Sermons by Vicar Paisley Le Roy (Page 3)

If you’re like me, you’re probably going on a lot of walks. Whether it’s a 20 minute one around the block and through the park or just a quick jaunt to the mailroom, those walks have become a highlight of my otherwise monotonous days. Yet, again, if you’re like me, those same walks are now becoming part of the monotony. With the lakeshore closed, the handful of walks are becoming a bit boring. I’m getting to the point where I think I could walk these paths with my eyes closed. I am longing to be out in nature, out at the lakefront, to see that brilliant turquoise color of Lake Michigan, to sit on the rocks and dip my toes in the ice-cold water, to hang a hammock and read a book while listening and feeling the cool wind. All of these were essential to my mental and spiritual health. I feel a little empty without them. And so I continue these familiar walks, grieving the sights of the lake and becoming hopeless about when I will next be able to walk on its shore…

Why. Are. We. Celebrating. When. We. Are. Living. In. This. Good Friday. World… we can’t be physically together, the fear is overwhelming, we can’t gather with friends and family… how can we celebrate new life on THIS day? For this very reason, many churches are postponing Easter until they return to their sanctuaries. And, sure, if the resurrection is about joy completely wiping away our sadness or destroying death-dealing forces here and now…perhaps we shouldn’t be celebrating Easter just yet…

Well, friends…here we are. Good Friday. A day that we commemorate every year and, yet this year feels…heavier. The realities of fear and grief surround us. The power of disease and death is at the forefront of our minds. The physical distancing may be leaving us feeling isolated. And on a day where I find comfort in a community gathered around the cross…I am here…and you are there…we are apart and yet…connected…