Reflections, Images, and Videos from Our August 21 Service

The four videos immediately below were shown on our screens before our August 21 Service to help prepare us for worship.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The sermon time began with the following two videos, which are about what was for me the most inspiring action I saw among all the wonderful performances in the Rio Olympics of athletes like Michael Phelps, Usain Bolt, and Canada’s own Andre De Grasse and Penny Oleksiak – carried out by two athletes in the 5,000 meters who didn’t get a medal.

In my sermon, I then continued:

Finishing the race together … Bearing witness to something deeper … connection … relationship … sacrifice … all speak to the ultimate victory’s being love.

Today, our Gospel passage (Luke 13:10-17) speaks about this as well – setting forth the freedom that comes when love reigns supreme, the joy that exists when God’s touch sets free from bondage, both internal and external!

The leader of the synagogue was intensely displeased because Jesus had cured on the sabbath. He kept saying to the crowd, “Work needs to be done on the six non-Sabbath days; come on those days and be cured, and not on the sabbath day.”

Jesus responds with passion: “You talk about what’s necessary. Let me tell you what’s necessary. It’s necessary that this daughter of Abraham not have to wait one second longer to be set free!”

This past week I learned about a young person from Syria who shares Our Lord’s passion – Mazoon Rakan Almellehan (pictured in the image on the top of this posting). Here’s a video about her.

Mazoon is passionate in her conviction that it’s necessary for a daughter of Abraham to be free – that no daughter of Abraham be held in bondage for one second longer, but rather know freedom outside and inside.

We need this passion – to, like Our Lord, be unable to be willing contentedly to let people continue in bondage one second longer; to celebrate whatever sets free: to see it as victory for all of us – a victory of love, the deepest victory of all!

May all of us know this victory in our lives, and finish the race together! Amen.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The following song played on our screens, as we left the Sanctuary with thankful hearts, to go and serve freely in Jesus’ Name.