April 1, 2024 – The Coffee Shop Devotions: G-d Loves You a Latte

“I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. Father, I desire that those also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory, which you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. “Righteous Father, the world does not know you, but I know you; and these know that you have sent me. I made your name known to them, and I will make it known, so that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.” John 17:20-26

I often see this saying: “G-d loves you A Latte” – it is a pun, or a play on words including the drink that is so popular in coffee shops all across the world. It may seem like a trite and meaningless way to share the love of G-d, but whenever or however we share the love of Christ is not trivial.

“What’s not to love about a delicious espresso drink…?” This comes right off the website for a popular coffee shop – one where you may find the Cranky Reverend sitting once in a while. Some of you may not know what a Café Latte drink is….which of course makes this reverend scratch his head – but of course not everyone likes coffee drinks. A Latte is an espresso drink with steamed milk, topped with foam. Espresso, of course, is coffee brewed by forcing a small amount of nearly boiling water under pressure through finely ground coffee beans. So, what we have learned is that a Café Latte is a drink that combines strong coffee with steamed milk to create a rich coffee beverage. It is one of the Cranky Reverend’s favorite drinks.

Of course, is it right to combine coffee with Christ – with the love of G-d made manifest with the world through G-d incarnate? Of course it is, because nothing about the love of G-d is trivial, and however we can share that love with the world is something we need to use. A church I used to attend formed a ministry called “Coffee for Six” – a pastor friend of mine used the love of coffee to encourage people to gather one evening a week to sit and talk over coffee. And though that was years ago, I walked into that coffee shop, and sure enough they were still meeting – talking about Jesus and drinking coffee.

Coffee and Jesus – they both do a body good.

Pastor Dave

March 31, 2024 – Easter Sunday

“That day two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were kept from recognizing him. And he said to them, “What is this conversation which you are holding with each other as you walk?” They said to him, “Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before G*d and all the people, and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up t be condemned to death, and crucified him. It is now the third day since this happened. Moreover, some women of our company amazed us. They were at the tomb early in the morning and did not find his body; and they came back saying that they had even seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive.” Luke 24:13ff

What is your focus on this Easter Sunday? Do you focus on the risen Christ? Do you focus on the empty tomb? Do you focus on the egg hunt that you have to plan, or the family members coming over to eat? Do you focus on the chocolate Easter Bunny that you bought, and whether you should eat the ears or the feet first? The Orthodox Church Icon of the Resurrection shows Jesus stepping into the abyss – Christ entering hell to preach to those who had died until his defeat of death. This act is chronicled in 1 Peter 3:19 – and of course we make reference to it every time we repeat the words of the Apostle’s Creed. The description of the Icon mentions the fact that Christ is stepping through the threshold of what can be seen on either side of the cross, which is the means of his death but also of life for all believers.

As believers, we all stand on the cross of Christ – or another way to talk about the centrality of the cross is to say that we stand in the shadow of the cross. Either way, today we should be focused on the Cross of Christ – not as a means of putting a negative spin on this most joyous Sunday, but for the joy that begins with the fact that there would be no empty tomb if there was no cross. Today, as you raise your voice to shout “Alleluia, Christ is Risen” – remember the centrality of the cross in your life – and then live into the joy of the resurrection.

Pastor Dave