Tears Will Keep Us Together

Some of you may remember the 1970s Captain and Tennille hit, "Love Will Keep Us Together." 

I'm calling this entry "Tears Will Keep Us Together" because I think we are all overdue for a collective cry in the face of the madness that is swirling around us. 

And I think it is through our crying that we can arrive at the realization that for those who are wondering, "Where is our God?"...the answer is "in community." 

COVID forced us apart. Now is the time to pull together because we are going to need to lean on each other and work together if we want to maintain the ideals of this country: life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness.

With God's help, we can get there.

Text: primarily Psalm 51

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Normally…when I preach a sermon…I like to focus on the readings we’ve just heard.

I like to expand upon them…maybe fill in some gaps here and there…offer a slightly different take on familiar passages.

And the longer I sat with all the readings from this service for Ash Wednesday…I found myself drawn to a part of our opening collect…and how it confirms the words at the end of Psalm 51.

Specifically…I want us to remember these two ideas…and keep them close…and let them sink in:

“Almighty and everlasting God…you hate nothing you have made…”

And from Psalm 51…which we will be reading later…

“The sacrifice of God is a troubled spirit;

a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.”

God hates nothing God has made. That means God does not hate you, or me, or anyone. 

God’s only requirement is for us to bring our broken and remorseful hearts to God’s altar.

These are the words that felt the most important for a time such as this.

We’re living in a moment in this country where so many are feeling that up is down and down is up.

The very core teachings of our faith…things such as having empathy for other people…seeking to build a more just society for all…following the Biblical mandate to welcome the stranger…simply showing loving-kindness to one another…these are getting ridiculed…tossed aside as weak…labeled unpatriotic.

Even…by some…these ideas have been called “demonic.”

I mean…Bishop Mariann Budde…who is definitely not one of those in the ranks of the purple shirts looking to be the center of attention…came in for harsh criticism for asking the President to be merciful toward minority groups feeling afraid.

Five Georgia Congressional representatives signed onto a House Resolution to censure her.

Such legislative attacks are performative and silly.

The Episcopal Church is religious denomination and not a branch of government.

And yet they are heartbreaking.

Our basic values…the core of our faith…and the ability for us to live as E Pluribus Unum in this country…is under daily assault.

I admit…it has left me at times…shedding some tears.

Perhaps…some of you have cried, too.

But…despite what might pass for conventional wisdom in the world…I will tell you that tears are good.

They’re normal.

They’re not signs of weakness.

On the contrary…they are signs of strength because we care.

About ourselves.

About other people.

About the beautiful creation that surrounds us.

And about goodness…fairness…and justice.

My wife shared with me a blog written by a Roman Catholic priest in Wisconsin named Father Derek Sakowski.

Father Derek describes tears as “a precious gift from God.”

Rather than be fearful or ashamed of our tears…we should see them as God’s way of helping us to let go and acknowledge that we really aren’t super humans.

We have countless examples in the Scriptures that confirm the importance and rightness of our tears:

Jesus wept at the grave of his friend Lazarus.

Mary Magdalene wept at the tomb of Jesus before she saw his resurrected self standing in the garden.

Peter…who was so wanting to be heroic and stand by Jesus in Jerusalem…wept when he heard the cock crow a third time and realized he had let his friend and teacher down…just as Jesus had predicted.

We heard this recently…Joseph and his brothers wept when they discovered that this youngest son of Jacob who the brothers had abused and sold into slavery…was alive and was in a position to save them from famine and death.

And of course…Psalm 51 is King David’s lament over his failures…both as a leader and as a man.

By bringing our tears…our broken and contrite hearts before God…it’s a way for us to say…without words…”I need help.”

And we do need help.  

Think about our responses to those five pledges we make in the Baptismal Covenant.

We cannot accomplish the tasks of staying with God in prayer, resisting evil, proclaiming God’s Good News in word and example, seeing Christ in all people, and respecting the dignity of every human being as we strive for justice and peace….we cannot accomplish any of those laudable goals without God’s help.

And that means…we can’t do the work of Love without each other.

Lent is often seen as a time…and was once upon a time…a period in which the faithful and sin sick people of God separated themselves from community.

I would offer that we do not do that now.

Now…perhaps more than at any other time…is a time for us not to go our separate ways and “give up” on each other.

Rather we need to find ways to come together…in mindfulness and loving kindness…and drop this idea that our rugged individualism makes us strong.

This is the false self…the front we put up for others…in our effort to project some idea of what it means to be “tough.”

