“Intersections: Soul” – July 18, 2021
Rev. Chelsea Simon
Sunday, July 18, 2021 at 9:30am
Sanctuary & Livestream Worship
“Stop searching, little fish. There isn’t anything to look for. All you have to do is look.”
~ Anthony de Mello
Hello Everyone,
As we continue to move through and out of the COVID tunnel, I am finding it more difficult than I thought. Things didn’t magically go back to “normal” once I got vaccinated. COVID time is still lingering. It seems that memories, dates, anniversaries, birthdays, holidays, seasons and life have all been jumbled together. For the last 15+ months I have kept my head down, just trying to make it through. And now that it feels like we have, I am working on lifting my head back up, but it’s hard. Sometimes it takes a kick to wake us up.
Well I had that kick this week when my son, Max, started preschool. This monumental milestone made me realize that perhaps I had kept my head down too long. Perhaps in my “we gotta make it through” attitude I was missing something. I was missing life! Those moments that are both ordinary and yet extraordinary, mundane and yet sacred, familiar and yet full of possibility and joy.
Disney Pixar’s Soul offers a surprisingly philosophical and spiritual message about the beauty of our everyday experiences. Experiences that take place all the time and all around us. Yet, we miss them. They pass us by without even a thought.
It might seem a little odd that this week we will be reading the story of The Visitation, which is typically reserved for Advent. This visit is between Mary, who is pregnant with Jesus, and Elizabeth, who is pregnant with John the Baptist. Upon Mary’s arrival and even though he was still in his mother's womb, John became aware of Christ’s presence, and leapt with joy. Perhaps this reminds us that it usually takes a good kick for us to recognize that God is in our midst and that this makes all moments (even COVID moments) sacred.
I hope you will join us at 8 a.m. (a shortened service with Communion in the Chapel), 9:30 a.m. (in the Sanctuary), or Online (Livestream at 9:30 a.m. or on YouTube SDUMC YouTube Link later in the day)!
Peace in Christ,
Chelsea