July 6, 2014 ~ Who Binds Us Together from John Knox Kirk on Vimeo.
A sermon preached at John Knox Kirk of Kansas City, Missouri, on July 6, 2014.
Matthew 11: 16-19, 25-30
and Genesis 24: 34-38, 42-67
Was reminded this week how much we do is about strengthening our ties together.
The way we’re formed into families and friendships
Little pairs or triplets or gaggles of love.
Aristotle once described human beings as “social, rational animals”[i]
by which he meant
Thinking beings who are naturally inclined to be bound together
through love and society.
In this and in many other things, I think Aristotle was right on the money.
This week I celebrated our nation’s Independence Day holiday
with a group of closest friends
six adults, six kids
countless ooohs and aaaaahs over fireworks and bratwurst.
We also made some quick revisions to our wedding policy here at the Kirk
since someone wrote asking about a possible wedding here next year
and we needed to get those changes finished.
Meanwhile, I sat with someone who is quite content in her singleness,
thank you very much
as she told me about the friends and nephews in her life
who give her such joy that she teared up talking about them.
And I also helped a few families say goodbye to loved ones for a final time,
as we prepare to do this again this coming week too.
These are all holy moments, the joyous and the difficult alike.
Our families are all different. Our friendships are not the same.
There are people who give our lives such meaning and joy that we gush over them,
and family members who have done such harm to us
that our fists clench when the thought of them enters our mind.
The life of faith is, at least partially,
about strengthening the good and healing the hurt in our relationships,
our families, our church, our community, our world.
We might be rational, social animals,
but the work of nurturing healthy relationships:
father, mother, daughter, son, sibling, lover, neighbor, friend
is constantly challenging, consistently nuanced and contextual.
It can be exhausting and maddening and frustrating. [Read more…]
