Embracing Grace: Navigating Loss and Celebrating Legacy

Good morning. We've been in the practice for over a year now of starting our worship services with just a time of recognizing our deep need for God's grace. And it's one of those things that we kind of come from a tradition that's not wildly liturgical. And so some of these elements that we've put into our service, it's like, okay, we're doing the same thing every week, every week. But there's a lot of power in it. And I want to continue to persist in it. Because what we're doing is simply reminding ourselves, because we're quite forgetful, that every single time we gather together, it's because of the grace of Jesus that has gone before us and also brings us in behind. [00:17:28]

So let's take a few moments this week reflecting on how good the grace of God is that welcomes us in despite the fact that we do fall short and that we have sinned. And that even this week we've disobeyed God's commands, either intentionally or unintentionally. And yet God still welcomes us in and embraces us and loves us as sons and daughters of the living God because of our need for him. So let's take a few moments to reflect on our need for grace and then we'll pray a prayer of confession together. [00:18:10]

By the shed blood of Jesus Christ and the perfect testimony of God's word, 1 John 1 .9 says that if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us. So, we are a forgiven people. Let's stand and greet one another this morning with a word of peace. Let's stand and [00:20:08]

And this is our second to last week of the God of the Valley series in which we're reminding ourselves that in Epiphany, not only does God show up in person through Jesus Christ, but he also shows up for us when we are in the most difficult, the most lonely, the most overwhelming situations of life, the dark valleys of life that we're not always sure how to navigate. God shows up to those places as well. Today, we're going to be talking about one of those famous valleys from Scripture, the valley of the shadow of death or the valley of darkness from Psalm 23. [00:43:27]

The other reason I think that we return to it time and time again in addition to the fact that it's simply just a beautiful written psalm is that it articulates two really comforting and encouraging truths that Scripture has to say to us in every season of life. And David does this through kind of articulating two scenes, the first of which is obviously the description of the care that a shepherd would provide with his flock, one in which they are being... provided for and protected. They are enjoying beautiful abundance and rest and shalom. [00:46:17]

But I want to suggest this morning that it's important for us to realize or remember, if we've forgotten, that grief is actually a response to loss. And loss, there can be great loss and there can be smaller loss. But I happen to agree with one of my college professors who argues that all loss should be grieved, right? Even the small ones. Now, I'm not suggesting that you hold a funeral service for when the milk goes bad in the refrigerator. But I am suggesting that recognizing that loss is disorienting. [00:49:02]

Whenever you lose something in life, it helps to destabilize your world and confuse and disorient you. In a sense that we are traveling on this path and then loss occurs. Again, it could be the big losses like death, separation, divorce. It could be the little losses, the losing of a job, the moving of a new town, the just simply growing apart from a childhood friend, seeing a pet pass away, watching your kids grow up and move out. All of these things are on a continuum, but they're all loss. And loss is disorienting. [00:49:58]

The greater the loss, the more disoriented our lives become. So the valley of the shadow of death or the valley of darkness is one of the most perplexing places that we could ever find ourselves navigating. This great valley that all of us will have to walk in one way, shape, or form when we lose someone precious to us or we lose something incredibly important to us. How do we navigate this sense of confusion and disorientation? Well, throughout the years, Christians have relied on Scripture to help provide signposts for us. [00:51:08]

And I want to talk this morning about the stability that can be provided in the midst of the disorientation of loss through rituals. And again, we're recognizing who we are. We're low church brethren. We're a little suspicious of rites, anything that smells of sacrament. We're like, wait a minute, what is this? But I want to suggest to you that rituals can help reorient us to the story we inhabit and get us moving in the right direction again. [00:52:06]

And these are just simply thanking the memory or the legacy or something. And so the first picture there is the famous Marie Kondo, right? The house -tidying expert who became famous for helping people declutter their homes a few years ago. And she has this practice that a friend of mine, we were just talking at dinner a few weeks ago about, you know, getting rid of their kids' clothes. Maybe they've grown out of them, and you don't have them anymore. And you're going to hand them off to the next family, or you're going to take them to be used somewhere else. And just literally, it seems silly to thank the clothing item. Thank you. Because like, okay, unlike Marie Kondo, we're not animists, right? We don't think that there's a soul in the t -shirt, right? However, for your own good, it's good to say thank you. It's good to say thank you to the Lord. It's good to recognize the provision and protection He's given you. Christian weddings, I would argue, are rituals of affirmation. [00:58:10]

And finally, today is a embodiment of reconciliation. Because the thing that we are most grateful to Sherry Van Dyne in her life and her ministry is that she shows us what Jesus is like through her life words and actions. She shows us what it looks like for Jesus to enter the room, to extend compassion, to joyfully serve the young and the old, and to be a presence of peace and love wherever she goes. She embodies the gospel of reconciliation. She glorifies Christ with her life. [01:10:01]

We are grateful that we are just one small part of a beautiful and eternal tapestry that you are weaving by and through your Son, Jesus Christ. We thank you for those who have gone before, who have made a way for us. And we pray that in this season, you would find us faithful so that those who come after us would be blessed by our legacy of pursuing you as well. [01:18:02]