01-07-24

ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
January 7, 2024
Epiphany Sunday
The day has arrived! Yes, it is Camel Parade Day. I hope to see as many of you as possible at Meyer Park (10am). Not only is it a fun experience for Cypress Creek folks, and not only does it teach the difference between Epiphany and Christmas, but it is also an opportunity to share who we are with our neighbors, who we don’t usually see on Sunday mornings… unless they come to church. We would love it if they did come to church, but more importantly, it is a great opportunity to chat with people, introduce ourselves, and let them know that there is a wonderfully quirky group of people down the road that are pretty serious about Putting Love First. It is not a secret that we live in a very different culture than just 30 years ago. Church attendance is on the decline among every denomination, but even more distressing is the growing uneasiness that a growing number of people have when it comes to the church. As an institution, the church must own 98% of that distrust or outright distain people have for the church. We have failed in many areas, including being late when it comes to the work of justice and compassion. The Jesus story suggests we should have been walking alongside the hurting, rejected, and scapegoated from the beginning, and some in the church were there, whether we are talking about issues of racism, colonialism, women’s suffrage, inequalities around incarceration, violence, human trafficking, marginalizations of the LGBTQ+ community, etc. But the church doesn’t need just a few radicals, but a clear statement about the mission of bringing alive the love and kindness of God for all people in every situation. 

Awaken us, Gracious God, to follow your way with the kind of commitment reflected in the lives of the Magi. We desire to show up wherever the Gospel needs an unmistakeable pronouncement. Amen.