Sunday, July 13, 2025

Dear Friends,

You are already being saved. A faint gleam of heaven is already inside of you. 

CS Lewis took, in my opinion, a very pragmatic approach to faith. He supported his ideas with scripture, he was clear on good and evil, heaven and hell. As a literature professor at both Oxford and Cambridge, his approach does not surprise us, right? It seems in line with my images of these institutions: proof, theory, process…maybe even….stuffiness? Then he writes something like the passage above and I realize, again, the balance with which Lewis approached his faith: Learning coupled with wonder. System coupled with mystery. Heaven and hell coupled with humanity. Mere Christianity coupled with Lions, Witches and Wardrobes.

Consistently, the reading of any of Lewis’ writings taps into my intellect and my giddy wonder. Scripture does the same. At once, I am implored to recognize my brokenness while also having my holiness uplifted. I am a child of God positioned to witness the horror of the cross. I am called by God and humbled by my own denial. 

This is a vital process for our faith journey. We must find balance. We must know that this gleam of heaven is inside of us while remembering that the fullness of goodness remains a goal rather than a current reality. While redemption is already ours, we are still actively being saved. While we are sure of God, our faith must be open to doubt so that we continue to grow. We must know the foundation of our faith while embracing the mystery.

This coming Sunday, we will take a look at the story of the Good Samaritan. A story about a person who was “bad” doing good things. A story about those who are holy doing unholy things. A story that addresses doubts about heaven with glimpses of where heaven may lie. A story which broadens our understanding of salvation. In short the story of the Good Samaritan invites us to find the balance. For a moment, we are the injured, then the Levite or priest, sometimes we are the Samaritan. Always, we possess a gleam of heaven. Always we are being redeemed.

Sunday, June 29, 2025

Dear Friends,
 
I am so happy that I will be with you on Sunday!
 
I’m feeling renewed and hopeful, not only by a positive trajectory in my treatment, but by all the affirmations of God’s love that keeps showing up in surprising ways, especially from you. It has been both holy and healing. My heart is full.  
 
Catholic priest Henri Nouwen wrote about the joy we experience when we encounter the love of God.  He says, “joy is a gift that is there even when we are sorrowful, even when we are in pain, even when things are difficult in our lives. The joy that Jesus offers is a joy that exists in very, very difficult situations…. It is something that remains with us.”  
 
I look forward to seeing you on Sunday and sharing some of this joy in person.
 
Love,
Cheryl

Sunday, June 15, 2025

Dear Friends,

I am currently in Louisville, KY, at the National Presbyterian Center. We are planning the Presbyterian Youth Triennium (PYT), a joint event between the Presbyterian Church (USA) and the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. I’ve worked with this event over the years in different roles. This year, I am working alongside a friend and artist to create the visual installations for the PYT.

This is a ton of work. Many late nights, flights to Louisville, time away from home, planning followed by rethinking and replanning, starting and stopping, starting again, and so on. There are vendors, decorators, riggers, volunteers, and so many other pieces of the puzzle. It can be overwhelming at times, but the inspiring moments far outweigh the challenging ones.

Through it all, the sentiment that arises over and over again is hope. Each time I witness the thousands of young people coming together to learn and worship, to dream and share, I have hope.

I have hope, first, for the church. I know that as long as we encourage this type of programming, encourage young people, and invest in their well-being, the church will survive and thrive. I also find hope for humanity. These youth are not only the future; they are the now. Through their volunteerism, activism, curiosity, compassion, and faithfulness, they model what it means to be engaged citizens. They are not simply watching the world; they are living fully. 

It is not difficult to hope when a part of the PYT.

Today, I pray that this will inspire you. Hope is unfolding, and new generations are grasping the possibilities this hope offers. If you are young, live fully. If you are old, do the same. And in the midst of it all, let us encourage one another to hope. God is faithful to us and, I believe, giving life to this hopefulness so that we may be closer to becoming that which God is calling us to be.

