First Parish Church of Newbury

First Parish Church of Newbury Our church celebrated its 385th in 2020! As a small church, we’re big on community and helping neighbors bless their neighbors. (a) Call1-929-205-6099.

Welcome to First Parish Church of Newbury, a United Church of Christ congregation with a traditional worship service and dynamic mission programs that serve hundreds in our community. That includes worshiping and witnessing God in spirit and truth as we follow Jesus Christ's teachings. Currently our services are held both in person and remotely via Zoom. If you attend in person, masks are required

at all times.
*Worship: 10 am Sunday mornings
*Bible study: via Zoom at 7:00 pm on the 2nd & 4th Monday of the month.
*Food pantry: 3 to 5 pm on Fridays

To join use the following Zoom meeting entry information:

First Parish Church of Newbury has a permanent zoom address: bit.ly/fpcnworship

If you do not have computer access, you can still worship with us. (b) When prompted, enter: 82647115553 # (c) When asked for another number or just # -- just put in # (d) If all this doesn't work, just hang up and try it again. (*6 to mute or unmute).

06/03/2026

Pastor's Thought for Today:
1 Samuel 3:4 Then the LORD called, "Samuel! Samuel!" and he said, "Here I am!"
Isaiah 6:8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" And I said, "Here am I; send me!"
Acts 9:6 But get up and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do."
Acts 9:10 Now there was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, "Ananias." He answered, "Here I am, Lord."

“call (calling) (Gr. kalein, ‘to call’; Lat. vocatio, ‘vocation’) God’s summons to salvation, or to a particular work of service, implying a divine selection. God called Moses (Ex. 3:4) and prophets (Jer.1:5). Jesus called apostles (Matt. 4:21; Rom. 1:1) and others (Matt. 9:13; 22:14).” ("Westminster Dictionary of Theological Terms," pg. 36)

I believe God calls all of God’s children to a particular work of service. God selects each of us to a literally ‘tailor-made’ service based on the fact that God knows each of us better than we know ourselves. Genesis makes it clear that humanity was created for service, “2:15 The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it . . . 18 Then the LORD God said, ‘It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper as his partner.’" When “2:7 the LORD God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being,” it was with that purpose in mind.
But, our callings, our particular works of service are not always obvious. I also believe that our callings can and do change over time. As we grow and learn, as we gain experience we are sometimes called to new and different services.
Sometimes, our callings are a surprise. Was Samuel surprised to hear God’s voice calling? After all, his mother Hannah had named him Samuel, because, she said, "1:20 I have asked him of the LORD." Hannah told her husband, "1:22 As soon as the child is weaned, I will bring him, that he may appear in the presence of the LORD, and remain there forever; I will offer him as a nazirite for all time." At the time Samuel heard the voice of God calling him, Samuel was ministering to the prophet Eli.
I have always been fascinated by the 2 different callings related in the book of Acts around the epiphany of Saul of Tarsus. I see the hand of God in Saul’s early life, in his preparation studying with the great Pharisee and teacher Gamaliel, in Saul’s love of God and devotion, even though that devotion was initially misdirected. I can only imagine Saul’s ‘shock and awe’ in that encounter on the road to Damascus. I’m sure that God’s calling Saul of Tarsus to become the apostle Paul, the great missionary to the Gentiles, was unexpected and surprising.
There is a second calling in that story, however. Ananias was called to be the teacher. Ananias knew who Saul of Tarsus was, knew all about the persecutions wrought by Saul. Imagine his surprise at hearing "Acts 9:11 Get up and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul. At this moment he is praying.” Yet, Ananias answered God’s call.
When I began seminary, one of the early classes I was required to take was a seminar titled “Discerning Your Call.” There were only a few of us in the class. There was a mix of ages, some young and several of us ‘of an age.’ Some were answering a call to their first career. Others of us were answering a call to a new and different career. Each of us shared our own call narrative . . . and each experience was unique and different.
I have always thought that it would be better were God to be a bit more obvious and explicit in revealing our callings. However, after long pondering, I cannot help but believe that God knows best (yes, I know, it should be obvious; but, was it obvious to Ananias?) Had God called me at 18, would my answer be the same as it was at 58? Some of us take a little longer to understand. Some of us require a little more preparation before we are ready to understand our particular work of service and to be prepared to do that work. All of us, however, can be assured of a ubiquitous saying we learned in seminary, “God does not call the equipped; God equips the called.”
What is your calling? What particular work of service has God equipped you to perform and is calling you to do?

