Good Grief

Summary

I took a brief break from the Lectionary for this week and decided instead to focus on the story of Lazarus. I hesitated doing so, wondering if I was the only one particularly attached to grief lately. However, 2 things happened a few weeks ago as well as this past week. Deb Detweiler was mentioned a couple times during our worship hour. At convention, some of Deb’s former students were helping leading the singing and one morning they led us in some choir warm ups that had been uniquely Deb, giving credit to her an garnering a smattering of applause among the 3,000 or so gathered.  I also have had conversations with folks for whom grief, as of late, has been very real in other forms. The loss of anything dear to us, whether that’s a person, or a job, or a way of being can disorient us and have profound effects on our spiritual life.

A few weeks ago I was at Princeton Theological Seminary participating in what was described as “preaching summer camp for pastors.” Aside from working with amazing faculty, we got to hear long time pastors preach sermons that included scriptures that pastors often encounter. The first night we heard a lectionary sermon, the next night, a wedding sermon. The following night, a funeral sermon, the next, a communion sermon.