Perhaps the thing we “give up” this Lent is our pulling away from each other…our diehard self-reliance… and recognize that we need community.

Because it is in community where we find the Spirit of God….and that sense that we belong to something greater than ourselves.

Maybe our tears are a way of clearing our eyes…and giving us a chance to see each other as siblings in Christ…with our quirks and particular gifts…as we keep on the journey with Jesus…to the cross…through his death…and into a resurrected life.

It could be that this is the Lent where our tears…having watered the garden of our hurt and anger and frustration at things happening in the world…will grow the garden of that tiny mustard seed planted in us at our Baptism: that seed of a faith in a Love that will never be defeated.

Because Love is the best antidote to a culture of self-centeredness and death.

For this Lent…may we rediscover our connections and our interdependence on God and each other…and this be the beginning of building the bonds that will sustain us in times of sorrow and remind us of the joy of friendship.

In the name of our One Holy and Undivided Trinity.

 

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me..." A Funeral Sermon for Jim Crochet

It is hard to lose a loved one. It is even harder when their death was apparently preventable, and had been hastened by mistakes made during a surgery. That seems to be the case with Harold James "Jim" Crochet, the husband of my friend, Craig, and a former long-term care ombudsman for the state of Florida. His death was tragic, and happened in the home. He literally passed away in Craig's arms. 

I reached out to my friend when he posted his agony on Facebook. Craig immediately asked if I would serve as the celebrant at Jim's funeral, whenever it would happen. And I said it would be my honor.

Within about 24 hours, I was getting noticed that the funeral would be happening on Sunday, September 29th at St. John's Episcopal Church in Tallahassee. My head was spinning. At that time, we were less than two weeks out from this announced date and I hadn't had a chance to sit down with Craig or Jim's brother, Glen. 

Hurricane Helene interrupted the plan. Dignitaries invited to be on hand for this man who had been a champion of LGBT+ seniors needed to get it on their calendars. And St. John's, which is a beautiful, stately cathedral looking church, had its own funerals and several weddings that had already been taken for any weekend dates. We finally settled on October 15th at 3pm.

And I finally had a chance to sit with Craig and Glen and join with them in their place of grief and mourning, anger and frustration, and I got to learn more about this man who I had only had the pleasure of meeting once at Craig's retirement party from the Florida Supreme Court. I wish I had gotten to know him better.

But I took what I had gathered...prayed...and gave back to a congregation of mostly so-called "unchurched" queers... a picture of Jim as more than just their friend and partner, but an advocate who embodied all the qualities of a good and faithful servant of God.

See what you think.

Texts: Isaiah 61: 1-3, Psalm 23, John 14:1-6

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Friends…let us pray: may the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be always acceptable in your sight, O God our strength and our redeemer. Amen.

 

Many thanks to all of you for being here for Craig and for Glenn…and thank you to Jon, Rep. Tant, and Nadine for your words and offering some more context for Jim’s life…his purpose…and helping Craig tell the story of his beloved partner and the pain surrounding the circumstances of his death. There are no words to soften the hard realities.

The prophet Isaiah exclaims:

“The spirit of the Lord God is upon me,

because the Lord has anointed me,

he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed,

to bind up the brokenhearted,

to proclaim liberty to the captives

and release to the prisoners…”

For those who heard those words many centuries ago…this was some good news.

This was said to a people who were feeling crushed…and brokenhearted and lonely after being conquered and carted away by a hostile empire.

Now the prophet Isaiah was proclaiming their freedom.

They could go back to their homeland and breathe easy again.

These words are ones that Jesus read aloud in the temple in Luke’s Gospel.

This was the passage that Jesus read from the scroll as he was proclaiming his purpose and reason for being.

They expressed the meaning of his earthly ministry…a ministry of freedom for those who were oppressed…and kindness to those who desperately needed someone to show them love.

These are the words that ring true for every person who makes that bold commitment to making their life about serving others.

Those guardian angels on earth who are the friends to the friendless.

The people who have that spirit within them that sharpens their vision, so they see those who others so easily ignore.

The ones who advocate for the least…the lowest… and those getting lost by the system.

These words paint a picture of the child protection investigator…and the commitment and attention needed to be the long-term care ombudsmen in a state where the most vulnerable require an advocate grounded in loving kindness.

These are words that are befitting of Jim Crochet.

Truly the spirit of the Lord was upon Jim…to live out a life of service rooted in Love.

A love that was strengthened and sustained in a partnership with Craig…and informed from a life of growing up in a military family…coming out of the bayous of Louisiana.