Stay safe, listen for God’s voice, trust God,
Pastor Ray

06/02/2026

Pastor's Thought for Today:
Genesis 2:2 And on the seventh day God finished the work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all the work that he had done.
Psalm 8:3 When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you have established
Luke 3:23 Jesus was about thirty years old when he began his work. He was the son (as was thought) of Joseph son of Heli,
John 4:34 Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to complete his work.

“Yet this one God is also three distinct persons, each fully God and each with work to perform.” (Donald K. McKim, Coffee with Calvin, pg. 3)

I usually think of work as an intransitive verb meaning, “to exert oneself physically or mentally especially in sustained effort for a purpose or under compulsion or necessity.” (merriam-webster.com) There are several other definitions listed on that website including some use of the word as a transitive verb.
When I commonly think of work, I think in terms of my first career as an engineer. Then, when someone asked me what I ‘did,’ I would tell them, “I’m an engineer.” For many adults, our careers, our ‘work’ becomes an integral part of our self-identity.
Although the word work appears 315-419 times in the Bible, I must admit that before reading that quote above, I never much thought about work in terms of the Trinity. If I thought about it at all, I would probably have referred to God’s activity in those verses in the Old Testament about Creation as simply God’s being God. Creation is just what God does. Certainly that is not work . . . is it?
As a youth, I thought about work as what my father went off to each morning. Like many, my parents did assign their children certain tasks and duties around our home. We helped in the yard, in that long-ago age before dishwashers were common, we washed and dried the dinner dishes. But all those chores seemed less like work and more like mind-numbing, futile punishments. Is there a difference between work and mind-numbing, futile punishments; or, are they synonyms for the same thing?
Have you ever thought about Jesus’ incarnation, Jesus’ life and ministry as work? Similar to my concept of God’s work, I always simply assumed that everything we read about Jesus in the New Testament was just what messiahs did . . . certainly that’s not work, or is it?
Now, after reading that sentence above from Coffee with Calvin, I have to rethink my entire mental framework supporting my own ideas about work. Personally, I should probably begin with determining whether my own “work to perform” was my first career as an engineer or my ‘retirement’ career as a parish pastor. Somehow it seems wrong to refer to being a pastor as work. Is it possible to think of something I completely enjoy and relish as being work? Can work be a blessing? Can work add meaning and fulfilment to life itself?
If the answer to those questions is “Yes,” then I need to ponder on what the work of God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit in my own life was in terms of my call to ministry. Were God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit ‘working’ in my life, preparing me for the call to ministry I received in my late 50s? If so, couldn’t they have found some way that did not necessitate my having to take courses like Differential Equations and Advanced Rotational Kinematics? “. . . to the Father is attributed the beginning of activity, and the fountain and wellspring of all things; to the Son, wisdom counsel, and the ordered disposition of all things; but to the Spirit is assigned the power and efficacy of that activity.” (Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, 1.13.1)
I do believe that each of us can find in our lives evidence of the work of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Life itself is prima facie evidence. We are who we are, what we are and what we have the potential to be because Father, Son and Holy Spirit have been there for us. Sadly, sometimes we have ignored their work, sometimes even defied their preparations and guidance. But when we listen, when we pray, when we direct our lives toward their work, we can indeed fulfill the challenge of Micah 6:8. We can lead lives oriented around doing justice, loving kindness and walking humbly with our Triune God.

Stay safe, sense God’s working in your own life, trust God,
Pastor Ray

06/01/2026

Pastor's Thought for Today:
Genesis 1:1 In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, 2 the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters.
John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Matthew 28:20 And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age."

