Choices

As if there weren’t already enough choices to make from among the 42,200 items shelved, on average, at a supermarket, the newest Weis Market in my neighborhood added a feature I’ve never before seen in such a setting: a staffed candy counter. It’s tucked away in the bakery department between a glass case filled with cupcakes and a rack stacked with French bread. You can stand in front of the display, point to your selections, and the attendant will box them up for you.

The service is reminiscent of old school department stores. Many of you reading this page will remember Orr’s, a classic example that anchored downtown Bethlehem until 1993. Orr’s Candy Department took up the better part of the establishment’s basement (along with Housewares and Gift Wrap), and its display cases were arranged in a sort of corral. The employee would stand inside the square, surrounded by a veritable tonnage of Asher chocolates stacked daintily on doilies. Customers would lean in for a close-up glimpse of coconut haystacks or raspberry creams. Wanting to make good decisions from among so many options, they would get so close that their noses would touch the glass. Between shoppers, the employee would have to Windex-away the noseprints along with the accumulated fingerprints. (I happened to be one of those employees during the holiday shopping season of 1987!)

The beloved fictional character Forrest Gump observed, “Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.“ Might be tasty. Might be nasty. There’s a randomness when it comes to snacking from a pre-packaged assortment. A Whitman’s Sampler, for example. Or a container of Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans. You take it as it comes and hope for the best! But control can be exercised at a candy counter. Your order can be customized to contain ¾ of a pound of peanut butter cups plus a handful of caramels and 1 dipped and sprinkled pretzel rod. If you despise maple cream filling, you can avoid it and get nonpareils instead. You are free to choose as you will, and there’s a sweet satisfaction in that.

After a lengthy period when so many of our individual choices were curtailed in favor of knocking out the pandemic that put the world on hold, it feels as though freedom has been restored. We can choose to go to restaurants. We can choose to go to gyms. We can choose to ride roller coasters at Dorney Park, or enter the New York City Marathon, or purchase festival concert tickets, or just drop by and linger at a favorite restaurant. Thanks be to God that the pestilence which has affected every populated nook and cranny is waning.

In choosing to exercise all of this newly-refreshed freedom, though, let us continue to be mindful of the people with whom we share the planet. Please be considerate in your choices and benevolent in your behavior, always remembering that the boundlessness of your freedom has the full potential to impact the boundlessness of someone else’s well-being.  This isn’t a new thought, born as a response to any announcements from the CDC or pronouncements from the Governor. It is ancient and wise and holy. It remains at the core of who we are as Christ followers.

It is absolutely clear that God has called you to a free life. Just make sure that you don’t use this freedom as an excuse to do whatever you want to do and destroy your freedom. Rather, use your freedom to serve one another in love; that’s how freedom grows. For everything we know about God’s Word is summed up in a single sentence: Love others as you love yourself. That’s an act of true freedom.  Galatians 5: 13-14 (The Message)

Press against the glass. Be amazed by the array of choices available to you—all the flavors your life can take on. Point to those moments you’d like to try next. Select some that will be substantial. Select a few that will offer pure joy. Select some just to share generously. You are free to make good choices.

Freely,

Pastor Chris

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Weather permitting, our entire worship service will take place outside with worship leaders coming to you from the makeshift stage of the building’s entrance ramp. Bring along a lawn chair to set up in the grassy space between the building and the parking lot. As an act of caring for those who have not yet been vaccinated, please wear a mask and be mindful of distancing. If you prefer, you may stay seated in your vehicle and hear the broadcast on the radio. (In case of bad weather, we will broadcast the service through car radios.)

As we celebrate Pentecost, we will take part in Holy Communion. Worshipers will recieve the elements when they arrive in the parking lot. Anyone worshiping via the YouTube livestream will want to bring a bit of bread and drink along to the screen.

We offer Zoom Prayers on Sunday evenings at 6:30. We come together to share simply in intercessory prayer on behalf of our congregation, community, and world. We usually conclude by 7:00 p.m. All are welcome! 

To join by computer, tablet, or smart phone, please go to

https://zoom.us/j/91961743369

To join by phone (no video), dial:

+1 646 558 8656 US (New York)

Meeting ID: 919 6174 3369