Beloved friends,
“Broken Hearts are Mended, Wounded Souls are Healed.” Many in our generation have inherited things from our parents; some physical, some emotional, the aggregate of which represents various aspects of who our parents were and perhaps still are in our lives.
On the wall above my desk in our study is this little black and white picture positioned, in nearly as I could make it, the same spot as my mom had it on her wall in her study before it became mine. I am not sure where it came from or why she had it above her desk. To the best of my knowledge our family never attended any Second Baptist Church, but rather, I suspect it is the 8 words below that had special meaning for her: “Broken Hearts are Mended, Wounded Souls are Healed.”
I smile whenever I see this photo because it makes me think of the ministry my mom offered in the Episcopal church as a deacon for many decades using these words as an unspoken mission; quietly and faithfully feeding the hungry, visiting the sick and those in prison, and teaching and preaching the gospel at all time. And now, on our best days, as a community of faith, I feel we are doing the same- albeit in different context and with unique challenges. Thank you for all the ways Trinity as a whole is stepping up and into how we too are called to live out those 8 words individually and together.
We are now near the end of Holy Week- the season in which we cram every possible human emotion into every ancient liturgy we inherit. It is in a word, intense. We go from the Palm Sunday “parade” waving our palm branches as Jesus enters Jerusalem hailing him as our chosen king, to eating a simple meal remembering how Jesus ate with his disciples for the last time and then kneeling down to wash their feet to model servant leadership, to today- Good Friday, the day we walk with Jesus for the very last time as he makes his way to the cross. A walk that is filled with the immanency of suffering, torture and eventually a horrific death.
This pattern of worship and these ways of following Jesus are also part of our inheritance as followers of Christ. Both physical and emotional forms connecting us deeply to our past and to the call of who and how we are commissioned to live each day. As I think about where we are as a community, a nation and a global community, I find comfort and hope thinking about those 8 words in the context of our Holy Week faith journey. Death for us is never the last word or the end of the story. Jesus, the light and guide for us in these otherwise dark times did, among other things, offer us a rich inheritance, a way of being and serving and giving and receiving where “Broken Hearts are Mended, Wounded Souls are Healed.”
“Come home” in all the ways we are reimagining what being together looks like this weekend. I miss you all terribly AND am also so very grateful for the many ways we are staying connected while apart. Walk the way of the cross dear ones with solemn intent and a hope-filled heart trusting we will meet each other Easter morning with joy and gladness in our hearts.
May you never forget that you are loved,
Lisa