During the Season of Lent, we spent some time in the gospel of John. We visited a passage from the fourth chapter, in which Jesus has conversation with a Samaritan woman at the village well. At the conclusion of their interaction, the woman recognizes Jesus for who he is, confesses him as Messiah, and runs to the town to tell of him. She is the first evangelist in John’s gospel and has a compelling message of three words, “Come and See.” That’s it—come and see. As Christians and as the church, what we say is not nearly as important as how we live into the faith.
Consequently, any time we can invite others to “come and see,” we have an opportunity to show the community who we are as followers of Jesus Christ in His church. This Sunday is one of the “come and see” moments.
Last year, I disrupted Mother’s Day (my bad), and dang if this year I didn’t disrupt the Fifth Sunday, a time when we normally share a meal after Worship. I do plan to be a bit more diligent as next year’s event is calendared. The event? Our Second Annual Blessing of the Bikes Sunday.
This is the Sunday we invite persons who ride motorcycles to bring their bikes, have them blessed, and enjoy fellowship and some food in the parking lot. The vast majority of the folks who will be on our property Sunday are not members or constituents. A number of the attendees will not come to our service. But, we nonetheless have the opportunity to welcome people to our place and in so doing, invite them to “Come and See.” Who knows? God may be tugging on someone’s metaphorical sleeve Sunday. NBUMC may be the place they are to land. I only know we are to welcome the stranger in our midst and make them feel welcome. I am looking forward to what God has in store for us Sunday.
As we prepare for the blessing, our text will be Psalm 23. This Psalm is the most well known of the Psalter and is at least partially known by many folks in our culture. Yet, it is used primarily as a funeral Psalm when, in fact, it’s way more about life than it is about death. I will invite us to be in conversation with the 23rd Psalm as we explore the five things I’ve learned about faith by riding a motorcycle. Yes, I rode for a little over 20 years. The message will appeal to riders. It will appeal to people of faith, and it will appeal to those invited to “come and see.” Did I miss anyone? Didn’t think so.
I don’t know that we were born to be wild, but I do know we were born to be God’s. See you Sunday.
Paul
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