Meditations on the Cross: The Love of God

SERMON TITLE:   “Meditations on the Cross:  The Love of God”
SERMON TEXT:    John 3:1-17
PREACHER:          Rev. Kim James
OCCASION:           March 13, 2022  (Girl Scout Sunday)
 
 
INTRODUCTION
 
                On Wednesday, I attended an Interfaith Works meeting.  One of the participants from another church told us about her practice of wearing a different cross necklace every day during the season of Lent.  Doris said she has a big collection of cross necklaces that she has acquired over many decades and while traveling to different places in the world.  Her collection must be large, since Lent is 40 days plus six Sundays long!  Doris told us that—this year, because of the Ukrainian crisis—she started Lent by wearing the crosses which either came from the country of Ukraine or that bear the Ukrainian colors of blue and yellow.  After she ran out of those, she started wearing the crosses which bore the colors of the neighboring countries of Poland, Hungary, Romania, and Moldova, which are receiving the millions of refugees who are fleeing the Russian invasion.  This is Doris’ way of praying for God’s love to surround those people who are suffering such a horrific crisis.
                This story about Doris and her cross collection goes very well with our Lenten focus.  Last Sunday, we began our “meditations on the cross” series with the Apostle Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians, in which he wrote how God had turned the weakness and foolishness of the cross into the power and wisdom of God for our salvation.  Today, on this second Sunday of Lent, we turn to the Gospel according to John, to ponder how the cross demonstrates to us the love of God.

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