“Furthermore, this distinction is so far from contravening the utterly simple unity of God as to permit us to prove from it that the Son is one God with the Father because he shares with the Father one and the same Spirit; and that the Spirit is not something other than the Father and different from the Son, because he is the Spirit of the Father and the Son.” (John Calvin, "Institutes of the Christian Religion," 1.13.19)

Yesterday was Trinity Sunday. The Doctrine of the Trinity is almost universally accepted and taught by all Christian denominations, with a few notable exceptions. Most, although not all, baptize in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Many of us incorporate into our worship service the singing of the "Gloria Patri," including the words “Glory be to the Father, and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end.”
Yet, since the beginning of the Christian faith, the understanding of our Triune God has been difficult, contentious and confusing for many. One of the earliest accusations made against those first Jewish Christians was that they had abandoned monotheism, the belief in only one God, for a belief in 3 gods.
Even within Christianity, one of the earliest controversies was over the exact nature of the relationship among those three ‘persons’ of the Trinity. Did Father, Son and Holy Spirit share the same substance or similar substances, ὁμοούσιος (homoousious) or ὁμοιούσιος (homoiousios)? Two words differing only in a single vowel, but with very different meanings.
In today’s contentious world, it is still hard to believe that the difference between those vowels caused riots in the streets and ultimately necessitated the Council of Nicaea. Today, the debate over this issue seems arcane to most of us, but it still divides Christianity. Truthfully, however, how many of us ever think about or wonder about the exact relationship among the 3 ‘persons’ of the Trinity?
Several days ago, I mentioned my new devotional, "Coffee with Calvin." Today, I read the second devotional, titled “Trinity.” Therein, Donald McKim wrote, “There is one God, one Lord who claims our lives. It is to this God that all worship and honor and obedience is due.” ("Coffee," pg. 3) He cited, “to the Father is attributed the beginning of activity, and the fountain and wellspring of all things; to the Son, wisdom, counsel, and the ordered disposition of all things; but to the Spirit is assigned the power and efficacy of that activity.” ("Institutes," 1.13.18)
I suspect that one of the reasons many of us eschew thinking about the Trinity is that we have studied too much arithmetic (yes, I am an engineer, and I did write that!). We cannot understand God, the Trinity or ever faith through arithmetic, mathematics and/or physics. Every time I try to do so, I fail, because, 3 ≠ 1 in math or science.
As children of the Enlightenment, we have been led down the path of believing that STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) can answer every question, resolve every issue. Much as I love STEM, much as my first career was oriented around STEM, none of those fields explains, “Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” None of those fields explains love, the love of God for Creation and for all of us. None of those fields explain the truth of John 3:16. None explains the assurance we have in those words of Jesus, “I am with you always, to the end of the age." Paul was correct, “1 Corinthians 13:13 faith, hope, and love abide, these three.” That trinity helps me understand the Trinity.

Stay safe, believe in our Triune God, trust God,
Pastor Ray

05/30/2026

Pastor's Thought for Today:
Genesis 1:1 In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth,
Psalm 90:2 Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.
John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God . . . 3 All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being.

