Welcome to Rye Congregational Church

Then Jesus exclaimed, When a man believes in Me, he does not believe in Me only, but in the One who sent Me. When he looks at Me, he sees the One who sent Me. I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in Me should stay in darkness.

~ John 12:44-46

Jesus is the light of the world. Darkness is our problem: the darkness of sin and selfishness, of violence and discord. Darkness is the problem, Jesus is the answer. In His light, we are called into light, to walking in the unity of love, kindness, and gentleness. Unity itself is the greatest measure of righteousness, for unity cannot exist where selfishness and pride still have a foothold. And so Jesus also said, By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, if you love one another. (John 13:35)

I think this is a difficult lesson for us to learn. We understand the need to be right and to do right. We don’t always understand the need to do it all in love and gentleness. The world teaches us to employ the advantage of force and power, but in the end, it is what has been done in love that lasts within us and within the world – “Love conquers all”. Force and power can only bring about that which is imperfect, that which has the seeds of its own ending within itself.

In His death upon the cross on our behalf, Jesus discloses a love that is pure and divine. His is a selfless giving that breathes new life into the world. This life does not force its way into any heart, yet its entry alone can sustain life. In His resurrection from death and His victory over the grave, Jesus embodies life which cannot know the bitterness of death, which overcomes all evil, which creates a new world where everything is new and always will be.

O Lord, give us light to see in darkness. Give us hearts to love. Give us hands to hold, and true friends to love and care for. Be always among us Yourself, as we begin a life that cannot know death, for it is pure and incorruptible – as enduring as the God who calls us into it…

Through Christ’s Love and Grace,

Ron Lavoie

(The Preacher in the Rye)

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