“Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” Jesus said to him, “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.” (Mt. 22:36-40) In English we use the word “love” in a lot of ways. We might use it to describe our favorite restaurant, “I love La Petite Grocery.” We might use it to describe our favorite tech device, “I love my iPhone.” Or we might use it to describe bigger things, like “I love New Orleans.” And in all of these usages, it’s used primarily as a superlative of the word “like.” When it comes to people, the usage of the word “love” … [Read more...]
Archives for October 2017
From the Pastor – October 1, 2017
“Thus says the LORD: You say, ‘The LORD's way is not fair!’ Hear now, house of Israel: Is it my way that is unfair, or rather, are not your ways unfair?” (Ez. 18:25) “That’s not fair!” I can’t even imagine how many times I heard that growing up. I grew up in a house with three sisters and a brother. And one thing about us, we grew up with a strong understanding of justice. Well, justice as we defined it. When it came time to cut the pecan pie for dessert, we would scrutinize the pieces down to the last crumb. And if someone got a bigger piece, one of us would exclaim: “That’s not fair!” And if one of us was invited to spend the night at our grandparents, then a scorecard was kept. If there was not a perfect rotation so that each of us went in order, it would happen again: … [Read more...]
