By Juliana Moore
We are in the middle of summer, aren’t we? The heat has arrived, and some of us are scattered hither and yon, as my grandmother would say. I find that these “lazy days of summer” are anything but lazy. My past month has been filled with travel and trauma and literally planes, trains and automobiles. Maybe yours has too. Or maybe it’s been the opposite and filled with static loneliness and boredom.
No matter what your past week, month or year looks like, today we gather to worship. We gather for a Sabbath day of holy rest. Some of us gather in this sacred space and some of us gather virtually. Some of us gather in spirit while we are away with friends and family. Regardless, we gather to worship and to hear the voice of Jesus.
What does Jesus want to tell you today? What do you need to hear from God right now?
Listen. From the chiming of the hour until the last organ chord. From each prayer to each hymn. In every spoken word. In the rustle of children to the high, quiet whistle of hearing devices. God is here. In this place. If you only look and listen, you will find them.
And isn’t that true of the holy in the world as well? If I only pay attention. If I open my eyes and ears to the tiny sacred moments that happen all around me. If I just stop and breathe, God is all around me, and I can rest in her presence.
May this service of worship be a moment to rest and breathe. May it be a life-giving stream so that, when you leave this place, your soul is refreshed and revived. May your faith and resolve in our Lord and Savior be strengthened and leave you rested and glad.