Our New Testament reading tomorrow is from the conclusion of Matthew’s gospel and includes what I find one of the most comforting verses in the Bible, “28:20 And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age."
Every time I read those comforting words, however, the first thing which comes to my mind is, “How long is an age?” Which age (?) does Jesus mean. Jesus spoke those words during the first decade of the 1st century AD (or CE if you prefer). Archaeologists and historians sometimes refer to that as the Roman Age (for Europe, c.56 BCE – 400 CE) (en.wikipedia.org) “We currently live in the Meghalayan age of the Holocene epoch, within the Quaternary period of the Cenozoic era.” (Copilot Search) Jesus spoke those words during that same Meghalayan age which began about 4,200 years ago. Is that what Jesus was trying to tell us? He will be with us until the end of the Meghalayan?
I have heard people divide history into all sorts of ‘ages.’ Much of our modern world was initiated during the Industrial Revolution. Of course, part of that era or age overlapped with the Enlightenment. We sometimes think of ourselves as living in the Electronic Age. Certainly, in my own lifetime electricity and electronics have become so ubiquitous that it is hard to imagine life without either. Irrespective of the common misconception in the U.S.A., the Electronic Age did not begin when Benjamin Franklin decided to risk life and limb by flying a kite in an electrical storm. “Long before modern batteries, ancient civilizations experimented with electricity. The Baghdad Battery, dating back around 2,000 years, consisted of a clay jar containing a copper cylinder and an iron rod, which could produce a small voltage when filled with an acidic solution like vinegar.” (Copilot Search) Was Jesus telling his disciples and us that he will be with us throughout the Electronic Age?
We see, hear and read a lot today about AI. Will future historians and geologists refer to the 21st century as the AI Age? If so, how does that affect Jesus’ promise? Will Jesus still be with us? Or, will AI somehow negate Jesus’ promise?
We do not know with any certainty what language Jesus spoke to his disciples. Obviously, it was not 21st century American English. The oldest manuscripts we have for our New Testament canon are primarily in koine Greek. Jesus’ promise in that Greek is “ἕως τῆς συντελείας τοῦ αἰῶνος.” It translates literally to “until the completion of the time.”
Which time? The time of Jesus’ own life, which ended on the Cross? Was Jesus merely telling the disciples, “I’ll be with you until I’m not”? The existence of Christendom today suggests to me that is a silly idea.
I believe Jesus was telling his disciples and telling us today that as long as reality exists, as long as Creation persists, Jesus will remain with us. Tomorrow is Trinity Sunday. Tomorrow we acknowledge our Triune God, God the Father, God the Son and the Holy Spirit. I believe Jesus was there at Genesis 1:1. I believe John’s gospel captures that truth. The truth that Creation itself was brought about by our Triune God. My own understanding of the Incarnation is that Jesus, as the Christ, was God’s words “Let there be” incarnate as Jesus. I love to refer to Jesus as the Incarnate Creative Word of God.
In the movie "Sound of Music," the character portrayed by Julie Andrews sings, “When the dog bites, when the bee stings/When I'm feeling sad/I simply remember my favorite things/And then I don't feel so bad,” When I’m overwhelmed by technology, when I’m depressed at the state of our world, when problems seem to surround me and no solutions seem possible, I remember Jesus’ promise. I know that I am not alone. And, then I don’t feel so bad. “John 1:3 What has come into being 4 in him was life, and the life was the light of all people.”

Stay safe, be comforted by Jesus’ presence, trust God,
Pastor Ray

05/29/2026

Pastor's Thought for Today:
Exodus 22:18 You shall not permit a female sorcerer to live.
Leviticus 20:27 A man or a woman who is a medium or a wizard shall be put to death; they shall be stoned to death, their blood is upon them.
Acts 8:9 Now a certain man named Simon had previously practiced magic in the city and amazed the people of Samaria, saying that he was someone great.
Acts 19:19 A number of those who practiced magic collected their books and burned them publicly; when the value of these books was calculated, it was found to come to fifty thousand silver coins.