It’s our life experiences that inform how we live and move and have our being.

And the spirit of God implanted in Jim from his experiences gave him a deep belief in justice.

An abiding and unwavering sense that he could do his part to bring about a more just outcome for those who have been pushed down… and beaten up by the world.  

Certainly Jim…and those of us in the LGBTQ community in Florida…know that it takes persistence and patience…and a whole lot of strength to stand up to the bullies and tyrants.

It also takes a heart that has been broken…and knows the sting of rejection… to have the compassionate care to be a loving and loyal advocate.

Standing on the side of the powerless…going to the mat for someone’s grandmother…parent…or spouse who is getting ignored and abused in a facility…isn’t the work that gains a whole lot of fame and fortune.

But for those who hear those words of Isaiah…who feel that spirit of God saying: release the captives…free the oppressed…comfort the brokenhearted….

Those Jims of the world aren’t in this work for kudos and big bucks.

They do it because it is right.

And they care to make this world a better place.

When Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life” he was talking about the peacemakers and the justice seekers such as Jim.

He was telling his disciples…and by extension…telling all of us…that the way…the truth…and the life is bound up in the commandment to love one another… and do right by each other.

The way for us to live into that spirit of Isaiah’s prophetic proclamation is to remember the lessons seen through Jim’s life.

The life of a true servant…a dedicated brother and loving partner…and a friend and advocate to those who needed someone who would fight for their rights and their dignity.

Jim left us too soon…that’s true.

His death hurts all of us who remember his warmth that radiated through his entire being.

No one feels that loss heavier than those closest to him: Craig and Glenn.

You two have been plunged into that valley of the shadow of death that psalmist so aptly describes.

Grief does that. The shadows in that valley are long.

And the tears you shed are the rains that feed the river that runs through that valley.

Your tears join with those of so many who know and have experienced a profound loss and untimely end to a loved one’s life. 

That valley walk hasn’t gotten any easier for any of us.

But I came across something recently in the prayers of our Jewish siblings.

It was in their Yizkor service as part of their prayers on Yom Kippur…the day of atonement.

And it made a very astute and important observation about the promises made and kept in Psalm 23.

The psalmist doesn’t say that evil will end…or that suffering and pain will be eradicated.

But the psalm does make one very important promise: You are not alone.

Craig and Glenn: you aren’t on an island and alone in your grief.

Those here present with you today…Jon and Nate…Tip…Allison…Nadine…all of us…everyone here are with you in that valley.

Our presence today is the reminder that you have many who will help you as you navigate this path…and offer a helping hand when you trip over the rocks along this journey.
This is the way…and the truth…and the life of how God works in our realm…through the love we show and share with one another.

Jim is there with you too.

In every memory weaved into that tapestry of your lives together.

From the way his whole face lit up with his smile… to his discerning tastes about what does and does not belong in gumbo.

He may not be here in body…but Jim lives on in your heart…and he’s with you in spirit.

The spirit of the Lord is upon you…and me…and all of us…to remember Jim’s dedication and love…and to be with you…and help you to carry on.

In the name of the one Holy and Undivided Trinity.

 

 

 

 

The Burden of Love

I'm tired. Even without having a single massage client this week, an intentional break that I established for myself due to some physical issues, I am still tired. It has been too hot...with heat indexes regularly above 100-degrees all week. It seems I can't consume enough water to keep my energy replenished. 

So, the Gospel really spoke to me on a physical level.

I'm also mentally tired. In providing pastoral care, I am hearing more and more the same thing from people that I am feeling, personally. I am tired of the attacks on people, especially the most vulnerable people. I'm tired of the tearing down of the institutions, and the norms of how to behave with those whom we don't see eye to eye on issues. 

So today's Gospel really spoke to me on the psychological and spiritual level as well.

What does this passage from Matthew say to you? Maybe what I have said meets you where you are, too.

Text: Matthew 11: 16-19, 25-30 and a little bit of Romans 7:15-25a

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“Come to me all you that are weary and carrying heavy burdens and I will give you rest.” 

I’m not much of a gambler…but I am willing to put money on the table that just about everyone in this room this morning heard those words and felt a sense of relief.

All of us have some burden we’re carrying…some more than others.

To hear Jesus say, “Come to me you worn-out person and I will give you rest” could and should be met with a sigh of “Thank you!”

