Happy Tuesday Morning…here is todays From the Pastor Article…enjoy This past weekend we were able to take in the movie, Twelve Years a Slave, which won the best film of the year award. The story depicts the life of Solomon Northup who was a free man, kidnapped and sold into slavery for twelve years until he was able to reach those who loved him with news of what had happened to him. The movie depicts the horrors of slavery in the South of the 1800’s and shines a light on how cruel those in power can be to those who are not. Often movies such as these (and I would include Schindler’s List and Hotel Rwanda) remind me of the words of George Santayana, “Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” However, the truth is that what occurred in Twelve Years a Slave does still happen today. There are still people who are kidnapped and sold into slavery every day. It might not be happening in the way it was depicted in this movie but it still occurs. When we hear things like this we often can react to them in different ways. We can ignore the problems, ills of the world and move along with our lives. We can be thankful that “those things” don’t happen where we are located. We can take up the fight to end such things. However, in any case, in any reaction, we must be mindful of the world around us. We must be informed and given insight to what’s happening everyday. We are called from our slumber, our sleep, to become keenly aware that we are not the center of the universe and just because it doesn’t happen where we are...doesn’t mean that it’s not happening. Sunday as we continue our Lenten sermon series on Spiritual Practices we will explore the discipline of “Waking Up to God” and what that means for our lives. What does it mean to wake up to God’s presence all around us? What does it look like when we are able to say as Jacob did, “Surely the Lord is in the place and I was not aware of it.” Have a great week, enjoy some of this beautiful weather, we’ll see you Wednesday if not before and until then, Still in One Peace, Michael
Posted on: Tue, 11 Mar 2014 14:13:45 +0000