Loving Pharisees
Loving Pharisees
All of Luke 15—a Tale of Three Parties—is a response by Jesus to an accusation made by a bunch of Pharisees: “This man receives sinners and eats with them.” Three parables of God’s literal passion for the lost, and his joy at their finding. Found sheep? Party. Found coin? Party. Found son? You guessed it…party! You’d have thought it was 1999.
But the party in the third story was a huge problem for one person, the older brother (representing the Pharisees themselves), who hadn’t squandered half his father’s life savings, thank you very much.
The thing is, if you read with care the response of the father to his older son’s anger, you read Jesus’s tenderest words to the Pharisees recorded in the Gospels.
They strike me as poignant words for us, too.
See you Sunday.
Steve+
Seeking: Nominations for Vestry
Redeemer’s Vestry is seeking nominations for a female member to fill a 1.5 year vacancy. If you know of someone you can nominate, or you yourself would like to serve, please write to Steve Wishart at steve@redeemerannapolis.org and he can fill you in on the details.
Seeking: Teachers' Assistants for Children's Formation
As a community, we are all called to aid in the growth and raising of our youngest members and we commit to it as a church when we engage in the sacrament of baptism. Currently, we have four teachers rotating in our one Children's Formation class. We'd like to expand to two classes broken up by age 5 through 2nd grade and 3rd through 5th grade. We need four to eight volunteers to assist our teachers and abide by our policy of two adults in every children's class. This role is simple and really requires nothing more than showing up ready to help! Prayerfully consider if this is a way you could engage our young believers. Contact Karissa Simmons at karissa.simmons@redeemerannapolis.org.
Potluck—Sunday, April 3rd
Time to reconnect! We’ll gather after Sunday worship for a potluck meal. Everyone should plan to bring a main dish and either a side dish or dessert to share. We’ll provide drinks and all utensils. Please let us know what you’ll bring here.
Picture credit: Murillo, The Return of the Prodigal Son. (1667).