred moment … something important comes our way … it demands that we step out of the usual pattern, get outta of the kitchen, put aside what we do best, let it go for a few moments … take advantage of the sacred moment … 

History makes these moments clear, in retrospect … the challenge is to see them when they’re happening; not when they’ve passed us by.

I think of Lincoln and the Emancipation Proclamation … that was the moment to decide - who’s a citizen of this fair land? - just some, or everyone? … a lot of folks told to Lincoln to let it pass by; “Now’s not the time,” they said … but Lincoln saw the sacred moment.

I think of Republican Senator Everett Dirksen, after whom the Senate Building is named … when it came time for Civil Rights Legislation - he walked across the aisle, much to the consternation of his colleagues, and made common cause, as he said, “for an idea whose time had come” … he saw the sacred moment.

What are the sacred moments that stand before this great nation today?

For me, the sacred moment has to do with doors … doors open, not closed … the Emma Lazarus Poem on the Statue of Liberty:

"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

As the hymn says, “Once to every man and nation comes the moment to decide …”

For Mary and Martha, the moment came when Jesus paid them a visit … yes, they’re all hungry, but now’s the time to sit at the feet of Jesus.

The sacred moment - a time to learn and a time grow … to look up and not down … to look outward, to see what’s happening … break the pattern, do the unusual … don’t be afraid … be brave, take a chance … 

Drive to work another way and pay attention to a world you haven’t seen …

If you’re in the kitchen, try a new recipe, and if it’s not very good, who cares? … but give it a try anyway.

Stretch your wings … fly as high as you can … dream, and dream big … aim for the stars.

The sacred moment ...

When it’s time to sit at the feet of Jesus. Amen and Amen!

July 14, 2013, "Eyes and Heart Wide Open"

Psalm 111; 1 Thessalonians 5.16-18

His name was Garth.

In 5^th or 6^th grade, living in large two-story grey clapboard house, slightly dilapidated, some peeling paint, with a porch slanted downward at a precarious angle, across the street from Third Presbyterian Church in Altoona, PA - in a tough part of town, with more police and fire calls than any other precinct, just a few blocks off the mainline of the Penn-Central Railroad.

The church had a neighborhood children’s program called Thursday’s Children, because we met Thursday afternoons after school. 

I was always there … and made friends with the children, and the families that lived around the church. 

I had an 18-foot white fiberglass Lincoln Canoe - a beauty it was, and did a fair amount of fishing with it - mostly in Raystown Lake backed up behind Raystown Dam - one of those beautiful mountain reservoirs with dozens of sidearms reaching back into the wooded hillsides - great fishing, and if no fish were caught, that was okay, too, just because it was good to be out on the lake, in that quiet fiberglass canoe, whispering through the water.

It was too big for me to take out by myself, so I usually had a friend to go with me … sometimes Donna … and sometimes my brother who lived in Pittsburgh.

Knowing that I had plans for fishing with a friend later in the week, I asked Garth if he’d like to go with us, and he quickly said Yes! I checked with his folks and all was good. 

I had a fishing rod for him, all the stuff he needed and a can of worms … Garth had never been fishing before.

When I helped him bait the hook with a wriggling worm, he was wide-eyed as could be … I don’t think it’s possible for eyes to be any wider, and with the hook baited, and plopped into the water, with a red and white bobber, it wasn’t long before he caught a fish … he was one amazed young boy … I think his eyes probably took a few days to return to normal size.

I don’t know what happened to Garth, and I have no idea if he’s living or dead, and if he’s living, I have no idea if he’d remember the day he went fishing with me … but I’ve never forgotten him, and his wide eyes - the sheer amazement of life for him that day on Raystown Lake, in the beautiful green mountains of Central Pennsylvania, baiting a hook, watching a bobber suddenly pulled down by a fish, and me telling Garth, “Now, quick, set the hook,” and watching him pull in his first fish.

His eyes were wide … the kind of eyes I want for myself … wide eyes to see the world … and a heart as wide as my eyes.

When eyes and heart are wide open, good things get inside of us … good things that make us good and kind and thankful.

Jesus said, 

The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light; but if your eye is unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! [Matthew 6.22-23].

Whenever my children travelled, I always told them, “Use all of your senses wherever you are.”

