Though I started reading Howard Frank Mosher’s work before moving to Vermont ten years ago, my enjoyment of his writing continued to grow after I became a resident of his home state. Over these years, I have come to appreciate the rich and unique characters he has created, particularly as they reflect the wonder of the geography in which he has set them. The inhabitants of Kingdom County demonstrate a perspective that is definitely idiosyncratic. They are real and human, showing something of the human nature that is in us all while remaining refreshingly different.

In his most recent novel On Kingdom Mountain, Mosher presents a protagonist named Jane Hubbell Kinneson, the last in the line of Kingdom Mountain Kinnesons as well as the last of the Memphremagog Abenakis. Part of the story centers on her defense of the independence of the mountain that has been her family’s home for many years from the encroachment of the outside world. Another part involves her relationship with a mysterious stranger who appears on her mountain and is searching for a “treasure” his grandfather had told him about. Together, Jane and Henry end up looking into the past and discovering how their lives are connected.

Miss Jane Kinneson has also been engaged in a lifelong argument with famous authors of the past. Her chief dispute seems to be with the Bible, particularly the King James translation, and with the God of that Bible. She refers to God as “King James’ Jehovah” and has some definite opinions on what God gets right and what God gets wrong in the pages of the scriptures. Along the way, she has taken to crossing out sections she believes to be in error and adding words, phrases and sentences she believes would improve the work. As she and Henry deepen their relationship while exploring their families’ pasts, one of the truths Jane adds to the biblical proverbs says “all the best stories are about love.”

As I read those words, I thought that Miss Jane (and perhaps Howard her creator) had made one of the most succinct and true commentaries on the central message of the Bible she so vigorously protests. The primary truth of the Bible, as I have come to understand and trust it over the years, is the assurance of God’s grace. The story of the scriptures, as they trace the divine-human relationship from its beginnings, is at heart the story of God’s love for Creation and our human need for that love.

It is unfortunate that “John 3:16” has been treated so casually that in some minds it has become something of a cliché. Its summary of the divine initiative toward human beings is the foundation upon which our response to God and our living out of that relationship must be based. God loved the world so much – this is what God did for love: he sent Jesus to draw us back into the circle of divine grace. When we understand and accept that gift, then our lives become different, shaped by grace, formed by mercy, motivated by divine love. If we claim to be serving God, and yet speak and act in ways that deny God’s love for all of Creation and all of God’s children, our claims are empty and vain.

In our Lenten journey, once again we remember the story of Jesus’ Passion and gift of himself. We go with him to the Upper Room and to the cross on Calvary. Yet we go, held by the divine love that held him and made him truly victorious. As we re-tell this amazing tale of grace, we declare again that all the best stories are about love.

In the blessing of God’s grace,

Pastor Dick