Reverend Jimmy Moore, preaching
Matthew 10:34-42
The Fine Art of Losing and Finding Your Life
Anybody feel a little tired lately? Frankly, we’ve been going through a lot. I know some have found some restorative community in the more quiet “Stay at Home” life with the COVID-19 scare, but many others have found it a pretty stressful time. Beyond the social and personal reflections the virus brings and perhaps intensified by it, as a culture we’re going through some difficult, and at times, fierce conversations. We’ve all been challenged deeply to reflect on our understandings of race, policing, and governing. Every day seems to bring new crises, more arguing, and continuing violence.
Maybe it’s not just you who is weary. David Whyte, in his poem “Sweet Darkness”, begins with the sentence, “When your eyes are tired, the world is tired also.” Could it be that the world itself is tired? Hasn’t there just been too much wrangling, too much killing, too much racism, too much hate? Clearly, it’s time for some changes. We can’t keep going like this. But how do we bring about real change ... especially when we are body and soul weary?
In the Gospel lesson for Sunday, Jesus goes straight it, letting us know that this “gentle Jesus, meek and mild” is coming not to bring peace, but a sword. The image might be jolting, but Jesus is clearly saying that docility will not always bring about the good. And Jesus goes so far as to say that in the great search for life and peace, it will be those who are willing to “lose their lives” will be the ones who will indeed find life.
That’s tricky stuff. What can it mean for us? We’ll seek to unpack some of that in worship on Sunday morning, as the sermon is titled “The Fine Art of Losing and Finding Your Life,” arising from Matthew 10: 34-42. We’ll sing some hymns, pray and have a time for children. And for a special gift of the morning, Carrie Newcomer will sing a song of hope and change for us. We look forward to connecting with you in worship on the live stream this Sunday morning.