Pastor's Reflection 2024-02-22
In 2018 my daughter and I visited the Art Aquarium Museum Exhibit in Tokyo. One brochure described it this way, “The Art Aquarium has vibrant and intricately designed fish tanks which showcase a stunning array of colorful fish, illuminated by dynamic lighting and accompanied by ethereal music.” In other words, it ain’t your grandmother’s aquarium! As soon as you enter you are immersed in a surreal world where traditional Japanese art meets modern innovation. Each room contained hundreds of tanks each with one or two or a hundred fish. It was an overwhelming immersive experience. There were traditional goldfish but also other exotic marine species. My daughter enjoyed it. I was a bit overwhelmed and overstimulated by it all. Don’t get me wrong, I love aquariums. I have always enjoyed visiting the Monterey Bay Aquarium. But perhaps I am old fashioned, but I like my aquariums simple sans the ethereal music and lights and oddly shaped tanks.
The Art Aquarium Museum Exhibit reminded me of this world a bit. We are inundated with excess, and an overabundance of stimulation at times. Media that shouts at us that we need to be younger or thinner or more popular to feel happy. But I believe happiness is found in simplicity. Our 2024 Lenten theme is "Simply Lent". We were inspired by Marie Kondo, renowned for her minimalist philosophy. She championed the transformative power of decluttering: "The objective of cleaning is not just to clean, but to feel happiness living within that environment."
Instead of paying attention to all of the media that encourages us to buy things to be happy, during “Simply Lent” we will be encouraged to live our lives like it describes in Romans 12:2, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”
My hope is that "Simply Lent," will be a journey of self-discovery for all of us and a time to find the richness in simplicity and making more room for God in our lives. As we journey from less to discover more, I pray that we will all realize that true abundance lies not in accumulation but in the richness of a simplified existence, where the soul can find God – and God is the ultimate nourishment. Please join us for our Lenten Sermon Series – Simply Lent.
The Art Aquarium Museum Exhibit reminded me of this world a bit. We are inundated with excess, and an overabundance of stimulation at times. Media that shouts at us that we need to be younger or thinner or more popular to feel happy. But I believe happiness is found in simplicity. Our 2024 Lenten theme is "Simply Lent". We were inspired by Marie Kondo, renowned for her minimalist philosophy. She championed the transformative power of decluttering: "The objective of cleaning is not just to clean, but to feel happiness living within that environment."
Instead of paying attention to all of the media that encourages us to buy things to be happy, during “Simply Lent” we will be encouraged to live our lives like it describes in Romans 12:2, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”
My hope is that "Simply Lent," will be a journey of self-discovery for all of us and a time to find the richness in simplicity and making more room for God in our lives. As we journey from less to discover more, I pray that we will all realize that true abundance lies not in accumulation but in the richness of a simplified existence, where the soul can find God – and God is the ultimate nourishment. Please join us for our Lenten Sermon Series – Simply Lent.
Posted in Newsletter 2024-02-22