Sunday, July 23 at 10am | Bulletin
“We know that from the beginning until now, all of creation has been groaning in one great act of giving birth.” – Romans 8:22
Friends,
It’s been quite a week in news headlines, hasn’t it?
The groaning of creation is palpable right now, as is the fear, anxiety and despair that can easily set in when our foundations are shaken, when suffering is at our door, when the world as we know it or expected it to be, and our life within that world, becomes something other.
At PJ Prayers and Summer Study Group discussions this week it’s been clear that this is not a summer season that feels particularly light and breezy and refreshing and renewing for many of us.
While we might be tempted to look at our current moment and consider it unprecedented, as Paul’s letter to the Romans tells us, the groaning has been going on since the beginning.
If you don’t believe me, look up what was happening in the year 536, which medieval historian Michael McCormick who chairs the Harvard University Initiative for the Science of the Human Past, calls “the beginning of one of the worst periods to be alive, if not the worst year”. 536 beats out 1349, when the black death wiped out half of Europe and 1918, when the Spanish flu killed somewhere between 50 and 100 million people.
The Roman Empire collapsed in the face of what began in 536, but Christianity survived.
Come Sunday, let’s rejoice in that good news and remind ourselves of the hope that sustains us through faith, a faith demonstrated by living life in the Spirit, together, as the Body of Christ, regardless of what is swirling around us. See you Sunday at 10am, in the sanctuary or online.
Peace and love,
Pastor Andrea
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