“Sample it all if you can … burn the images on your mind, and you can carry those images with you the rest of your life … you can always journey back to a beautiful mountain or walk a sun-washed beach, if you carry those memories in your mind.”

Wide eyes and a wide-open heart.

To see the world around us - its colors and shapes and angles; don’t just look at things, but see them … the dog laying on the grass in the shade of a tree on a hot day … the man walking hurriedly by you, on some errand, intent on who knows what kind of business … 

Watch faces and hands … pay attention to the lady pouring your coffee and the people sitting across from you on the bus … study them well, for they are God’s image, right next to you, across the aisle from you … God pouring your coffee … God going home after a hard day’s work.

Listen to the world - bird song and barking dogs and cars honking and people talking at a nearby table - sure, go ahead; eavesdrop a bit - listen to the world - the wind in the trees, the crash of a wave, the boom and crackle of fireworks.

Smell the world - spices and seasonings  - food, fried and boiled, broiled and grilled - baked bread … smell the world - wood smoke and garbage; a morning rain and fresh plowed earth … 

Touch the world, feel its textures … the rough bark of a pine tree, the feel of sand in our hand … cool water washing our face on a hot day, or a hot shower on cold night … the comfort of our pillow, the warmth of a quilt … the hand of one you love so dearly … 

Taste the world - what people eat and what people drink … the crunch of a crisp apple, the smooth taste of a fine wine, a good bourbon on the rocks; ice cream and hot fudge; a steaming-hot baked potato; roasted lamb or fresh fish … sample it all … not all of it will taste good … some of our tastes are acquired tastes … and what’s delicious in one man’s home is not so good for another … 

But use all the senses - God-given senses … see the world, listen to the world, smell the world, touch the world, taste the world.

The Psalmist said, Oh taste and see that the LORD is good [Psalm 34.8].

How interesting that the Psalmist refers to taste as a way to see … taste and see that the LORD is good … I can only think of good bread and fine wine … a roast lamb or an ox - or whatever else pleases the palette and quenches our thirst and smells good to the LORD God Almighty … the Passover Meal and the LORD’s Supper … taste and see, that the LORD is good.

The world is good and full of beauty … clouds above us and children at play … our favorite aunt and a splendid meal … right here in church, hymns to gladden the heart and a gospel to call us to life.

Rejoice says Paul the Apostle … rejoice always … 

And then we can pray:

Pray without ceasing … the kind of prayer that has little to do with asking and a whole of thanking … though this world is filled with hurt and sorrow, this world still has a surplus of good people doing good things, running the good race of faith, hope and love … faithful servants who never give up, who speak kindly, think deeply and live bravely, and bend the arc of history toward what is good and right … 

Pray without ceasing; pray for the big things … like Miss America, who wants world peace … but pray for small things, too  - like good schools for our kids and enough jobs in this nation with decent wages so a man can provide for his family, a woman can care for her children.

And then, says Paul:

Give thanks, in all circumstances … because this is God’s will … and if it’s God’s will, then it’s good for us … God asks of us only what’s good and right … to give thanks opens the heart and mind … 

Paul is no fool … Paul knows how hard life can be … and we do, too ...

Justice fails, crime goes unpunished … women’s rights are denied, and a 17-year old boy is dead, and somehow or other that’s okay … all over the place, things go wrong, and the wrong wins - sin prevails, evil holds the upper hand; insanity wins the day - My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

But in the end of it all, Jesus says, Father, into your hands I commend my spirit … the work is finished!

Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name ...

Giving thanks relieves all kinds of stress … makes like easier … eases the hurt and stress we all feel … the disappointment and the anger … giving thanks lifts burdens and lightens our mood, turns our face, even if just for a moment, to God and to God’s love at work in all things for good.

I keep thinking of what Corrine said to me last week Sunday when I asked how she was doing, “I’ve seen better days,” she said, “but I’m grateful for what I have.”

An honest statement of things … “I’ve seen better days” … 

When the days add up for us, and the body isn’t what it used to be … aches and pains keep us company most of the time … our mortality begins to show more often then we like … better days, indeed … behind us now … when the past is whole lot longer than our future … when we find ourselves standing at the head of the line … no one ahead of us any longer … we’re next in line for the end of the line … we’re at the end of the street.

But “I’m thankful for what I have,” Corrine added … 

“I’m thankful for what I have.”

