Pastor Gary's Challenger Article - March 2025
“Timing Is Everything”
Friends:
Mark Twain once said, “Timing is everything: It’s good sportsmanship to not pick up lost golf balls while they are still rolling.”
This is sage advice when you and I try to understand the liturgical year of the church. We are a society enamored with success and the high moment. If we could, we would like to skip over the preliminaries and go right to the big event. For example, we might ask ourselves “Why observe the season of Lent? I’ll show up when we get to the part about ‘New Life’. Yet when we ignore the timing of the seasons, we miss the poignancy of the high moment and its impact on our lives. It’s hard to grasp the fullness of God’s grace when we want Easter without the Cross, peace without justice, and the crown of righteousness without commitment.
Keeping time and balance in our lives is about paying attention to the rhythms of our spiritual life. This is the reason we have different liturgical seasons throughout the church year. Thus, this is the reason why we observe Lent before Easter.
The great theological thinker of the twentieth century wrote these words about grace which help us understand Lent.
“Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession, absolution without personal confession. Cheap grace is grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.
Costly grace, on the other hand, is the treasure hidden in the field, for the sake of it one will gladly go and sell all that he has, it is the pearl of great price by which the merchant will sell all his goods. It is the kingly rule of Christ, for whose sake one will pluck out the eye which causes him to stumble, it is the call of Jesus Christ at which the disciple leaves his nets and follows him.
Costly grace is the gospel which must be sought again and again, the gift which must be asked for, the door at which one must knock.” (Dietrich Bonhoeffer)
In terms of our spiritual life, the cross comes before the resurrection. You and I need to be reminded of this from time to time. When it comes to embracing the meaning of new life, timing is everything.
The season of Lent begins with the Ash Wednesday Service on March 5th. The service time is 7 pm. Join us for this timely journey.
Grace & Peace,
Pastor Gary
“Timing Is Everything”
Friends:
Mark Twain once said, “Timing is everything: It’s good sportsmanship to not pick up lost golf balls while they are still rolling.”
This is sage advice when you and I try to understand the liturgical year of the church. We are a society enamored with success and the high moment. If we could, we would like to skip over the preliminaries and go right to the big event. For example, we might ask ourselves “Why observe the season of Lent? I’ll show up when we get to the part about ‘New Life’. Yet when we ignore the timing of the seasons, we miss the poignancy of the high moment and its impact on our lives. It’s hard to grasp the fullness of God’s grace when we want Easter without the Cross, peace without justice, and the crown of righteousness without commitment.
Keeping time and balance in our lives is about paying attention to the rhythms of our spiritual life. This is the reason we have different liturgical seasons throughout the church year. Thus, this is the reason why we observe Lent before Easter.
The great theological thinker of the twentieth century wrote these words about grace which help us understand Lent.
“Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession, absolution without personal confession. Cheap grace is grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.
Costly grace, on the other hand, is the treasure hidden in the field, for the sake of it one will gladly go and sell all that he has, it is the pearl of great price by which the merchant will sell all his goods. It is the kingly rule of Christ, for whose sake one will pluck out the eye which causes him to stumble, it is the call of Jesus Christ at which the disciple leaves his nets and follows him.
Costly grace is the gospel which must be sought again and again, the gift which must be asked for, the door at which one must knock.” (Dietrich Bonhoeffer)
In terms of our spiritual life, the cross comes before the resurrection. You and I need to be reminded of this from time to time. When it comes to embracing the meaning of new life, timing is everything.
The season of Lent begins with the Ash Wednesday Service on March 5th. The service time is 7 pm. Join us for this timely journey.
Grace & Peace,
Pastor Gary
Proudly powered by Weebly