I was struck by something that felt gently profound to me as I was sitting with the choir this past Sunday morning.  As I was looking out over the congregation joyfully greeting one another as they were passing the peace, as I looked to my left and saw a new member tentatively being liturgist for the first time, and as I saw a wonderful young man who is also new to us sneak in late and settle into one of the back pews, my heartstrings were tugged on quite strongly.

You see, I was raised by a mother who had a great distrust of others, who had been deeply hurt by those who should have been supportive and kind but were instead quite a bit less than what she needed.  As an adult, she was very lonely and yet could not find a way to open herself up easily to relationship with those outside her family.  She would often ask, "Why would you want anyone to know you so well?", or say things like, "Other people always have an ulterior motive."  As I matured I began to see those defensive phrases for what they were, and always had a pang of great sadness for my mom whose soul was often in pain and who had such an internal struggle just to let anyone in a tiny little bit.

But this past Sunday, after decades of exposure to the teachings of Jesus, I caught perhaps the tiniest glimmer of what God feels for all of us. 

From my vantage point I saw courage, I saw seeking, and I saw a vibrant community. 

A young man pursuing the same sort of wisdom I sought when I was his age draped in sunlight as if God was pointing him out to me specifically.  And I felt so much love for him.

A middle-aged woman, confident in most settings, a tiny bit uncertain standing at the lectern bravely offering her gift for public speaking to her brand new church family.  And I felt so much love for her.

A gaggle of folks, many of whom have walked through life side-by-side together warmly embracing their fellow congregants, reaching to hug old and new friends alike.  And I felt so much love for all of them.

Love is often associated solely with familial love, or romantic love, but seldom as it regards the general love of our fellow humans in this world.  While we steadfastly prepare our young children for "Stranger Danger", we rarely invite them to be open-hearted toward others, whether they know them or not, and in doing so we miss the opportunity to prepare them to welcome the stranger...who very well might become tomorrow's dearest friend.

I left church this past Sunday a little humbled by the gift of so many people in my life to love, to care for, and to walk through life with.  Not just my dearest loved ones that share my last name, but those who stood before me that morning, and those yet to arrive in my life.

This is perhaps God's greatest gift of all, the removal of the societal "norms" that have become far too deeply embedded, distancing us from one another.  Love CAN be boundless, if we allow it to shape us, and if we aren't so hardened and walled off that a different kind of love can't reach us.

In light, and most especially, in love,

Rev. Cindy