What a week! Many of you sent prayers for me and my congregation, and we were stronger for them. It is a good thing to be in the trenches together. Old men who called me "Meta" last week now call me "Pastor". Something has shifted since an annual review and two funerals last week. I am frightened by the great losses in our little church and how much I love these people, but I'm also glad for everything vulnerable about being with them.
I was all preached out (again) yesterday, so I did not prepare a sermon. Instead, I brought The Giving Tree and read it before the kids left for Sunday School. We believe in a God who is rooted in our lives. When we return to the place where we are known, there is always rejoicing and acceptance.
Then we heard all three Lost Parables. A coin went missing. A sheep went wandering. A son strutted off. And the congregation read the words of rejoicing aloud at the end of each story. Love-Surround-Sound. The Searcher rejoiced in the fi…