All is grace late on Sunday night...

Last night I watched "Sara's Key," a story of French collaboration with the Nazis and how one brother and sister dealt with the hatred and fear.  Totally heart-breaking AND it features Kristen Scott Thomas (one of my favorites.)  Today we marked Holocaust Remembrance Day - beautiful, chilling, somber and real - with the amazing Rebbecca Leigh singing a tune she used to sing to her grandmother in Hebrew. (I can't wait to post a clip of her holy voice singing, "Eli, Eli.")  A few dear souls from Knesset Israel joined us - along with others in the community - and that touched my heart, too.  It was a rich and moving time of worship...

... so it was an extra treat to then head out to a little joint in Dalton for lunch with dear friends. Di came in from the farm for worship - and lunch - and it was healing and holy to eat Reuben sandwiches (my mother's fav) while telling family stories and hoisting a pint (or two.)  As my buddy said as we departed, "At the stage in our lives, man, we've GOT to slow down a bit and savor the blessings."  I felt that in spades for so many, many reasons today. So I took a nap, walked with the dog in fields and watched "Call the Midwife."

When I finished the liturgy for Sunday April 21st earlier tonight, I realized I wanted to focus on the text from Revelations 7: 9-17 for a variety of reasons:  solidarity, the potential for comfort, the assurance of God's grace and the wild ass majesty of God's love that is bigger than all our rules, imaginations or habits combined.

I looked, and there was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, robed in white, with palm branches in their hands. They cried out in a loud voice, saying, Salvation belongs to our God who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb!’ And all the angels stood around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshipped God, singing: ‘Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honour and power and might be to our God for ever and ever! Amen.’

God's love touches ALL people - more than we can count or comprehend - and they come from everywhere and anywhere with no limits or distinctions.  Here's a clip mixing one of my favorite movies, The Fisher King, with some thoughts from Brennan Manning who is another favorite who just died - WITH the music of the Cure.