September 26

Beloved of Good Shepherd Church

Grace to you and peace in Jesus Christ our Lord!

My friend, Amy, pointed out something to me in our Wednesday morning bible study that is a real game changer. She said, “God is not anxious. And God does not need or want me to be anxious. So, I can be assured that when I am anxious and worried it is not because God wants me to be anxious or worried.” When she said that I remembered that Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount, “Do not worry.” Amy continued, “So if a scripture passage seems to be anxiety inducing I can simply look for another meaning because God is not anxious, and God does not want me to be anxious either.” Then my friend Bert said, “God wants us to love.” 

That’s a scene from our Wednesday morning Bible study at Good Shepherd. You are invited to join us in-person, or via Zoom, by tuning in via Facebook live. You can find out more HERE. All are welcome!

That exchange with Amy and Bert sends me on a search for the deeper meaning in Jesus’ teaching appointed for this Sunday in which he says, “If your eye causes you to stumble, tear it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and to be thrown into hell.” If Amy and Bert are correct, and that saying of Jesus is not intended to induce anxiety, then I’ve got to dig really deep for the meaning buried in the image of poked out eyes and being tossed into hell. Join us for Sunday School and worship this Sunday and we’ll search for the deeper meaning together. Consider this: Hyperbole is one of Jesus’ favorite teaching tools, and hell is a self-imposed distance from love.

Emily is here! Our new Assistant to the Rector, The Reverend Emily Badgett started work on Wednesday and will be with us for her first official Sunday this Sunday, September 29th. Join me in welcoming Emily to Good Shepherd!

Remember this always - God loves you, and I love you too!

Love is all,

Hendree+