This is a shorter version of the homily Rev. Frank gave on Sunday, August 30.
It’s been a hot and dry summer around here. Spending more time than usual around home, I’ve watched the grass dry up and die, and done just enough watering to keep other plants alive. Bees have been lining up on the edge of the birdbath, thirsty for a drink. I love a rainy summer day every now and then, and until yesterday, it had been a long time since we’ve had one of those. And we’re fortunate—out west, where things are often dry, wildfires have raged in recent weeks, causing loss of life and property and destroying beautiful places, spreading smoke and making it hard to breathe for those downwind.
And in our nation, it’s felt like a hot and dry summer—Black people keep getting killed by police and vigilantes, and mostly peaceful protests have sometimes turned violent, and this tenuous situation hasn’t been helped by federal troops, whose presence has escalated the tensions. With the election coming, it’s a time of heated rhetoric and all kinds of argument.
We are living in a hard time—a time of disruption and dislocation, a time of heightened fear and anxiety. On the global and national levels, there’s lots to worry about. And for many of us, there’s plenty to worry about on the personal level too. I hope it helps to name this truth. Because naming what is real, and facing it, we can deal with what is in front of us. People have lived through hard times before, and we will get through this. I hope you have that faith, and I hope that being part of this church community helps you with that.
A couple of weeks ago, I was looking at our dead grass, and seeing no rain in the forecast, was feeling rather dejected. And then a song came to mind. The one we heard a few minutes ago, which Lisa as led our choir in singing:
Let peace, like welcome rain, flow freely down, flow freely down,
to heal this dry, parched land.
Come soothe the summer's wounded soul
and flood the burning fears we hold
with truth, and hope, and deeper understanding.
(Here’s a video with that song from the service on August 30.)
These words have stayed with me, and have been my prayer in these days: Let peace, like welcome rain, flow freely down. And who among us doesn’t need some peace these days? The question is, do you know how to get it? Do you know how to find it? I hope that just showing up here, on Sunday morning, even in this online way, helps. It certainly helps me. I felt so fed and blessed by the service Sophia and Bo led last Sunday. I know it’s not the same as being in our sanctuary together, but we have learned, haven’t we, that even on Zoom, we can gather for worship and feel the presence of one another, and the presence of the Spirit too.
What brings you peace and solace? What helps you to be hopeful, and helpful, and happy? For some of us it’s being with others, and taking action; for some it’s quiet and contemplation. When I’m preaching, Friday is my writing day, and this week I did that outdoors, in our back yard. And having that dry ground under my feet, the blue sky overheard, occasionally punctuated by a passing cloud or a circling bird, this brought me such a sense of peace, and a quiet kind of joy. The flutter of a breeze was a blessing, the yellow flowers across the yard a sacrament, the shape of a single tree a reminder that all is not lost. These blessed companions on a summer day—a tree, some flowers, a bird in the sky above, a patch of earth—these fed my soul, in a way that scrolling through my phone will never do. All these gifts reminded me of my place in this world; that it is so good to be alive; that even with all its pain and struggle, life is a gift and a blessing.
In his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled (Matthew 5:6). So don’t be discouraged when you find yourself thirsting for peace or hungry for justice; let that desire fuel your search for what is good and true. Have faith that what you seek after, you will find.
You have been given the gift of this one life. You are a unique combination of interests and passions, talents and limitations; you are here for something good. In this time when our land seems so parched and dry, when plenty of folks are tired and discouraged, we need you, to take care and put yourself in the way of grace and peace. Because that is how we will help build the common good—having faith and joining hands, working together for the better day that is coming.
So take hope, and take heart, and take courage, my friends. Grace and peace are very near you. More love and more justice are possible. Let this be our prayer: that peace, like welcome rain, will flow down and bless us, all of us. And that the Spirit of Life and Love and Justice will companion and guide us, now and forever,
Amen.