Do you believe in magic? I’m not thinking about prestidigitation or slight-of-hand. I mean real, true magic. Did you read the Harry Potter books as fiction, fantasy or reality (or, the Dresden Files if you prefer an adult series)? Can anyone manipulate the universe, contravene the laws and theorems of physics through incantations, potions and/or formulae? Is magic real?
My first thought this morning, as Greta and I listened to the weather forecast for this weekend was about magic. The meteorologist we listen to uttered the 3 most terrifying words in the English language that one might hear in late May, ‘a few snowflakes.’ Even in New England one does not expect to hear low temperature forecast this time of year in the 30’s with windchill factors below freezing!
In case you’re wondering, I have not lost my mind (entirely). While I enjoyed the Harry Potter books and still read the Dresden Files books, I do not believe in magic. It is fun to watch talented magicians perform feats of prestidigitation. But, the laws of physics cannot be contravened. Until we can mine dilythium crystals and Scotty can build a warp engine drive (Star Trek), we cannot travel faster than the speed of light.
I can no longer do the math, I probably cannot even recognize many of the symbols in the equations of the mathematical algorithms used by meteorologists to forecast weather today. I do remember enough about heat transfer and system analysis to comprehend the complexity of the models created by those algorithms. I have read many articles about global warming and seen some of the ocean temperature measurement data. Although it seems incredibly contra intuitive, I can accept that the seemingly ‘freaky’ weather we see so often is exacerbated, maybe even caused by global warming.
As I think about the impossibility of ‘a few snowflakes’ anywhere outside the Arctic Circle in late May, I do remember my own life-lessons about weather. Lessons learned from having survived several hurricanes. I have seen the damage caused by extreme winds and even had to repair roof damage from a tornado.
I have read the Bible and remember several verses about winds and weather. “Genesis 1:1 In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth 2 the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters.” I remember enough of the Greek I learned in seminary to know that the word πνεῦμα (pneuma) can mean wind, breath, spirit or even ghost.
I have read the story of Elijah’s contest with the priests of Baal. I remember the results and the aftermath and the words of the LORD, “1 Kings 19:11 He said, "Go out and stand on the mountain before the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by." Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was splitting mountains and breaking rocks in pieces before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake; 12 and after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of sheer silence.”
The problem with magic, witches and wizards is not that they somehow have real power to contravene the laws of the universe. The problem with all of that is that belief in any of it ignores the presence and power of God. I may not understand hurricanes, tornados, or even ‘a few snowflakes’ in May. I do believe in God the Father, Jesus the Son and the Holy Spirit. I do remember the words of Joshua, “Joshua 24:15 as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD."

Stay safe, stay warm, trust God,
Pastor Ray

05/28/2026

Pastor's Thought for Today:
Micah 6:8 He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?
Matthew 25:15 to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away . . . 19 After a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them . . . 21 His master said to him, 'Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.'

The Parable of the Talents has long been one of my favorites of Jesus’ parables. I also believe it teaches several important lessons about the Kingdom of God. It is in my thoughts this morning because I awoke thinking about the song "Little Things Mean a Lot." “’Little Things Mean a Lot’ is a popular song with lyrics by Edith Lindeman and music by Carl Stutz, published in 1953 . . . The best known recording of ‘Little Things Mean a Lot,’ by Kitty Kallen (Decca 9-29037) reached No. 1 in the Billboard chart in 1954 . . .” (en.wikipedia.org) I may remember the Platters’ 1964 version best, but hearing that song does evoke many memories.
For me, that song title is a neat summation of the lesson of the Parable of the Talents. One of the problems most of us encounter in applying that parable to our own lives is that the parable is not constructed around the common metrics we associate with success in our modern society. It does not recognize or value the same things our society recognizes as valuable. Trying to understand the parable and apply it to our lives is easily mislead by focusing on verse 15, noting the different amounts of the talents, 5/2/1 and especially the words, “to each according to his ability.”
Possibly the best known words of our Declaration of Independence are from the Preamble, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of happiness.”
Yet, even as children we very qu**ky realize that not everyone is equal in terms of ability, in terms of financial resources or even in terms of attractiveness. I frequently tell anyone who will listen, “There’s always someone smarter, someone prettier, someone richer.” The metrics of our modern, civilized world, however, are oriented around ability, physical attractiveness and financial resources. We casually toss around phrases like ‘the rich and famous,’ or ‘the beautiful people,’ noting that these are people of significance. Look at those you see or read about in newspapers or on television. They are judged noteworthy based on physical appearance, accumulated wealth and/or intelligence. Despite those beautiful words of our Declaration, even the youngest children realize that we are all not created equal.
In that parable, however, Jesus merely notes that each was given an amount “according to his ability.” The individual abilities are not the point of the parable. The 5-talent slave is not judged more worthy or valuable than is the 2-talent slave. The metrics of the Kingdom of Heaven, the “joy of your master,” is not related at all to the talents given to the recipient nor to the ‘return on investment.’
I do not think that any of the framers of our Declaration or any other of the Founding Fathers of our nation were unaware of the different abilities or ambitions of “all men.” I do not know whether or not they were thinking about the Parable of the Talents during the composition of the Declaration or the creation of the Constitution. But I do believe they were cognizant of the underlying truth that all of God’s children are equal in the eyes of our Creator God. The ‘whys and wherefores’ of our wide variation in talents, abilities and appearance are not the point. The point is that we are all equally lived and valued by our Creator.
It is important to note that the response in verse 21 is ‘word-for-word’ identical to verse 23. We are valued and rewarded in what we do with what we are given. Little things mean a lot, irrespective of what we are given. Peter Parker (a.k.a. Spiderman) was correct, “With great power comes great responsibility.” The opposite is equally correct. It’s not about how much we have, it’s about what we do with what we have. Micah is spot-on, God expects us all to love kindness, do justice and to walk humbly with God. That is not much for God to ask of any of us, 5-talent, 2-talent, or 1-talent.

