A Message From Rev. Ben Moore

In my first pastorate I was proud when I was able to greet every member of the church by name by my third Sunday. I’ve always prided myself at being good with names and being able to quickly greet people by their name. But I’m noticing something over the last couple of weeks, my 46 year old brain isn’t learning quite as quickly as my 30 year old brain did. And, I know, it’s going to get worse.

As we age, I think it is natural to focus on the things that we used to be able to do that we can no longer do, and to lament what has been lost. But it can be easy to forget that when we were younger, we looked forward to being able to do things we can do now that we couldn’t then. This may be one of those “the grass is always greener on the other side” things. I don’t know that there is any age where everything comes together for us, and that leaves us feeling that throughout our lives we are lacking something.

It is that sense of lack that I’m focusing on this year for Lent, not just about our aging processes and yearning to be younger or older. Instead, I want us to focus on combatting the idea that we are somehow lacking in what we need. I know that there are many things that I used to be able to do that I can no longer do and things that I cannot yet do but one day may be able to do. I also know that there are things that would allow me to have a bigger impact on the world or be more successful at what I want to do.

Lent can remind us that although we do not have all that we want, we do have all that we need to live faithful lives with the help of God. During this season we will confront what it is that we think we are lacking so that we can remember that God provides us with all that we need. By confronting our sense of lack we can prepare to face the world as it is and as we are, and live lives in faith that God is at work in and through us just as we are, redeeming the world by Christ’s love.

So thankful to be learning to walk faithfully alongside you,

Pastor Ben