Eyes and heart wide open!

And in all things, to God be the glory.

Amen and Amen!

June 30, 2013 - "Foundation in Christ and Human Rights"

1 Corinthians 3.1-23; 4.14-21; 14.20

I’m glad to be an American … ours is a remarkable nation … founded on a vision, a unique vision - a land of equality, with liberty and justice for all … from sea to shining sea.

The vision remains … and we’re still working at it … we’re not always on target, and sometimes the story becomes garbled and confused … we’re unsure sometimes of what it means to be an American, living in the land of the free and the home of the brave.

Sometimes the story has been sad … 

America decided that it was okay to wipe out the Native American population, take their land, break whatever treaties we might have signed, because Native Americans weren’t Christians, and weren’t always interested in our religion … and besides, “they were dirty savages.”

America decided that it was okay to have slaves … and throughout the Americas tons of sugar cane and cotton were grown and harvested on the sweat and tears of tens of thousands of slaves brought here from Africa, and preachers said it was okay, because people of color were the Sons of Ham, from Noah’s story, condemned forever to be slaves, to serve the interests of the white man … and besides, people of color weren’t fully human; they were less in the eyes of god, and in the eyes of the European - African culture and religion were labeled, “savage,” and the Europeans, in spite of centuries of war and bloodshed, claimed to have the upper hand and stood closer to God … and Christianity was too often preached by missionaries, not to liberate, but to quiet the people, make them subservient to their white masters. 

To resolve the questions of “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,” we had to fight a Civil War … and we’re still struggling with the big questions.

The Paula Deen flap of recent weeks reveals some of the fault lines still present in our nation … she tells us that she’s just a little white girl raised in the South and doing the best she can … but I’m not so sure … I wish she had simply said, “I’m sorry, and I’m going to do better” … but she posed as a victim, and claimed that jealous forces were out to get her … she could have been noble and wise, but instead Paula Deen choose to throw a pity party for herself … she might have become a spokesperson for a better day, but she ran away from the ugly truths of racism and bigotry, and hoped people wouldn’t notice her running away.

This morning, in some church pulpits in California and in other parts of the the nation, preachers will open the Bible and proclaim in loud and holy voices, that the Supreme Court is a great evil, President Obama is the Devil, and this nation is headed to wreck and ruin because of Marriage Equality … 

Preachers will haul out the few verses that seemingly deal with this question … just a few verses, that’s all, just a few verses, and build a whole world of exclusion and bitterness and hatred on those few verses.

Those preachers forget the bloody and shameful ways in which the Bible has been used for centuries to hurt and to harm … 

Last week Sunday, remember - the Bible tells us to stone to death unruly sons, and burn to death adulterers … the Bible tells us that women have no place in the church and ought to be quiet, and shame on women for wanting their rights and their place in the sunshine.

Heard a conservative describe what the Supreme Court did on DOMA and Prop 8 as "the unraveling of the American family" ... I thought to myself, "Unraveling? Not at all, but a blessing, an invitation … and invitation to millions more to enjoy the power and goodness, and the challenge, of being an American family." What we have today is not a loss, but a gain. Not an unravelling, but further knitting … the great tapestry of American Freedom and Hope just got larger … the quilt of our story, had a few more squares added.

When it comes to reading the Bible, we have to be wise … and this Sunday, all across the land, thoughtful preachers will lift up the goodness of God … churches will celebrate new found-freedoms and liberty … well-trained preachers will carefully open the Bible and expound the great message.

The central message of the Bible … the big message … the message that towers over every other story in the Bible … the message that defines how we read those few verses that condemn others … the message that anchors everything else, Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so … little ones to him belong, they are weak, but he is strong. Yes, Jesus loves me, this I know … for the Bible tells me so.

This is our gift to America!

And Happy Birthday America! Keep on keepin’ on … we’re a great nation, and we’re still learning what our greatness needs to be … we’re still forging the American Dream … 

It’ll never be finished … the work of liberty will always remain our greatest challenge … providing life for all of our citizens, and all who come to our land … we’ll always be a work-in-progress … the work goes on!

Children in poverty … our nation’s inability to provide comprehensive health care, still arguing about women and their rights … millions of people having to choose between paying the rent and going to a doctor … 

Banks too big to fail.