Mark

Sunday, June 1, 2025

This week in worship, we will hear music, share prayers and receive the word as noted in the “Pentecost” story. The scripture is located in Acts, Chapter 2. I won’t go into too much of the passage now, but will say that it culminates with Peter preaching in the temple. I love this story because not only is it the culmination of the Pentecost story and the arrival of the Holy Spirit, it is also an outward expression of Peter’s forgiveness and call. 

As you may recall from the Gospel, Jesus predicted that Peter would deny him. Sure enough, this happens. Remember the story? Betrayed by Judas, Jesus is arrested. Soon after, someone accuses Peter of being with Jesus. Peter denies this three times. Imagine the inner turmoil! Your friend has just been carried off by the authorities, the energy of the crowd that witnesses this is palpable, the crowd is looking to accuse others and save themselves, in response they are looking for anyone that can receive blame or guilt by association, all of this led to Peter’s denial. Later, Peter meets the resurrected Jesus. Jesus asks Peter (broken Peter, bumbling Peter, embarrassed Peter, betraying Peter), “Peter, do you love me?” Peter responds affirmatively. Jesus says, “Feed my sheep.” This happens two more times. 

Three times Peter denied knowing Jesus. Three times Peter says he loves Jesus. Three times Jesus acknowledges this love by giving Peter a task to do. I’m guessing that if Jesus would have simply told Peter he was forgiven that Peter would have had a hard time believing it. Instead, Jesus reminds Peter that he is more loving than broken. To seal it all, again three times, Jesus gives Peter a task: Feed my sheep. Jesus shows that Peter is forgiven by trusting him with the work of carrying on Jesus’ ministry.

So, when Peter stands up to preach in this Pentecost story, that is the wisdom he is carrying. He is loved and loving. He is forgiven and freed. He is broken, but not destroyed. May we all believe the same for ourselves.

Sunday, May 25, 2025

We have been reading the gospel of Mark for our Bible Study. (A quick commercial: if you are available at 9:30 am on Thursdays, we would love to have you there.) It is good to be together and seek a more profound understanding as we read, research, and bounce ideas off one another.

I have been reflecting a good bit on Mark's first and ninth chapters, which were the subject of our conversation a couple of weeks ago. In Mark 1:11, following Jesus' baptism, God says, "You are my son, the Beloved, with you I am well pleased." In Mark 9:7, during the Transfiguration story, we hear the following from God, "This is my son, the Beloved, listen to him."

In the baptism story, it is unclear whether anyone has heard God's proclamation. The words from heaven are for Jesus himself. God addresses Jesus directly, and then, "Immediately," as the story goes, Jesus goes into the wilderness to be tempted. I wonder if this was the Wisdom from which Jesus drew his strength to survive the wilderness. Jesus heard God's Wisdom and affirmation, "You are my son. You are beloved. I am so pleased with you."

Later, using similar language, God addresses three disciples. Peter, James, and John, "THIS is my son. He is beloved. Listen to him." This proclamation comes amid miracle stories the disciples are seeing but still not understanding. They continue to wonder who Jesus is, why he keeps speaking of his death, and how he can heal. God's affirmation of who Jesus is, followed by a command to listen, seems to be what the disciples needed to hear. Soon after the transfiguration, the disciples try their hand at healing a boy but cannot do so. Jesus heals the boy instead, and when the disciples ask him how he was able to do this when they were not, Jesus explains to them that this healing was different from the others. This healing required prayer. Having heard the voice of God, they listen, they learn, and later in the book of Acts, we begin to see the fruit of their education.

These are two separate and powerful stories. When considered together, they speak of God's call to us. Like the disciples, we are to carry on the work and ministry of Jesus Christ. We read the stories that affirm who Jesus was and who Christ is. We are reminded that when Jesus was ridiculed, tempted, praised, challenged, supported, leaned upon, crucified, and resurrected, God was present, Jesus was beloved, and God was pleased with whom Jesus had grown to be. To know that this is our Messiah can strengthen our faith. To hear that God desired the disciples to listen and learn so they could represent Christ to the world, is a call to us to do the same.

As you consider how you represent the Messiah, know that you are supported, loved, and taught through Jesus' story. May your reflection upon this story give you strength for your journey. May you be reminded that you are beloved and God is certainly pleased with you.