Rev MaryGean Cope

Tag: love

  • Walking by Faith

    Think about this: What is it about you that is holy? What part of you is set aside, consecrated to God? What is other than the ordinary?

    When we talk about holiness, we’re not talking about being perfect or better than anyone else. And we’re definitely not talking about that snooty piety that says “I’m better than someone else.” That’s not holiness. That’s just religious pride.

    Real holiness is about being set apart for God. It’s about being called out and asking what God wants to do through you. It’s the idea that you’re not just living for yourself, but for something bigger. Not in a weird way. Not in a judgmental way. But in a way that changes how you live, what you prioritize, how you love people.

    Look at your own life. What in you has been consecrated to God? What have you set apart for his purposes? That’s holiness. Not performance. Not judgment. Just your life, deliberately given.

    A reflection by Rev. MaryGean Cope

  • The Spirit Among Us (Matthew 3)

    The Spirit Among Us (Matthew 3)

    When Jesus went to John to be baptized, John knew something was off. Jesus didn’t need to be baptized. Jesus had no sins to repent of. But Jesus said to him: I need to do this. I need to fulfill all righteousness. I need to show you how.

    And when Jesus came up out of the water, something amazing happened. The heavens opened. The Holy Spirit came down like a dove. And a voice from heaven said: This is my son.

    All three persons of the Trinity, right there at once. The Father speaking, the Son being baptized, the Holy Spirit descending. It’s one of the few places in Scripture where you see all three together.

    The dove image stuck because that’s what people could understand. How do you describe the Holy Spirit? It’s invisible. But it came like a dove—gentle, pure, unmistakable. And that’s why we use the dove for the Holy Spirit even now. Because at that moment, people needed to know the Holy Spirit is real. Tangible. Present. Coming upon Jesus to anoint him for the work ahead.

    A reflection by Rev. MaryGean Cope

  • The Heart of Prayer

    The Heart of Prayer

    The church needed a way to sum up what it believed. And there was this guy named Marcian who had completely wrong ideas about God. He thought all matter was evil. So Jesus couldn’t have actually been human, couldn’t have been born, couldn’t have died. He was just some spiritual being delivering nice messages.

    The church said no. That’s not what we believe. So they wrote the Apostles Creed to push back against that heresy. And if you look at the middle part of that creed—the part about Jesus—it’s all about him being real. Conceived. Born. Suffered. Crucified. Dead. Buried. Because if Jesus wasn’t actually human, he couldn’t have suffered. He couldn’t have paid the price for our sins.

    Here’s what matters: Jesus came in flesh. He walked on earth. He bled. He died. And that’s how he saved us. Not as some ghost, not as some idea, but as a person. A real person. That changes everything.

    A reflection by Rev. MaryGean Cope