This particular passage from Matthew is one the few that has stayed with me for most of my life. I remembered it as the words shared right before the passing of the peace when I was a child growing up in the Episcopal Church. My church used Holy Eucharist Rite I from our current Book of Common Prayer… a way to comfortably transition from the 1928 Prayer Book with its penitential language and use of “thee’s and thous”.

There’ve been times when these words have brought tears to my eyes for no special reason other than that relief that they have in the ears.

They call these the “comfortable words” of Jesus.

And they are “comfortable”…especially if we look at them in light of everything else Jesus’ has been saying up to this point.

He’s warned his disciples then…and us now… that people are going to be hostile…they aren’t going to be welcoming…and they aren’t going to won’t listen.

Heck…in some cases back in the days of ancient Palestine… professing Jesus as the Messiah would get dragged into court…or even killed.

In this country…professing Christianity won’t get us killed.

But living out our faith in a real way… in the way Jesus teaches… in that way of true loving and caring for the people who need it most and seeking to mend the wounds inflicted by people and systems… has become harder and harder to be a Christian.

It’s made it almost impossible to call one’s self a Christian when people associate “Christian” with a particularly cruel and petty practice of the faith.

It’s that kind of burdensome practice of religion…that is at the center of Jesus’ petition to “Come to me all that are weary and carrying heavy burdens I will give you rest.”

Because what Jesus was naming were a couple of things: First, there were those who were the self-righteous religious grumblers and hypocrites…and then there were those who the grumblers and hypocrites were wearing down.

One of those being worn down was John the Baptist.

We didn’t hear this part today…but at this point in the Gospel story…John is in prison having called out Herod Antipas for divorcing his first wife and marrying his brother’s ex-wife.

The Jewish historian Josephus adds a wrinkle to that story,

Josephus reports that Herod feared John the Baptist because John had gained a following out there by the Jordan River.

Herod…who was in league with the Roman Empire… worried about any person who might pose a threat to the power structure… and John…with his camel hair shirts and diet of locusts and wild honey…wasn’t afraid of challenging even the most  powerful people, and saying “You ain’t right by the law!”

Now…sitting in jail…John is in crisis.

He’s remembering his excitement that there was one coming after him that would have a baptism of fire and the Holy Spirit…one so much more powerful than himself that he wasn’t worthy to carry his successor’s sandals.

Sitting in jail…he thinks, “Maybe I made a mistake.

Nothing has changed.

Rome is still in charge.

The bullies seem to be winning.”

So John sends word to Jesus by his disciples…wondering…”Are you really the one who is going to make the crooked paths of this corrupt world straight for us? Or is there somebody else?”

I think we can all relate to John.

It can be hard when we see injustices in the world around us…and nothing seems to be changing.

The powerful pick on the powerless.

Those with means get their way.

When society seems unfair… when it feels as if we’re always getting pushed aside…that’s when doubt creeps in.

The longer the injustice persists…the doubt begins to chip away at our faith.

We stop trusting…our hearts grow harder…and we become resentful and angry…and no different from the bullies and tyrants we don’t want to be like.

To steal a line from Paul’s Letter to the Romans, we do the thing we do not want to do. We begin to close ourselves off and become governed by fear not faith.

Jesus…ever the patient one…implores John’s disciples to go back and tell him to stop looking only in those dark corners of doubt in his heart. Look and see that healing is happening… people are getting fed.

“You weren’t wrong, John.”

John…like us… is weary and heavy-burdened. Jesus is ready to give him and us rest.

But first…Jesus has some words for those then and now… who have burdened the Johns of the world.

He looks around at the crowd… some of whom are the powerful ones… the self-righteous…the very religious.

And basically… he tells them… “You wouldn’t know God if God came up and bit you on the nose!”

For they didn’t like John’s religion…with his baptism of repentance in the Jordan River. They called him a drunkard…even though he was stone-cold sober.

And they sure don’t like Jesus’ reinterpretation of the Law and pointing it back toward Love and Inclusion. They call Jesus a glutton…a slob who hangs out with “those people” from the wrong part of Palestine.

We still have that today, don’t we?

 

The smug and self-righteous are still among us in society.

The people who use their religious beliefs to justify withholding God’s love to those who need to hear it the most.

And yet Jesus calls us to stretch ourselves…being wise as serpents and innocent as doves…to not shrink from the call to follow in his path…being a force of love.

This is what it means to take on the “yoke” of Jesus.

To be “yoked” to Jesus is to learn from him.

We must allow Jesus to help us carry on the work of love in the world…work that will not be easy if we attempt it on our own.

Because there are things in this world that will break our hearts.

