Dear Friends in Christ at Peace Grue,
So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation; everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!
2 Corinthians 5:17
Dr. Suess’s well-known, playful, poetic story Green Eggs and Ham features an odd but persistent character who calls himself “Sam-I-am.” Sam’s mission throughout the story is to persuade (compel, hound, badger) another character, whose name is never revealed, to sample a rather unusual dish: green eggs and ham. The target of Sam’s pursuit, even though he has never tried them, insists throughout the book that he does not like green eggs and ham. It’s hard to blame Sam’s Friend for being sure of what he likes and doesn’t like. After all, there are plenty of people who would never eat anything green, especially if it’s something that isn’t supposed to be green or wasn’t originally green! But in the end, Sam-I-am gets his wish. Worn weary from Sam’s persistence, the other fellow finally tries green eggs and ham. And wonder of wonders, he likes them! He ends up thanking Sam for introducing him to a new dish.
So many times in life we are like Sam’s friend, initially resisting something that ultimately we might like, or something that ultimately we need whether we like it or not. We are hesitant to try new things, resistant to hearing new ideas or perspectives, especially when those perspectives make us uncomfortable. Perhaps they require serious self-inspection or urge us to get outside the comfort zones of familiar things.
The children of Israel were rebellious people, who time after time, confused or ignored their priorities. Covenants with God were replaced by covenants with neighbor states. Devotion to God was replaced by devotion to self. We certainly can relate to this. In what ways are contemporary Americans like the Israelites of biblical times? How seriously do we Christians regard the individual responsibilities that we have toward family, neighbors, church or community? I’ve heard how hard it is to find people to teach Sunday School, work with youth, or serve on a church committee. And then we wonder why our churches are not growing, or why so many young people have strayed from the church. We don’t like to think about how the ways we act contribute to the situation we find ourselves in. It is far easier to insist that we don’t like green eggs and ham, especially when it is different from what we’ve been doing up to now.
With this in mind I thank all those who stepped up so that we could again have Sunday School, coffee fellowship, meals before confirmation, and Bible Studies. I thank those who serve on council, provide music, or contribute to worship by serving as acolytes, readers, or communion assistants, your contributions are important.
I also want to inform you that Pastor Paul and I are currently looking for two people (one couple) from each of the four congregations to participate in a community youth group. Our thought is that with eight adults (not all adults would have to be at every event) and two pastors we would be able to offer one event per month. So far Pastor Paul is leading, having already recruited one of his two couples, so I’m asking for your help. If you have the gift of relating to youth or know someone youth could confide in, (neither has to be a parent) I need to hear from you. If I contact you because I think you are such a person, I hope you would have prayerfully considered this calling.
Thank you,
Pastor Dan