Monthly Minute with Pastor Andrew

Hello to all the Monthly Minute readers of West Hempfield Presbyterian Church!

Sometimes, when I am working on too many things at once, they start to run together in my mind. Has that ever happened to you?

For instance, right now, in Lent, I am looking for Bible stories where characters are alone—literally isolated or feeling alone.

And of course, Easter is coming up in April.

Also, VBS will be here before you know it. (June 9-13, mark your calendars!) Our theme this year will be “Road Trip” and the office has been getting ready and working on some car and travel themed decorations.

When that all runs together, I started thinking of Luke 24:13-35 — an Easter story where two people are travelling on a road alone!

Ok, I guess not completely alone because they have each other, but definitely feeling alone.

You see, like Elisha (from our Scripture reading on March 23—that service is available to watch on our church’s YouTube channel under livestreams https://www.youtube.com/@westhempfieldpc/streams), our characters in Luke 24 are mourning the lost of their mentor, Jesus who was crucified.

Luke says that Jesus, himself, came up, walked with them, and engaged them in conversation.

Luke 24:27 “And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he [Jesus] explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.”

Jesus helped it all run together in their minds!

He reminded them of multiple Old Testament stories and helped them make connections between the stories and with current events.

If we are not spending time in God’s Word, we miss the connections.

When we ignore current events, or ignore the possibility of God’s Hand in them, we miss the connections.

When we miss the opportunities to talk with a neighbor or interact with and welcome a stranger, we miss the connections.

The Easter story — God is willing to sacrifice everything to interact with us, make connections with us, and help us make connections — shows us the importance of connection in a world full of loneliness.

Read Scripture. Talk to God. Talk to friends. Make new friends. Stay connected.

Blessings,   Rev. Andrew Wirt