Wall Street greed and the love of money.

Too many wars and too many secrets.

Building big walls on our borders.

American schools … safety for our children … student debt.

Our need for safe and reliable public transportation.

Let all of God’s Children in this great nation lead the way with wisdom and vision, kindness and charity, honesty and hope … because America’s original vision is a godly vision - life and liberty and the pursuit of happiness … justice for all … because all are equal in the sight of God … no one better than anyone else, and we have to help each other, because not everyone is strong … and we all have different gifts, and every gift is needed to make it right and good.

America is still exploring … no longer in a covered wagon crossing the great plains … now, our exploration is of the soul and of the mind … what DOES it mean to be free? … to be America … a land wherein the Lincoln Monument in Washington reminds us that of all the things Lincoln said and did, he saved the Union - all the people, and every state - that we belong to one another, and every human being within our borders, however they got here, to have a chance at the American Dream, and let no power, no government, no financial interests, stand in the way of hope and life.

I’m an American, and I’m glad to be here … I believe in the original vision, and I’m willing to say that God had a hand in it all … Happy Fourth of July to this nation, and to all who are here today, no matter how we got here - Happy Fourth of July.

This day, I’m a Christian, and I celebrate the name of Jesus … I lay claim to the Kingdom of God … the glory and the power of God’s love, here and now … the central message of the Bible, Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so.

Paul the Apostle tells the Corinthians to grow up … build on no other foundation than the one foundation laid in Jesus Christ our LORD.

This week, as our nation celebrates freedom … let us rejoice with one another, and hold one another up … securing freedom for one another, all the more.

Let us be wise in the ways of Jesus Christ … open wide the doors of freedom, the freedom for which Christ died.

Let welcome and affirmation be our way of life … speak the truth in love … seek justice … build the better way … keep on dreaming.

Help our nation be free … quiet the harsh voices of condemnation and greed … speak out for equality and opportunity … 

Let us be of good cheer … kick up our heels a bit … enjoy the Fourth of July … and bring to life the best we can, in the name of Jesus, who loves us all.

Amen and Amen!

June 23, 2013, "What the Bible Teaches"

Psalm 105.1-5

Photo taken by D - Northern CA

1 Corinthians 16.13-14

Last week, at the end of our service

Our choir sang, Jesus loves me, this I know,

For the Bible tells me so.

For some reason, and who knows why

It struck me … what does the Bible tell us?

Certainly it tells us many things.

Or, at least offers many things:

For example, 

If someone has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey his father and mother, who does not heed them when they discipline him, then his father and his mother shall take hold of him and bring him out to the elders of his town at the gate of that place. They shall say to the elders of his town, “This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious. He will not obey us. He is a glutton and a drunkard.” Then all the men of the town shall stone him to death ~ Deuteronomy 21.18-21.

If a man commits adultery with the wife of his neighbor, both the adulterer and the adulteress shall be put to death. The man who lies with his father’s wife has uncovered his father’s nakedness; both of them shall be put to death; their blood is upon them. If a man lies with his daughter-in-law, both of them shall be put to death; they have committed perversion, their blood is upon them. If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall be put to death; their blood is upon them. If a man takes a wife and her mother also, it is depravity; they shall be burned to death ~ Leviticus 20.10-14.

In the New Testament:

women should be silent in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak, but should be subordinate, as the law also says. ³⁵If there is anything they desire to know, let them ask their husbands at home. For it is shameful for a woman to speak in church ~ 1 Corinthians 14.34-35.

Let a woman learn in silence with full submission. ¹²I permit no woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she is to keep silent. For Adam was formed first, then Eve; ¹⁴and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor ~ 1 Timothy 2.11 - 13.

silly women, overwhelmed by their sins and swayed by all kinds of desires ~2 Timothy 3.6,

These passages have been used to deny women a place in church and society … passages that seem to imply the inferiority of women, the weakness of women, the unreliability of women, that women should keep silent in the church, and so on and so forth.

In the United States, when women were seeking the right to vote, Scripture was cited to prove that women just weren’t capable of making sound decisions, women couldn’t be trusted with such weighty matters.

Women couldn’t be pastors, nor could they be elders or deacons … women weren’t fit for such things.

