Witness: The Other Side

During this season of Eastertide, we are engaging with the particular encounters which Jesus initiates with his disciples following the Resurrection. A fishing expedition comes up empty until the stranger calls from onshore, proposing that they think differently. As a people called to cultivate communities of care and belonging, are we “casting our net to the other side,” or sticking with what we think we know?

Scripture & Quotations

John 21:1-14

Matthew 6:5-6

John 20:30-31

“…To enter is to enter into life, for those who enter find at last what it is to be loved and to be filled with love — not with sentiment, but love — for all people, regardless of whether they too are members of God’s family or not. Love, like other attitudes and virtues, cannot be taught. It can only be caught. You can teach people that they ought to love, but not to love.”

Dallas Willard - The Allure of Gentleness: Defending the Faith in the Manner of Jesus

Reflection

This cartoon was referenced in the sermon. We continue to consider the overarching question in this Eastertide season: How might our lives become an embodied proclamation of Resurrection hope? As you think about belonging through the lens of the scripture and the stories shared, what boundary lines are you meant to cross or blot out in seeking to embody the expansive love of Jesus?

@nakedpastor - David Hayward’s cartoons are often irreverently funny, but just as often incisive and searing toward the various hypocrisies of religious culture.

Kids’ Reflection

Below is the video the kids engaged with during their time at the Nature Center. A beautifully succinct teaching on the meaning behind Gospel.