Dear people of Bethlehem,
Lent comes from an Anglo-Saxon word meaning “the lengthening of days” as Spring approaches. It is a time of new flower and new growth and new life. It is a time of hope and expectation for the church and a time of confidence in the risen Lord. There is much hope and expectation at Bethlehem in these days, and it is all of the Spirit’s leading. It is a time of expanding light.
Margaret is 74 years old and she tirelessly sews for the pajama project, started by Belinda Simonini. A couple of weeks ago, I was invited to join Margaret at her trailer home. She welcomed me with a bright smile and open arms. In Margaret’s 14 years in the ministry, she has sewn 12,000 pairs of pajamas for families in shelters and women and children leaving domestic violence. Margaret is not a member of our congregation, but we share the same heart to offer love, extend grace, and create community. She and I were recently interviewed by Channel 8, and that day I was invited into her community of neighbors who care for and support one another each day. They all live in a trailer park together, with limited financial resources but abundant resources of the heart. The welcome and community they offered me, touches me still.
At Bethlehem, we create the same community. We are here to offer love, to extend grace, and to bring hope to weary hearts. If you are finding these days difficult, please come for the healing you may need. If you are looking for ways to make a difference, join us in this work that we share. If you are not sure where you fit in this world, you are welcome at Bethlehem.
We have been blessed this Lent with voices like Pastor Adham, who came to teach us of what it means to live as a Palestinian Christian in Israel, with Muslim and Jewish neighbors. Antoine Cummins came to remind us of the work of antiracism and justice for everyone. This Wednesday, we welcome Pastora Maria and her immigrant story. The common thread running through Margaret’s story, and all of these stories, is the power of love. The power of love to help us find our common ground. The power of compassion to bring us together. The power of hope to light our path.
For this Jesus came. To walk among us in our need, and in the roiling complexity of the pain of today. For this Jesus came. To honor it all, and to lay down his life so that hope would forever be our strongest truth, and life stronger than death in each of our lives. For this Jesus came. To show us how we might rise together toward the new dawn. Certainly, it is a dawn not yet fully realized, but it is always visible in the ways we see one another, extend grace to one another, embody love, and press on toward the goal and the calling of Christ.
When Channel 8 aired the story of Margaret and her labor of love, the Encinitas community responded. Seventy people sent in a total of more than $14,000. It is just one project in this wide world. It is just a few tireless hearts. But the small things are the big things.
Love is no small thing. God’s love for us. Our love for one another. Jesus’ love given on the cross. Dear people of God — the dawn is coming. We can always see the light.
Blessed Easter, Pastor Laura