God’s Exquisite Love!”
The following is also printed in our Lenten Brochure and in the March Seer. I am excited about this year’s Lenten theme and am confident that through the exploration of love, its height, depth and meaning, we will continue to experience transformation in our individual lives and in the life of our church. –David

Love is the Meaning
In the 14th Century Julian of Norwich had a unique vision which is recorded in her life work, Showings. This vision of Jesus, granted to her on her sickbed, left her perplexed about her life and the life of humankind. In Showings, towards the end of the book, she ponders the meaning of her vision, her life and her mission. She says,

I desired to know in what was our Lord’s meaning…
I was answered in my understanding…
“...you wish to know your Lord’s meaning in this thing? Know it well, love was his meaning. Who reveals it to you? Love. What did he reveal to you? Love. Why does he reveal it to you? For love. Remain in this, and you will know more of the same.”

Julian, unmatched as a spiritual theologian for her time distills the faith, indeed, our human lives to the essential: Love.

Difficulties in Love
Yet, against this perfect love, we find ourselves at sea. We often find it difficult to find ourselves at home in love. Our difficulties with living a life of love extend to our relationships with friends and family members, moving tragically to an abandonment of our love of self.

How Exquisite Love!
During Lent, we will explore the dynamics of Love in our lives, looking to the great commandment of our spiritual tradition to first love God and then, to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. We shall examine the depth of this exquisite calling to love and explore the difficulties that we have in being truly loving.
I hope that you will join us in exploring our Lenten theme through study and worship. See the inside of the newsletter for more details on Lent.

Love,

David