4.1.2026

I’ve used a detail of Michalangelo’s famous painting of the creation of Adam on the Sistine Chapel’s ceiling as my Facebook cover photo off and on for years. I’m sure you recognize it. It’s God’s finger reaching out to Adam’s finger.

In my mind, I’ve always focused on the action of God, and ignored Adam. Michelangelo’s vision of God is magnificent benevolence. We see God as a loving father, reaching out to Adam, his arm and his finger fully extended toward his child. 

But the other day, for the first time, I looked at Adam — and this might be obvious to everyone who’s ever looked at this painting, but for the first time I noticed something. God’s finger is outstretched, while Adam’s is lax, his finger barely lifted. All Adam has to do is straighten his finger . . .

Doing some research, I’ve discovered the gap between the two fingers has been discussed for over 500 years. Some see it as a symbol of free will. God offers life, but we must choose to reach back.

God reaching out is what this week is all about. 

On Thursday of Holy Week, Jesus gathered with his disciples for the annual celebration of Passover (Jewish Passover actually falls on Wednesday this year), a freedom festival celebrating what God did for his people in the past. The hope inherent in Passover is that God will do again for his people what he did some 1,400 years before, when he delivered the Israelites from slavery in Egypt.   

As Jesus shared the unleavened bread and the wine with his disciples that night, he told them that God was indeed acting on behalf of not just his people, Israel, but for the entire world. And his victory would not be over mere mortal enemies, but over the real enemies of sin and death. 

And in winning that victory, something new would be created: a new family for God. It would not be just the physical descendants of Abraham, but would be made up of people “from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages.” And instead of all the 613 individual commandments that made up Israel’s Law, the Torah, there would be one new commandment: “Love one another as I have loved you.” 

The second part of that, “as I have loved you,” is what Friday is all about. We’ll gather at noon on Friday and remember the great sacrifice of love, as Jesus laid down his life and took on all the burden of sin and death so that we wouldn’t have to do it ourselves. 

And in taking on sin and death, Jesus broke their power over us! All of Jesus’ life, by his goodness, Jesus lured evil out into the open, whether it was the shrieking demon-possessed people, the scheming religious leaders, or even the betrayer among his own disciples (not to mention the cowardice of Peter and the others who abandoned Jesus in the garden). But now, on that Friday, all of the evil of the world in all its forms gathered together in one great storm that came crashing against Jesus as they beat him and nailed him to the cross.

However.

While it seemed as if the day ended in defeat that Friday . . . Sunday was coming. And early on that Sunday morning, Jesus arose triumphantly, proclaiming the utter defeat of sin and death and every other form evil takes in this world. The religious leaders and the Romans just thought they were finished with Jesus . . . they hadn’t even begun yet! 

All of this — and more! — is what we’re celebrating this week. 

On Thursday, we’re focusing on the fellowship and the love that we’re to have as the family of God. We’ll eat an Agape meal together, a simple meal much like the early church would have eaten together in the early years of Christianity. The first part of the service is actually listed as “Welcoming One Another,” and our hope is that you’ll treat this time like a big family reunion — especially reaching out to those who might be new to our congregation and letting them know they are loved and welcomed.

We want to let them know they are part of the family.

Friday we’ll gather at noon for our Good Friday service. Then on Sunday, we’ll gather outside (weather permitting) and bring the light back into the sanctuary as we review God’s promises of redemption in the Old Testament and blow the roof off with a celebration of God’s fulfillment of those promises! 

Through all these services, we’ll see God reaching out to all of us. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son,” the most familiar of all scriptures tells us. Like we see in Michelangel’s painting, the hand of God is outstretched toward us . . . will we extend our finger to make contact with the eternal love who is waiting, willing and wanting to embrace us and welcome us into his Family? 

Blessings,
Pastor Terry