“So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.” -Jesus, in John 13:34-35
“Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions.” -1 John 3:18
After supper one early spring evening, I went for a walk in our neighborhood near Tainter Lake. As I walked toward the lake that night there were dozens of flocks of geese coming in to rest for the night, honking softly to each other as they flew overhead and then erupting into a cacophony of much louder honking as they all vied for the best spots on what little open water was available at the time. I wondered what they were communicating to each other in all that noise. When I got home, I did a little research and learned that there are at least six distinct ways geese honk and I likely heard two of them during my walk. The soft, rhythmic honking of the geese flying overhead was a “contact call”—basically a running roll call in which the flock checks in with each other to make sure everyone is still okay. The much louder, faster honking I heard from the geese on the lake was an “agonistic call”—the sound of geese feeling threatened by new groups approaching, and warning the newly arrived flocks to keep their distance from the area their flock had already occupied.
Somehow this seemed like a fitting illustration of our world today, and the church’s place in it. This world is a pretty noisy, angry, and often chaotic place, not all that unlike the cacophony of geese on the lake, but the church is a smaller community within it, softly and persistently calling out our running roll call as we travel through this messy, unpredictable life together: “Are you okay? I’m here for you.”
As the scripture readings above remind us, we are called to love one another as Jesus loved us, with a love expressed not just in words but in
actions. Thank you for being a part of this beautiful community of people at the Menomonie United Methodist Church who love one another so well. Thank you for showing up even when life is hard and things get a little messy. Through every prayer you pray for one another and for our world, through every conversation you share, through every card you send, and through every act of care, you are participating in God’s kingdom where God’s will is done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Blessings,
Pastor Wendy