The Fragrance of Love Dispels Evil's Stench

God has made us to be connected not only to God, but also to one another. We are called to be part of a flock, of mutual love and support.

In our final week of talking about roadblocks of life, we discuss the roadblockl of feeling that we have to go it alone; that we are weak or insufficient if we ask for help. But the truth is, we have a Shepherd, Jesus, who is with us, and we also are part of a flock: we have people who love us, who want us to succeed and do well.

For the third week of talking about roadblocks in life, we talk about the roadblock of wanting to run away or ignore a difficult situation or difficult decision that needs to be made, or the temptation to pretend that something that causes us anxiety is not there. Of course, these are not healthy reactions. Like the old commercials in which an overwhelmed person yells, "Calgon, take me away!" to escape into a bubble bath, but of course the bubble bath does not address the real issue (though it can be a healthy sabbath before tackling the problem). But Jesus says not to be afraid for he is with us, and is there to help us through the difficult times. Not that he will fix everything, but he is with us, and with him, we will get through it.

One roadblock in life is self-doubt: doubting our skills, doubting our worthiness, doubting our ability to be loved, doubting our right to success. We are so good at sabotaging ourselves this way. But Jesus gives us the words "Peace be with you", a way of saying "Don't be afraid". Jesus is with us, and asks us to leave our self-doubt in the tomb and move out into the light of fulness of life.

Jesus calls us out of our tombs, into resurrection life, and he calls us by name! Be not afraid, death is defeated and Jesus is still with us, and wants us to know all the joy and gladness and hope of life with God.

The beloved verse John 3:16 is often portrayed as meaning that Jesus just wants us to believe the right things, but it's really about action. Christianity has spent, I think, too much time trying to figure out abstract theological propositions we're supposed to say "yes" to in order to not be eternally punished in hell (and causing schisms, wars, and an awful lot of hurt along the way) instead of focusing on what Jesus' modeled for us as a good way to live: showing compassion, loving our neighbor, taking risks of faith and trusting in God's love (not God's anger). To live the way Jesus wants us to live is to live in eternal life.

We had guests this Sunday, Madison Lovelien and Gretchen Bye, who spoke about a trip to Thailand they took in January to spend time with people, especially children, who are victims of human trafficking. Their testimony might be difficult to listen to at times, but they also speak of hope for the future.

We celebrate Communion with bread and wine in worship, but we can also find, and make, sacred communion moments in the way we relate to other people.

After flooding the world, God repents and says "Never again", and later came as Jesus, turning the deadly force of punishing water into the cleansing grace of baptism and new life. The first Sunday of Lent, we hear of Noah and his ark, and then Jesus' and his baptism and time in the wilderness, and we contemplate the meaning of a God who is willing to change and be transformed.

Ash Wednesday begins our Lent journey. Saying "We are made from dust, and to dust we shall return" is a radical statement about living in God's time, following God's calendar, not in the world's time.