FROM THE PASTOR

Redeemed

Matthew 9:35–38; 10:5–7  ”as you go, proclaim the good news, “The kingdom of heaven has come near.”  

I can tell you the exact date I was “redeemed” at 7:30 in the morning. The previous evening I was walking to my car and feeling very unredeemed when I could not find it. At the precinct house the officer checked in with the lot where towed felonious autos are incarcerated. Sure enough, my car had been towed.  

They only take cash at the “car jail” on the Hudson River. I had very little, just enough to grab a bus and arrive home very late and very unredeemed. The next morning I paid up, presented a coupon for my car to the guard at the exit. He stamped it “Redeemed” at exactly 7:30 in the morning, and opened the pearly gates for me to drive my redeemed self and car into the paradise of the streets of Manhattan. I carried that receipt with me for a long time, and every once in a while I would glance at it, a reminder when I am out in the world that I am redeemed. 

We live in a world which does not recognize its redemption. We live in a world of dislocation, where cars disappear, loved ones die, a diagnosis or a lost job or a blasted relationship leave us vulnerable, confused. Into that world, every Lord’s day, moves the company of the redeemed. “Go in peace, serve the Lord. / Thanks be to God.” Each baptized, redeemed saint loose in the world is a living reminder that redemption is near. The church in the world, individually and corporately, is a reminder that God is in the world with us today.  

Walk with me in the world, dear Lord. Help me to trust that I am redeemed, and help me to witness to your love in all that I do and say. In Jesus’ name. Amen. 

Pastor Stephen Paul Bouman