May 28, 2025
Alleluia Christ is Risen!
Living Waters is a Reconciling Christ congregation. We print it and say it so often we might forget what does that phrase even mean. Of course the key word is “reconcile." According to Merriam-Webster's Dictionary, it's a transitive verb which could mean:
transitive verb
1a: to restore to friendship or harmony reconciled the factions
b: settle, resolve reconcile differences
2: to make consistent or congruous reconcile an ideal with reality
3: to cause to submit to or accept something unpleasant was reconciled to hardship
Now you might be wondering, “What is a transitive verb?" According to Grammarly, "Transitive verbs are verbs that take an object, which means they include the receiver of the action in the sentence. In the example sentence, “She gives a gift,” the verb gives is transitive and a gift is the direct object because it receives the action (a gift is what is being given). So now, let's look at scripture.
There are three places in the New Testament where the word reconcile is found:
Acts 7:26 The next day he came to some of them as they were quarreling and tried to reconcile them, saying, ‘Men, you are brothers; why do you wrong each other?’
Eph. 2:16 and might reconcile both groups to God in one bodya through the cross, thus putting to death that hostility through it.b
Col. 1:20 and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross.
Putting these pieces together, we can see that to be a reconciling congregation/community of faith, the receiver - those who have been told that God's love is offered to them - are indeed recipients of God's abundant gift of unconditional grace and love.
In the early days of Living Waters, the pastor and council felt that this congregation was a place that was taking roots in the community to be a welcoming/worshipping community for everyone. They did the due diligence to discern, pray, and consider how God was calling them to be a welcoming space. On November 18, 2001 we became an RIC congregation. The purpose of Living Waters was and continues to be:
Living Waters Lutheran Church is committed to being a radically loving and welcoming community of faith. We recognize that the world can be an unloving place of alienation and brokenness, and we believe Christ calls us to serve as ministers of reconciliation and wholeness in it. We are comforted by the Gospel, challenged and transformed by its radical life-changing love, and empowered to be agents of healing within society and the church.
Thank you for being a part of this Good News!
Pastor JJ
