Pink Floyd and Jesus

As a Christian I hate to admit that sometimes I am less Shema and more Pink Floyd. (Huh? What is the Shema, click here: Shema. Pink Floyd...go ask your parents.) The Shema is what Jesus quotes when he is asked what is the greatest commandment, "love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind." (Mark 12: 29) However, Jesus wasn't done! He then hits his questioners with, "and the second is like the first, you must love your neighbor as you love yourself." As a Christian I should be all about loving the Lord our God with all my heart, soul, and mind. I should be all about loving my neighbor as good as I love and take care of myself. Right? Yet, I find I am less Shema and more Pink Floyd. I am more like Pink Floyd's song "Comfortably Numb" (it is on "The Wall" album). Less Shema, more "I have become comfortably numb!" I no longer feel the pain and suffering of those around me...I am comfortably numb. At least I was comfortably numb! For those of you who shared in our fellowship at Open Arms Ministry and heard Vicki speak about the this ministry...I think you would agree that you too find yourself no longer "comfortably numb." In her sharing about the ministry and inviting our churches to get involved she opened the door for the Spirit to come in and make us "wonderfully aware." And that night we were made "wonderfully aware," as the Spirit moved us to share from our comfort with those who were in need. Feel free to post some of your thoughts on our time together or share some of your experiences of how being in mission has made you "wonderfully aware" of the presence and power of the Lord who is always standing with the most unlikely of neighbors.

April Gathering...

During WWII, the Germans bombed many English cities, especially hard hit was the industrial and shipping hub of Liverpool (the city of later "We're-the-Hometown-of-the-Beatles" fame). You can still see signs of the war's devestation. One site bombed particularly hard is one of the city's first Anglican churches. It was once a tall spired cathedral with breathtaking stained glass windows. Now, it is a hollow shell of its former self. Amazingly, the locals (called Liverpudlians) never rebuilt it and it stands as a reminder of WWII's destruction. However, the flower gardens surrounding the church are still maintained. Within this garden is a statue of Christ and it bears the wounds of the WWII in that the statue has no arms. Yet, it is beautifully marred! At the base of the statue is an inscription that reads, "Jesus has no hands, but yours." As Casting Crowns asks, in their song "If We Are the Body," "If we are the body? Why are his arms not reaching?" This is the thought that we are discussing at this month's gathering. This month, Monday April 24 at 7pm, we are gathering at the Open Arms Ministry of the Winston-Salem District. Where we will discuss the importance of faith in action and engage in a small mission activity. For directions click here. For more on Open Arms click here.