MARKET SQUARE
PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
Updated 01/23/2012
Copyright © 2011 Market Square Presbyterian Church – All rights reserved
Pastor's Welcome
Our Mission at MSPC
To proclaim & live the Good News of Jesus Christ by welcoming friend & stranger alike into our diverse & inclusive family of faith regardless of race or class or national origin or sexual orientation or worldly condition of any kind as we celebrate our gifts, work for justice & peace, reach out in mission & witness to God's transforming love
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From Our Interim Pastor
Feburary 2012
Valentine’s Day is all about love, and Jesus has a lot to say about love.
In Matthew 10 he affirms that the two greatest commandments are to love God and to love God and to love our neighbor. He then tells the parable of the Good Samaritan to illustrate what it means to love our neighbor. Obviously, the love Jesus commends to us in the parable is not the same love we celebrate on Valentine’s Day. The Good Samaritan did not make a long-term commitment to the wounded traveler whom he helped. He did not enter into a relationship of mutual emotional and spiritual support. The Samaritan responded to human need, provided care, and as far as we know, went on with his life.
Romantic love is exclusively focused on one other person. Lovers, family members and friends put legitimate demands on us that limit our ability to care for others with the same intensity we care for them. We are not capable of deep emotional attachments to everyone we encounter, and it would not be appropriate for others to have the same kind of love for my loved ones that I have for them.
Nevertheless, the love we celebrate on Valentine’s Day can help us grow in the kind of love that Jesus tells us to have for our neighbors. As we grow in our love for friends, family and spouse, our hearts are opened to others. Secure in the love of those to whom we have committed ourselves, we are free to serve others whom God loves.
Yours in Christ,
Steve Lytch
