The Community of Faith

I just begun serving First Presbyterian of La Grange on July 1, 2025. I am still the new kid on the block but I have to say I am impressed by the people who are part of that congregation and by the people in La Grange in general. The faith, hope, and love I am finding here has moved me.

You know, one of the questions facing the church, whether it is an individual church or the community of believers at large in a town like La Grange, is how to turn the Gospel of love into concrete care for people like you and me. There are times when the church becomes distracted by shinier objects, so to speak, and forget our mandate to care for one another, to one another. The desire for power and wealth, for example, can easily turn us away from that mandate and lead us down into a rabbit hole where we find ourselves losing our way as Christians and as the church.

I have been impressed by all the boots on the ground at Second Chance, for example. The volunteers from a number of churches who give their not so insignificant time there are reflective of this desire to turn the Gospel of love into care, even for people they will never meet. It has been one of the ways a church fulfills its obligation to the love brought into this world some 2,000 years ago. Sweat equity in the name of Jesus is one way to measure the movement from gospel to care.

I try to use the words “community of faith” rather than church because the church often denotes a building whereas the community of faith points to the people who are followers of Jesus. Calling a congregation a community of faith implies an undercurrent of care in the relationships between believers in that community. Calling a congregation a church sometimes draws our eyes towards the size of the sanctuary or the depth of political influence that congregation might exert rather than the care exhibited by the people there. We are called by God to live in community with one another, to love one another, to care for one another.

Now the type of love I am referring to is what I would call a tough love, a love that is resilient, a love that hangs in there when the going gets rough. God has made a covenant with us to never let us go and our love, our care, needs to reflect that in our lives and in the life of our community. It is the type of love that sees the dignity in the person recovering from drug addiction. It is the type of love that returns to the nursing home time and time again to simply be with that elderly person who might feel that they are useless. It is the type of love that offers a hand up for someone whose life has been devastated by mental illness and incarceration. It is a love that is not afraid to go where love is needed.

I know it is easier to control people than it is to love them. I see that all the time. It is easier to try and make people do what you want them to do than it is to walk with them through rough patches of life. But God does not call us to be controlling in this world but rather God calls us to love, to care for others. In Matthew, one of the Pharisees asked Jesus, “Master, which is the greatest commandment of the law?” Jesus said to the Pharisee, “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind” and “You must love your neighbor as yourself.” Nothing about power or wealth or control. Everything about love.

It is hard to love people at times. I know that. It is hard to love the people who want to hurt you, who hate you, who are just plain mean to you. It is hard to love people who are different from you. The problem is, you don’t have a choice if you are a follower of Jesus. You love. Period. You care for them. Period. It’s tough.

So let us get focused on translating the Gospel of love into concrete care for people like you and me, people who can be very difficult to love at times. Let all of our communities of faith throughout La Grange get tough on caring for one another, resilient on loving each other.

After all, it is what we are called to do.