Stay safe, do all you can with what you’re given, trust God,
Pastor Ray

05/27/2026

Pastor's Thought for Today:
Psalm 8:3 When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you have established; 4 what are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them? 5 Yet you have made them a little lower than God, and crowned them with glory and honor.
John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.

Psalm 8 will be our Old Testament reading this Sunday during worship. I have long loved that psalm because it captures one of the eternal quandaries for Jews and Christians: “Why?” Why did God create Creation at all? Why did God create the incredible diversity of flora and fauna? Most of all, why did God create us and set us at the top of the food chain? As Christians, we know that God loved us and loved “the world” enough to send “his only Son” for our salvation . . . but why does God love us at all?
One of the most striking things about Psalm 8 is that if you read it in different translations, you will find verse 5 is most often rendered as “a little lower than angels.” I have always been intrigued by the difference. The footnote in my NRSV indicates that the Hebrew word used there is ‘elohim’ which is a Hebrew word for god. My Bible software, however, presents the word מלאך or malakh, which means messenger, or one who is sent. The Greek Septuagint offers the word ἄγγελος which means messenger, or one who is sent. Both מלאך and ἄγγελος are often translated into English as angel.
I am not a linguist, nor am I a scholar of biblical languages. I did take courses in both koine Greek and biblical Hebrew in seminary. I’m sure that I read both with a Texas accent. Since studying those languages, I have always been intrigued with the issue of all the issues involved in translating things between languages. In the case of the Bible, the issue is compounded by the temporal and cultural differences between Israel and western Europe and the U.S.A.
How do we capture the thoughts of a nomadic herdsman who lived in a mostly arid, desert region, spoke a Semitic language and lived 6000 years ago? Interestingly, for me, is the fact that much of what was found in the Dead Sea Scrolls was incredibly exactly like what I can read in my NRSV Bible. And, I often think and say that every time I read a scripture, I am amazed at how timely applicable that passage is to my life and the world around me.
Either way we read Psalm 8, we should be intrigued with the whole question, “Why?” Why did God create Creation at all? Why did God create the incredible diversity of flora and fauna? Most of all, why did God create us and set us at the top of the food chain? Whether we read “a little lower than God,” “a little lower than a god” (NAB) or “a little lower than the angels,” (KJV, NAB, NKJ), any way we translate that passage, the message speaks to God’s love for Creation, for creatures, and especially for all of God’s children. When, “Genesis 2:7 the LORD God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being,” our very life itself resulted from God’s own breath. As God’s children, we are truly special.
There is another lesson we can learn from Psalm 8; and, it is emphasized by the Hebrew and the Greek words I noted above. Both מלאך and ἄγγελος have the basic meaning of messenger, or one being sent. Whether you understand angels as some other order of created beings or not, angels are messengers of God. I believe that all of us are presented with opportunities to be God’s messengers to other of God’s children. Whether it is through the mere offering of a needed smile, a kind word or a gesture of help, we all can ‘preach’ the truth of the love our Creator God has for Creation and for all creatures.
Even when we are not being particularly angelic, in our bad moods or in our good moods, in rain or in sunshine, we are messengers of God. On those days when I am not feeling especially angelic, I find it helpful to remember Psalm 8, John 3:16 and most especially Micah 6:8, “He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” I can always convey messages of justice, kindness and humility. I can always convey the messages of God’s love expressed through God’s Son.

Stay safe, carry the message, trust God,
Pastor Ray

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Newbury, MA
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