Pesto
One of the last kitchen rituals of summer in our household is to pulverize basil leaves, Parmesan, and walnuts, along with a generous pour of olive oil, into pesto. We spoon it into small containers, stash it in the freezer, and hope that the batch will see us through until we repeat the process next year. Tossed with pasta, green pesto is our family’s go-to sauce, so much so that the first time one of our kids was invited to eat dinner at a friend’s house, he was confused when he was served a plate of spaghetti. “Mom! It was so weird,” he reported. “The sauce on the noodles was red !” In his experience, marinara was unconventional.
I recalled this snippet of conversation and smiled as I counted out the 40 basil leaves required by my recipe. How many times had that same child been the one to do the counting? How many times had that same son been the one to water the herbs in the garden all summer long and tend them until harvest? The tasks themselves, the parent-child time invested over the years, the delicious meals shared at the joyful family table—all of these moments shaped his worldview, his baseline, his version of “normal.”
Dear friends, let’s love each other, because love is from God, and everyone who loves is born from God and knows God. The person who doesn’t love does not know God, because God is love. 1 John 4: 7-8 (CEB)
Recently, I was part of an engaging group discussion in which the question was posed: “Did you grow up knowing the ‘scary’ God or the ‘loving’ God?” While there is no doubt in my mind or heart that my worldview, my baseline, my version of normal has always been shaped by the understanding that God IS LOVE beyond human comprehension, I was touched by the stories of those for whom that has not always been so. Other folks in the group spoke of being raised with the notion that God seemed to always be poised to reprimand them, or at least God’s representatives here on earth were prepared to dole out punishment for any supposed infraction. In their experience, it seemed, Unconditional Love was unconventional. Fear was the prevailing force, the primary motivator. It’s a hard thing for me to imagine, and it saddens me that this would have ever been anyone’s introduction to God. I don’t find fear to be motivational.
Thankfully, I suspect all of these particular people would say that they have, subsequently, come around to the concept that to live in grace is a delight. I suspect that they have come to know a loving God as their version of normal. At least, I hope they have.
Which was your early experience of God? Scary? Loving? Something else? What adjective do you use currently to describe God? How do you react to the thoughts expressed in 1 John 4? Do you trust the statements? Do they resonate with you? Would you like them to?
I wonder sometimes—quite a lot, actually—how much each person’s formative experiences contribute to the animosity that has come to mark the times. As summer officially gives way to fall, it is not the only seasonal change we face. It is back-to-school season and election season and flu season, and each variation is wrapped with a layer of pandemic anxiety heightened by the likely escalation of a dreaded second wave of Covid-19. The attitudes we each carry, the behaviors we each exhibit, the values we each cling to, the beliefs we each hold fast—are they always influenced by how thoroughly each of us has marinated in one sauce or the other? In fear or in faith?
Open your mouth
and taste, open your eyes and see—
how good God is.
Psalm 38: 4 (The Message)
Pesto or marinara? In matters of food preference, it doesn’t have to be an either/or proposition. It could be neither. It could be both. Until someone is introduced to both tasty dishes, though, how would they know that there is even a choice to be had? For anyone who has not known the flavor of Unconditional Love, I have enormous hope that they might have a taste. And a little more. And a little more. I have enormous hope that the remarkable flavor of Unconditional Love will overpower any other sensations and become the new version of normal.
Savoring Goodness
Pastor Chris
++++++++++++
Sunday Parking Lot Worship
Join us in the parking lot of College Hill Moravian Church every Sunday morning where you may praise God from the safe bubble of your own vehicle. The service, broadcast from the church sanctuary and transmitted through your car’s radio, begins at 10:00 a.m. and lasts approximately 40 minutes. Attendants are on hand to make sure you have worship materials, receive your offerings, and help you find the best place to park. Smile and wave and worship!
Virtual Activities
Virtual Fellowship Time on Zoom – Sundays at 11:30 a.m.
This casual online gathering has taken root over the last few months and become a wonderful way to keep connected. Whether you’ve become a “regular” at these gatherings, or you’re thinking about dropping by for the very first time, please use the Zoom link and password provided below, or join by phone if you do not use a device with a screen.
And if Zoom is new to you and you’d like to be coached on how to get started, please email me at moravianpastorchris@gmail.com or call me at 484-894-9077.
To join by computer, tablet or smart phone, please go to:
Passcode: 789162
To join by phone (no video), dial:
+1 301 715 8592 US (Germantown)
Meeting ID: 998 3134 7702
Zoom Prayers–Sundays at 6:30 p.m.
We are also continuing to offer Zoom Prayers on Sunday evenings at 6:30. We come together to share simply in intercessory prayer on behalf of our congregation, community, and world. We usually conclude by 7:00 p.m. All are welcome!
To join by computer, tablet, or smart phone, please go to:
Passcode: 073131
To join by phone (no video), dial:
+1 301 715 8592 US (Germantown)
Meeting ID: 919 6174 3369
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