St. Martin's Episcopal Church

Welcome to the St. Martin's Prime Timers Adult Bible Fellowship.

Each Sunday we meet in the Payne Education Center, rooms 207-209, from 10:10 to 10:50. Prime Timers is geared towards people aged fifty to sixty-four, people in the prime of life. We always welcome new members and you are invited to come and check us out!

Prime Timer Good News!

For $1 you can bring your good news to the Prime Timers. Max Kech spent time last year at the Amistad Mission in Bolivia. The Prime Timers dollars added up and we donated $451 to the Mission.

For news on the kids click on the photo!

The Light of the World

Our teacher today was Chris Hershberger. As it was Palm Sunday our class was somewhat smaller than usual, but Chris made up for it with an excellent lesson. Since most of our members missed it, we are printing Chris's notes here in their entirety. I hope our extended web family enjoys it as well.

Today is SUNDAY OF THE PASSION or Palm Sunday, and the Bible reading in your chairs describes the events that transpired as Jesus entered Jerusalem. I believe that the reading in our services today conveys much more eloquently than I can, the drama associated with the last week of Jesus’ life. The central message of today’s lesson is that Jesus entered Jerusalem and was recognized by his followers as a King, or Messiah (in their minds perhaps to overthrow the Roman Empire), and therefore they lay down palm branches and clothing before him as he rode into town on a donkey.

In the present time, we also recognize Jesus as a King, but for a different reason. To me, it is because the primary focus of Jesus’ ministry on earth was love. Consequently, I have taken the liberty to base my remarks today on the lesson that was scheduled for March 18th.

To me, John’s first epistle conveys that we must understand the love of God and Jesus and translate their love into the dealings we have with other people in our lives.

Earlier in my career, I was fortunate to live for 3½ years in London. Hanging in St. Paul’s Cathedral is one of three paintings by Holmann Hunt entitled The Light of the World. I am certain that many of you have seen copies of this painting, in which Jesus is standing, at night, outside of a door, covered with brambles and ivy, tapping to seek admission.

In my interpretation of the painting, there are several noteworthy details:

There is no door knob or handle on the outside – the door can only be opened from the inside to let Jesus in
Jesus is standing in front of the door at night – More often than not, Jesus will come in the darkness of our trials and tribulations and offer us his love
There is a quietness or peacefulness in the scene – this contrasts with the haste and horror that are often the central concerns in our lives
Jesus appears to be tapping on the door – He is not pounding with his fist, while yelling “HEY - LET ME IN”. In other words, by tapping, Jesus lets us know that he is available, but we must act to let him in.
There is a glow, emanating from Jesus and His lantern – this, to me, portrays the love that Jesus wishes us to reflect
Jesus appears to be listening, to determine if there is a response to his tapping – He appears to be waiting to hear any sign of an invitation to come in.

Hunt’s inspiration for this painting was Revelation 3:20 (NIV translation) “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him and he with me.”

So, what does Holmann Hunt’s painting The Light of the World have to do with our reading from 1 John 4:7-21?

First, I believe that John’s letter instructs us to love, as God loves – in accordance with God’s good purposes for other people, not in accordance with our interpretation of their worthiness or unworthiness. Those who love in this way show themselves to be “children of God”, or, to put it another way, have opened the door and let God’s and Jesus’ love into their lives.

Second, because of the love God demonstrates to each of us, individually, and the resulting value He places on each of us, we should reflect that love on others, rather than conveying our own self-centered evaluations of each other.

Third, God’s love for us achieves its goal within us when we love one another out of the love we have received from Him and out of His love that we recognize that others have also received.

Fourth, some of us are inclined to think that it is easier to love an invisible God, rather than the very visible, but disagreeable sister or brother who irritates us in some way. We think it might be easier to love God, but if we do not have the heart to love the person in front of us as she or he is, how can we presume to love the God who is inaccessible to all of our senses? In essence, there is no love for God without loving God’s own.

Fifth, if we believe that we need specific help to love certain people, as God loves, we have God’s assurance that God will hear our prayers in this regard and will provide us the wherewithal to reflect his love through us.

In summary, as the self-centered creatures that we know we are, as we start out on our journey of transformation into Christ-likeness, we need to move away from seeing other people in relation to what they can do for us, how they impede us, how they impact our lives, how they match up to our expectations and desires for them, and move toward seeing them as they are in God’s love for them. As we do this more and more, we are more able to truly love them and not the projections of our own agendas that they represent. And, naturally, this opens us up to truly love God, as God is, not as the projection of our own design for God.

As Jesus said “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind”. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: “Love your neighbor as yourself”.

I encourage you to answer the tapping at your door and to let God and Jesus into your lives so that you may reflect their love to other people whose paths you might cross.

What thoughts do you have about loving people with whom you come into contact?