God So Loved the World: Choosing Light in Del Mar This Lent

Based on the sermon by Mother Paige, Rector, St. Peter’s Episcopal Church Del Mar

There are some weekends when the Gospel feels especially urgent. This was one of them.

We heard those familiar words from the Gospel of John: “God so loved the world.” Not part of the world. Not the part that looks like us, votes like us, or agrees with us. God so loved the whole world.

In a coastal town like Del Mar, where life can feel beautiful and charmed, it’s easy to forget how divided and weary the wider world feels right now. Many of us have woken up in recent days with big questions—about our country, our communities, our families, our future. Some of us have felt hope. Some have felt fear. Many of us have felt both at once.

Into that very human swirl, Jesus speaks: God so loved the world.

That love is not abstract. It’s not a slogan on a sign at a football game. It’s not a doctrinal test to pass. In John’s Gospel, faith is not a noun. It’s a verb. Faith is something we live.

We also heard the story of Abram in the Book of Genesis. God tells him, “Get up and go.” And Abram gets up and goes. He is blessed—not for his own sake, but so that he can be a blessing to every family on earth. Blessed to be a blessing.

That’s the invitation for us, too.

Lent—this season leading up to Easter—is not about spiritual perfection. It’s about pivoting. It’s about asking, again and again: When faced with the choice, will I choose light or darkness? Will I choose love? And if we realize we’ve drifted? It’s not too late to turn back. It’s never too late to pivot toward love.

In John’s Gospel, we meet Nicodemus, who comes to Jesus in the middle of the night with questions. I have always loved him for that. Most of us know what it’s like to wake up at 3 a.m. with questions we can’t quiet. Nicodemus doesn’t understand everything Jesus says. Almost nobody does on the first try. But he keeps showing up. He keeps asking. And over time, he grows. By the end of the story, he is brave enough to stand near the cross when others have fled.

We need that kind of gentle persistence in our own lives.

At St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Del Mar, we believe church is not about having all the answers. It’s about learning to walk in the light together. It’s about practicing love in ways that are visible and real—through prayer, service, community meals, honest conversation, and showing up for one another when life feels uncertain.

If you’re longing for a community where your questions are welcome…
If you’re craving a deeper sense of purpose…
If you want to live as someone who carries light into a world that often feels dim…

There is a place for you here.

God so loved the whole world. That includes Del Mar. That includes you.

This Lent, may we keep choosing love. May we keep choosing light. And may we do it together.