Pastor Cathy's Message Blog

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Pastor Cathy Nutting

Connecting - February 2025

A Higher Standard of Love 

Dearly Beloved,

Grace and peace to you, Van Meter UMC Family!

On a mid-January shopping trip to a nearby big box store, and later to a large grocery store, I was a little surprised to find shelves already stocked with all the signs that February, the month we culturally celebrate love, was not far away. Red hearts, roses, and chocolates are everywhere we look. It's good to celebrate romance with your special someone, and love for family members and best friends who are always there for one another.

I'm sure you already know that when Jesus was asked which was the greatest commandment, he said: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these." Mark 12:30-31

We get the most practice loving our family and friends, and most of the time they are the easy ones to love. But if we're honest, loving all our neighbors as ourselves is really challenging.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus expands our understanding of loving God and loving neighbor when he teaches, "You have heard the law that says, 'Love your neighbor' and hate your enemy. But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike." Matthew 5:43-45

Jesus calls us to a higher standard of love; to love everyone, even the people we feel ambivalent about, people with whom we strongly disagree, and our actual enemies and those who persecute us. This kind of love is a tall order, especially today, when hatred and demonization are still rampant. Our political, media and social cultures encourage us to demean everybody with whom we disagree or who is different from us. Though it may be impossible to reach Jesus' ideal, as stewards and disciples of Jesus, we can do better with the help of the power of God's Spirit at work in us.

Here are some ways we might lean into loving people in our immediate circles and also expand those circles:

Couples: Go ahead and give flowers and chocolate, but also spend quality time with one another. Talk deeply and listen intently. Pray and read scripture together. Hold hands during worship. Talk often and listen deeply. Read Gary Chapman’s The 5 Love Languages to improve your relationship.

Families: Take joy in the love that holds you together – parents, grandparents, children, siblings, cousins -- everybody. Organize family dinners once a week. Plan a monthly Family Fun Night or Day. Tell each other, "I love you." Talk through problems and work together.

Friends: Enjoy time with buddies, but also cultivate deeper and more spiritual friendships. Share problems and successes. Grow together in faith.

Church neighbors: Send friendship valentines to everybody in church. Plan a churchwide "love your neighbor" Sunday at which you have a potluck and/or movie night or game night.

Community neighbors: Send a valentine and a piece of candy to immediate neighbors, people who are homebound or in long term care situations, or everybody in your address book to let them know that friendships and neighbors are important. Call someone you haven't talked to in a while. Start – or revive – neighborhood block parties, community cleanup days, yard sales or fellowship gatherings. Be an advocate for immigrants in our local community and beyond.

God gives us relationships of all kinds so that we can have companionship, friendship, security, and joy. And God has placed God's Spirit within us to guide and empower us to love and be loved. As stewards of all that God gives us, pay attention to God nudges. This month and all year long, may we live out love in all the ways God nudges us to nourish and celebrate healthy, strong relationships.

In Christ's gracious love and power,

Pastor Cathy