But our broken hearts are the pathway to understanding and being capable of connecting to people who want to know the God who eats meals with tax collectors…and touches and heals the untouchables.

That’s what Jesus wanted poor John to hear as he sat in the hell of a prison cell.

That’s what he wants us to hear as we contend with whatever burdens we’re carrying on this day.

His call to us is to live.

To live and learn from his life and ministry….and stay with him on the path of love…and engage in whatever way we can to make God’s love known to another struggling in this world.

Not through fear, but through love.

A love committed to repairing the breaches in society…and lightening the burdens we all bear.

In the name of God…F/S/HS.

 

 

 

Centering in Love Amidst the Storm: A Sermon for Independence Day

Ever since I started as a deacon in Valdosta back in August 2021, I have been wanting the three Episcopal Churches in the city to find a way to come together and do some activities together for the benefit of the larger community. Part of what I've been waiting on is the arrival of a rector at Christ Episcopal Church, the largest of the three congregations. That happened...finally...this spring. And the Rev. Hal Weidman made a way for us to start combining our efforts by inviting St. Barnabas, Christ the King, and St. James Quitman to participate in a joint service in celebration of Independence Day.

Hal asked me if I had people at St. Barnabas who would want to participate. I quitely inquired at my church to see if I could get at least one person from our congregation to serve on a federal holiday. Then another heard about it and offered that she would be happy to do something. So we had a psalmist...and an intercessor. 

"What would you like for me to do?" I inquired of Hal.  The rector was leaving the field wide open, so I said, "Well, why don't I preach." 

"OK, good." 

That was all determined mid-June. Then, last week, the U.S. Supreme Court wrapped up its most current session, releasing a series of opinions that were hard for me to stomach.

• Race can no longer be used in university admissions because students should demonstrate their merit. Never mind the racial disparities that have been compounded since the days the country reneged on the "Forty acres and a mule" promise made to blacks freed from slavery! Legacy admissions...those ones where having had family members attend the school...wasn't touched. Having parents educated at certain colleges must be merit enough for some kids.
• President Biden's student loan forgiveness program was found unconstitutional. Now thousands of college graduates are again saddled with paying back loans to lenders such as Sallie Mae, which (from experience) jacks up the interest rates midway through your payments.
• And the most egregious case: a web page designer named Lorie Smith in Colorado didn't want to have to design web pages for same-sex couples getting married. The 6-3 ruling from the Court said she doesn't have to and dealt a blow to all states and municipalities that have adopted anti-discritmination laws applied to businesses doing business with the public. What makes this case so bad (besides the obvious discrimination): Ms. Smith filed this case seven years ago when her "business" was a mere dream that she had. Then she and her lawyers claimed in court filings that she was approached by a couple...Stewart and Mike...who wanted her to design their same-sex wedding site. Trouble is "Stewart" is a straight cisgender man, happily married and living in California where he has a web site designing business. He doesn't know who "Mike" is and he didn't even know he was named in her complaint until reporters started calling him for comment on the case!! So the whole thing was built on a lie to allow Justice Neil Gorsuch, a Federalist Society-approved justice from Colorado, to write an opinion taking a swing at hard-earned civil rights for the LGBTQ community.

So...with that as a back drop...and news of anti-semitism on the rise in Georgia...and more mass shootings over the past few days in Baltimore, Fort Worth and Philadelphia....I had to write a sermon for a mixed congregation of four churches. One that didn't betray my hurt and anger, and also didn't alienate those who don't hold my same beliefs when it comes to the church being a beacon for social justice.

A tightrope. Here's what I said. See what you think.

Texts: Deut. 10:17-21, Ps. 145:1-9, Heb.11:8-16, Matt 5:43-48

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I realize that it feels like it’s about 100 degrees outside…and that this is the 4^th of July.

But as I was sitting down to write this sermon… I found myself thinking about a scene from the Christmas holiday classic…that Claymation story…Rudolf the Red-nosed Reindeer.

It’s the scene after Hermie the Elf decides to runaway from Christmas town…and Rudolf has just been revealed to be different…and can’t play with the other reindeers.

Hermie pops up from the snowbank…much to Rudolf’s surprise.

Hermie declares, “I don’t need anyone. I’m independent!”

Rudolf…feeling the power of that word…declares that he’s also “independent.”

And Hermie offers: Whaddya say we both be independent together?

And a couple of misfits head off to start a new life away from bullies and the tyranny of conformity.

Call it Christmas in July…but that’s what came into my head.

We’ve named this day Independence Day.