Behind some of the rhetoric these days about abortion and equal pay for women at work, we hear some of the same language - women cannot fully make their own decisions, but need a man to oversee them, subjugate them, keep them in line, behaving themselves.

The Bible offers many things ...

But the choir sang, Jesus loves me, 

This I know.

For the Bible tells me so.

Little ones to him belong.

They are weak.

But he is strong.

Yes, Jesus loves me.

Yes, Jesus loves me.

Yes, Jesus loves me.

For the Bible tells me so.

Does the Bible have a central message?

A great theme?

An overarching idea?

One thought, one message, one image greater than all the rest?

That takes precedence over everything else?

In the light of which, everything else is read?

Interpreted?

Understood?

Preached and taught?

Some have said that everything in the Bible has equal weight …

Everything? like stoning a rebellious son.

Or burning to death an adulterer.

Or keeping women out of the pulpit.

I think we have to be very careful!

Now I don’t know about you.

But for me, there is a central message in the Bible.

A theme that stands out above all other ideas.

An image that transcends all other stories.

The life and love of Jesus the Christ.

Jesus the anointed one.

The holy one of God.

The Word of God Incarnate.

The Son of God.

The Lamb of God.

Who takes away the sins of the world.

Call it mercy.

Call it love.

Call it the final reality.

The ultimate purpose.

The overarching theme that calls all other themes to itself … the criteria by which we read the rest of the Bible.

Paul writes to the Corinthians: Let all that you do be done in love.

And what is love?

Paul says it best of all:

Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Love never ends. 

Let all that you do be done in love.

Without love, it’s not real.

Without love, it can only hurt.

Without love, it has no value.

No endurance.

No lasting place in the kingdom of God.

Paul says it so well:

If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

Paul writes at the end of his letter:

Keep alert, stand firm in your faith, be courageous, be strong.

Good words, for sure.

But Paul adds, just to be sure: Whatever you do, do it with love.

Be alert, but do with it love.

Stand firm in your faith, but do it with love.

Be courageous, but do it with love.

Be strong, but do it with love.

Alertness, without love, will only tire us out.

Standing firm in our faith, without love, will only make us stubborn and hard-headed.

Courage, without love, quickly becomes thoughtless grandstanding and showing off.

Strength, without love, quickly turns into domination and bullying.

Love is the preeminent idea that runs throughout all the Bible.

Love builds up.

Love makes all things new.

Love tends to forgive a lot.

Love seeks new beginnings.

So we no longer stone unruly sons.

We no longer burn to death adulterers.

Doors have been opened to women … though we still have a way to go … women in the workplace need to be free of sexual harassment … women deserve equal pay for equal work … and equal opportunity for advancement.

Love is all about open doors.

Opportunity.

Advancement.

Invitation and welcome.

Love is real … 

Love meets the challenges of life.

On Thursday, I took the bus downtown to visit Nick at the Detention Center - he’s doing well, and gives his greetings and love to everyone here … and he asks for our prayers.

While on the bus, I saw some rowdy people … walking a few blocks through downtown LA, I heard three arguments … two in English, and one in a language I didn’t understand … but I didn’t need to understand it … raised voices, intonation, inflection, demeanor, cast of the body, fingers pointing … 

Human beings all argue in the same way …

Human beings are a tough bunch … a strange bunch of critters we are … we argue, because we misunderstand … we fight, because we’re afraid … we go to war to protect ourselves … we hate with ease, and we hurt someone without blinking an eye … our mouths speak trash … our hearts conceive of terrible things … and sometimes we commit terrible deeds … human beings are a tough bunch.

And that’s why love is essential.

Love is the only thing that can conquer the dark spirits of the human soul … love and love alone can shine a bright light of hope on the human predicament … love reminds all of us that we can do better, and we must.

Do we realize the fullness of love?

Sometimes we do.

Do we live every day in love.

Sometimes we do.

Do we turn to love when we’re tempted to go the other way?

Sometimes we do.

And that’s the point of the gospel … keep on trying … and sometimes we succeed, sometimes we really do it, and do it right …

So, never give up, dear friends.

Stay with it.

For the Spirit of God assists us.

And, yes, we can love.

Sometimes.

And that’s enough to get the job done.

For God loves all the time.

And God joins God’s love to our love.

Our love …

With God’s love, becomes love, all the time.

Amen and Amen!