All Shall Be Well

We had one of those Sundays where everything fits together. I was preaching on 1 John 4 and based my sermon on some of the words of Julian of Norwich, an anchorite from the 14th century. It just so happens that Shawn composed a song 10 years ago, using the words of Julian of Norwich. With our children, youth, adult choir and an oboe and flute we heard Julian's words, "All shall be well. All shall be well. And all manner of thing shall be well." There were 58 people up front bringing us that song. I find it hard to preach after moments like that. It felt so sacred that I just wanted to sit in it. If that wasn't enough, the bell choir brought us a beautiful rendition of "I'm Just a Poor Wayfaring Stranger." Then as a choral postlude an ensemble sang "Seasons of Love" from Rent.

I knew what the service was going to look like way ahead of time and it still awed me. When we come together across generational lines and offer our music, our voices, and our stories it is a beautiful thing. All shall be well.

Then I went out onto the courtyard and signed a letter to my representative asking him to vote for SB308 to stop the selling of ammunition magazines that allow people to shoot masses of people. One of the youth gave me a valentine she made. I joined our congregation for the Love Luncheon in the fellowship hall. I came home with leftovers. I'm looking forward to not cooking so much this week! All shall be well.

In the January 25, 2011 issue of Christian Century, Craig Barnes tells the story of preaching at the ordination of one of his seminary students who was installed as a pastor in a small, rural church. He wanted the bright seminarian to go on for a Ph.D. The student wanted to be a pastor. It was at the potluck after the service where Craig Barnes glimpsed the mystery of church. He writes:

This was a eucharistic feast...The holiness of the room was so apparent that I almost took off my shoes. No one wanted to leave---certainly not me...

I can't tell you how often I witness that holiness here. Oh sure, there are times when I feel worn out by the minutiae of church life. There are times when I wonder if I would have gone into pastoral ministry if I knew how much of my time would go to discussions about such things as the layout of the bulletin. At one of my very first board meetings as a wet-behind-the-ears pastor the agenda for the evening revolved around the hotly debated issue of whether we should get a mouse trap for the church that trapped the mouse alive or dead. Lucky for us, sometimes when we are focused on the details, the angels come down from heaven and sing, "All shall be well."