Hello friends,
A new sign has gone up across the street from the church.
It reads, “Newman Cemetery: sense the depth of history and links to the past preserved in stone.” The sign offers a link to a self-guided tour of the cemetery and information about several of the people memorialized.
As I took the self-guided tour, I noticed that several of the stones in the cemetery are accompanied by little plaques that read “Perpetual Care.”
It struck me that perpetual care is a helpful way to think about our Christian faith.
The tradition of Jesus—our teacher, our leader, our guide—is a gift passed down through the ages. Jesus offers us perpetual care via the covenants and sacraments of our faith; and through our own faith journeys we each take part in the perpetual care of Christianity. It’s a beneficent cycle.
The perpetual care that Christianity provides is important right now; the challenges of our time are diverse, and pressing.
Over a five-week span in worship we are seeking wisdom for living the challenges through five lesser-known parables of Jesus:
- August 3: “The Parable of the Leaven”
- August 10: “The Parable of the Pearl”
- August 17: “The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector”
- August 24: “The Parable of the Woman Seeking Justice”
- August 31: “The Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus”
This week, we’ll let the parable of the pearl inspire and unsettle us; we’ll hear how it raises questions of surprise, identity, and perpetual care.
Traveling together,
Sam