HELLO!

Faith, hope, and love remain and the greatest is love 1 Corinthians 13:13

Sometimes I feel like our world, our days, are like a lawn covered in thick snow. All we can see is white, but we know something is underneath. As I ponder, what is under that snow, several items come to mind. And then comes the question, if it is our lawn, are there any items we need to remove or move, from our lawn to another place. For instance, if there are shovels under the snow, we need them visible, so if we plan to remove some snow, we have access to the tools to carry out our task. Sounds obvious? Yet, as we go about our day, without snow, we see an assortment of things, opportunities, tasks, and sometimes get lost in the volume or the variety we experience. What to do first, what is most important, how to get started? Is there a roadmap to this maze?

I find this familiar verse of scripture very instructive. What is important? Love. Recently, I have found myself standing in cemeteries, offering committal services for persons who died expressing the wish there be no visitation or funeral service. So what remains is a Committal service. I try to include in this short service, a time for someone(s) to speak about their beloved, Bible passages, prayers, sacred earth to scatter. As I read 1 Corinthians 13, I find myself slowing down, emphasizing the words, “the greatest of these is love.” But what is love? It’s a feeling, an emotion. It’s also action. And it’s a philosophy. Love, to me, is knowing what is most important, going there, being there, finding words/feeling/thoughts/actions that reflect the presence of love.

In my work as a minister, LOVE is a phone call, a note, a visit, a conversation. Love can be personal. BUT it’s not always personal. Sometimes love is a letter to my MLA to do something about homelessness or poverty or climate change. That’s love too. Love is what matters. If you think (and I know you do) me cranky on the topic of details, things needing to be just so, or sentimental, or “fair” (our favorite word), remember how much of what we complain about will be forgotten when we cannot see everything or anything, and all we have left is…what really matters. What really matters is love, the thing that connects us to each other, to ourselves, to God, to our purpose. If that thing does this, it is likely love, if it doesn’t, it may be a distraction or an idol.

Keep your eyes on the prize. Peace, Kevin

PS That image I included in my blog last night, of the handwritten note expressing anger at someone who is loud in a coffee shop, was NOT written to me. I found it using Google images. I shared it bcs I know it is how people feel, when they hear me with a guest, at a nearby table, talking. I have only once been confronted by someone upset with me for talking loudly. I was eager to apologize, but he conflated my loudness with “you must think you are very important”. Being judged for loudness and inconsideration, is one thing. But someone assuming this flaw is the result of “big feeling” speaks much more about him than me.

PPS January 21^st was National Squirrel Appreciation Day.