Worship Preview 2.22.26 "The Wandering Way"

Scriptures: Mathew 3:16 – 4:17, Psalm 1:1-6, Romans 5:12-21 and 6:1-4. 

Rev. Christopher Eshelman preaching.

This season at First UMC we will begin a series on “The Way” of Jesus. Making intentional journeys, a pilgrimage, has been a ritual of humankind across time and traditions. Inspired by passages in the scriptures that talk about the journeys, roads and pathways of life, we will make our way together through this season of Lent. As we do so, we’ll also draw insight from a popular and poignant movie, The Way, about a father’s pilgrimage in honor of his late son on the famed Camino de Santiago, and a wonderful book entitled “The Art of Pilgrimage: The Seeker’s Guide to Making Travel Sacred” by Phil Cousineau as our modern-day inspirations to live the life we’ve been given to the fullest – which means following Christ!

Jesus went on a pilgrimage into the wilderness after his baptism by John in the Jordan River. A common practice among spiritual leaders of his day, this was a time to dig deep into the humanity of his soul. Along the way he encounters what we all encounter along the paths of life–temptations to stray from the path that God has intended for us. But “all who wander are not lost,” as the saying goes, for it is in the wandering often that we find our true selves. In his book, Cousineau writes: “Centuries of travel lore suggest that when we no longer know where to turn, our real journey has just begun. At that crossroads moment, a voice calls to our pilgrim soul. The time has come to set out for the sacred ground–the mountain, the temple, the ancestral home–that will stir our heart and restore our sense of wonder. It is down the path to the deeply real where time stops and we are seized by the mysteries. This is the journey we cannot not take.”

After his time in the Wilderness, Luke’s Gospel tells us he goes and preaches in his hometown. We’ve looked at that scene in Luke’s Gospel several times recently – referring to his reading from Isaiah 61 as “Jesus’ Mission Statement.” Matthew’s Gospel does not give us that story – but jumps to the moment when Jesus learns that John has been arrested. This, for Matthew, is a crossroads moment for Jesus. Another time when he makes a deliberate and intentional choice on where his way leads. He begins publicly preaching and calling for repentance.

To repent literally means to turn around. To recognize we are travelling the the wrong way – and to make changes. Lent is a season of intentional repentance. Sunday we’ll look at some choices we are making, individually and collectively. We’ll listen for God’s call, revealed in Christ. We’ll draw from Paul’s discussion of sin and grace in Romans and wrestle with the beginning of the Psalms. We don’t have to have it all figured out. We do have to faithfully decide our next steps on the journey. Wherever you are on that path, you are invited to bring your hopes, your fears, your doubts, and your full self to worship Sunday at 10:30am.Let us walk in the way of Christ! Amen!

UPCOMING EVENTS

FEEDING FAMILIES IN HIS NAME: Wednesday, February 25 - A free, no obligation meal is served “to-go” style from underneath our portico from 5:15 to 6:15pm each Wednesday (note our new official start and end times), prepared each week by our members as well as several area churches and community groups. We aim to provide 400 meals per week. If you would like to support this ministry feeding our neighbors, you can make donations online at: www.firstumcfortscott.org/feedingfamiliesdonation. Thank you.

FELLOWSHIP SOUP LUNCH: 11:30am Friday, February 27^th Soup, Chilli and Dessert for a freewill offering to benefit First UMC Ministries. Bring a friend!