A time to celebrate our liberty and freedom from what was the oppressive rule of King George the Third.

In our national celebrations…this is the day of hamburgers, hot dogs, apple pie and fireworks that blow up real good.

In our culture…as articulated by Hermie and Rudolf…independence is a virtue.

It’s that whole idea that we’re able to make it on our own…

Be our own person…

stand on our own two feet…

rugged individualism…

and as the old Burger King slogan says…we can have things our way.

Interestingly…the Scripture lessons appointed for this day point to a different idea.

It seems that liberty and freedom are found in our INTERdependence.

A sense that we are to look to God as the supreme source…the centerpoint… from which everything else flows.

And then live with each other…helping each other…loving each other.  

The reading from Deuteronomy makes no bones about reminding us that…like our biblical ancestors…we live in a land of great riches…a land where we…too…were once strangers.

The land belongs to God; we’re just the stewards…the caretakers of it.

It’s a land where God shows no partiality…takes no bribes… executes justice for the orphaned and widowed…and feeds and clothes the stranger.

And God commands us to love those who aren’t our kinfolk.

In the Gospel…Jesus reinforces this same message…taking it one step further:

“Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”

Really?

Yes…he says. Really.

Because the sun rises and the rains fall on both those who we like…and those who we wish would go away…leave us alone…quit getting in our faces.

I think these words from Deuteronomy and Matthew’s Gospel…are prescient readings to have on a national holiday where we’re celebrating our United States…at a time that feels tense and fraught.

Anger seems to be in the air everywhere.

Too many people think the way to solve a disagreement is to pick up a gun.

We’ve seen in local communities here in Georgia… Macon and Warner Robins specifically…neo-Nazis protesting outside a Temple during their Shabbat evening service…and a spate of anti-Semitic threats.

There are those manufacturing culture wars…provoking fear of anyone who might be considered “other.”

Our E Pluribus Unum…isn’t feeling particularly “unum.”

Our sense of our interdependence…our need to see and love one another… seems more frayed than ever.

I was listening to an interview with Presiding Bishop Michael Curry from back in November 2020.

Bishop Curry noted that the phrase E Pluribus Unum…From Many One…comes to us from the philosopher Cicero.

The idea of it being that when each person makes a commitment to care about the other as much as they care about themselves…that’s when true unity happens.

Hmmm. Sounds like “love your neighbor and your enemy”…what Jesus said.

And Jesus sounds like Deuteronomy.

The vision articulated by the Founders of this country…imperfect men as they were… was the noble and desired mission of creating a country where all men are endowed with the inalienable rights of the Creator to enjoy life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness.

Did I mention that these were imperfect men who penned these words?

Because of course we know that while they expressed an ideal that is wonderful and worthy…how it manifested has not always been as wonderfully realized.

Men…meant white northern European men.

Black men…indigenous men…and women of any sort…weren’t part of the equation.

Some may still think they aren’t part of that grand vision.

But we should remember that God is a God of resurrection. 

And that God will use and take every misstep…every promise left waiting…and will provide a way.

Just as Abraham and Sarah and their descendants died in faith without having received all that was promised…God did create from them nations as many as the stars of heaven.

They saw the promises of God in the distance…and kept going…moving forward in a Godward direction.

We…too… must keep working toward what is in the preamble of our U.S. Constitution: that effort to create a more “perfect” union.

And we might want to be mindful of what “perfect” means.

The perfection Jesus commands of us…his followers…is not about being flawless.

It’s about loving God with all our heart, mind, and strength so that we can remain centered in love even when…and especially when… we’re living in tumultuous times.  

We must stick to love…and not turn away from each other in some sort of self-centered act of protection.

Because true love is about being willing to risk being hurt.

It’s about trusting in God enough that we seek to serve and care for each other.

It’s about listening to each other’s stories…even the difficult and painful ones…because this is how we help to bind up the brokenhearted and build a community of love and justice for all.

More than 100 years ago…Florida natives James Weldon Johnson and his brother John Rosamond Johnson gifted us with the hymn “Lift Every Voice and Sing.”

The final stanza works as a prayer for this Independence Day:

God of our weary years

God of our silent tears

Thou hast brought us thus far on the way;

Thou hast by thy might

Led us into the light;

Keep us forever in the path we pray.

Lest our feet stray from the places, our God, where we met thee;

Lest our hearts drunk with the wine of the world we forget thee;

Shadowed beneath thy hand may we forever stand

True to our God, true to our native land.

In the name of God…F/S/HS.