2 minute read
Pastor’s Paragraphs
Be the Light
I’ve always had a love/hate relationship with the summer months: I love that it’s not cold (I’m a it-can-only-snow-atChristmas-and-I’m-happy kind of person), but I don’t care for 100 degree weather either. If I’m honest, I’m more of a fan of the crisp coolness of fall with its smoky air and changing leaves.
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Yet, there is something about the summer months that still evokes a deep feeling that there is more to our days. The bright light of the sun, the warmth of the air, the constant smells of grills fired up and grass being cut –– things that somehow arise feelings of calm, peace, and joy within me.
It seems like years ago that we began our journey into the Lenten season with Ash Wednesday. On that night we seemed as far from the warmth and light of summer as we were from anything. As we journeyed into that remembrance of the darkness of this world, we were gripped with the darkness of the uncertainty that crept into our lives almost overnight. COVID-19 has certainly shown us that even our most
Rev. Dr. Lawrence Powers
Senior Pastor lawrence@bensonbaptist.org EXT. 22 carefully planned and organized lives can still come to a screeching halt in an instant. The darkness of Lent has been deep this year.
Yet, the light of Eastertide (that concluded last Sunday), reminds us that darkness is never the end. No matter what we face in our lives, the promise of Easter is that we will still –somehow – find the light that radiates from a dark, musty, and empty tomb.
It is that light that we must carry today. As the summer sun warms your face, I encourage you to turn your mind toward the light of Christ, and what it means for us to be light-bearers in the world. Some days this will mean sitting aside our differences to spread hope instead of hate and fear. It will mean not clicking ‘enter’ on certain social media posts that intend to jab at someone on the other side of the aisle. It will mean taking measures to love our neighbor –– even when it feels silly.
Being the light of Christ has never been easy. Spreading the warmth of Jesus’ love at the expense of our comfort has never been convenient. Yet, it is our call as Christians ––and we’ve got work to do.
