Church,
I can’t believe fall kick-off is here! As we transition back into the rhythm of the program year, this beginning we are also transitioning through various endings. We are closing out Drama Class at Love University, as well as entering the closing week of The Prom (but don’t fret! You still have five opportunities to see it!). The closing of Drama Class this Sunday and the beginning of History: Wesleyan Vile-tality next week echo what we see in this week’s Scripture: in every ending, there is a new beginning.
In Genesis 45:1–15, we see Joseph reunited with his brothers, the very brothers who had sought to harm him because of their jealousy. And yet, Joseph weeps. The text tells us, “He threw his arms around his brother Benjamin’s neck and wept, and Benjamin wept on his shoulder. He kissed all of his brothers and wept, embracing them. After that, his brothers were finally able to talk to him” (verses 14–15).
What enabled Joseph, after all he had been through, to meet his brothers with this kind of grace? That is what we will talk about this Sunday as we consider the third of Wesley’s Three General Rules: “Stay in Love with God,” including the original wording Wesley used for this rule.
If you have been reading along through the story of Joseph, you might have noticed that God is not as visible in this story as God is in other accounts of our faith forebears. But wherever there is reconciliation, God is near. Wherever love and restoration are seen, God is there. In Joseph’s gracious response to his brothers, he demonstrates what is possible when we live into the heart of this third rule. When we are living in the rhythms that enable us to sense and hear God, it changes everything about us and, like as we see with Joseph and his brothers, our relationships.
As we consider this week what it means to “Stay in Love with God,” we are going to consider practices that help us cultivate space to become vessels for reconciliation, love, and restoration in our own lives. Throughout the history of our tradition, we have recognized the importance of prayer, worship, Scripture reading, fasting, and communion as ways to draw us nearer to the One who is always drawing near to us. In addition to these traditional spiritual practices, there are endless ways we can open ourselves to God’s presence so that we may live more fully into who God is calling us to be.
I look forward to being with you in worship as we faithfully engage in what it means to “Stay in Love with God.” Who knows what seeds of reconciliation, love, and restoration might be planted as we do?
With love,
Pastor Jayde
