1 For I want you to know how much I am struggling for you, and for those in Laodicea, and for all who have not seen me face to face. 2 I want their hearts to be encouraged and united in love, so that they may have all the riches of assured understanding and have the knowledge of God’s mystery, that is, Christ himself, 3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
-Colossians 2:1-3, NRSV
At the start of our socially-distant Annual Conference session (via Zoom webinar), Bishop Peggy Johnson reminded us of this passage from scripture, a passage in which even the apostle Paul is distanced from his Colossian congregation. In particular, she reminded us of the more traditional King James rendering of verse 2: “That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love” (Colossians 2:2, KJV).
Knit together in love. The church, the body of Christ, the (sometimes distanced) community of faith, knit together in love.
I’m not much of a knitter, though I do love to crochet, and the fundamentals are mostly the same: a length of yarn, twisted and woven into stitches, each stitch connected to the ones next to it, resting on the row that came before, supporting the row that will come next. I’m not sure if Paul ever tried his hand at knitting or crocheting (though scripture tells us he was a tentmaker), but he nailed it with this metaphor for the church.
As the church, we are connected to one another, resting on the legacy of the generations (“rows”) that have come before us, supporting the generations (“rows”) that will come next. And covid-tide changes none of that. Social distancing changes none of that. Distance changes none of that.
Why?
Because the thing that “knits” us together is love, the love of God made known in Christ… and that love can never be diminished by distance.
Blessings,
Pastor Candy
So be knit together in love, friends, and remember:
Our God is bigger than coronavirus.
Our vision is bigger than coronavirus, too.
We are people blessing people.
We are Wesley Church.
Get into the Sunday School spirit by joining us for our “Rally in the Gallery” — a virtual Rally Day pancake breakfast — on Saturday October 17 at 10:00 AM.. It’ll be a great way to connect with your church family!
RSVP here: https://forms.gle/gTbiVqtmfj2FJs7o7
Want to know more?
- Learn about our church and its ministries: https://wesleychurch.com/
- Make a gift to support our mission: https://wesleychurch.com/giving-2/
- View our recent messages: https://wesleychurch.com/sermon-message-on-video/
- View previous devotionals: https://wesleychurch.com/pastor-candys-devotionals-2/
