God Will Fix You
As I shared with our Leadership earlier this week, and with the congregation on Sunday, we gathered to celebrate the life of, and grieve the loss of two church members these past two days – Leila McClain and Paul Hoffman. Each had a unique story and testimony of grace and perseverance. Paul was a quiet and humble servant, the regular usher who brought up the offering at 8:30a in the aisle closest to the CE building. Leila was a sassy and spunky single mom, who despite her age and challenging final years with some dementia (she was 97!) she was beautiful to the end, and epitomized God’s pursuing, always-and-forever love in her care for her two sons.
While it is an absolute privilege to stand bedside and graveside with families at this time, it’s also done with a heavy heart. Even when you know it’s coming, getting that phone call from a family… we all experience that loss anew. Even when we know the truth of God’s love in Jesus, the promise of the resurrection, and the peace that surpasses understanding.
In Sunday’s sermon, I reflected on the power of music to convey both the lament and longing we have as humans and how entering into that, we are both more human and more faithful to Jesus. We can express and experience something beautiful and real, and ultimately draw closer to Christ.
And I told the story of driving home to Canada, following my own Dad’s death, listening to Coldplay’s Fix You… Lights will guide you home, and ignite your bones, and I will try to fix you.
The story behind that song is that Chris Martin wrote it for his wife, Gwyneth Paltrow, on the passing of her father. When I hear that chorus, especially, I hear the lament of a family member who desperately wants to put back together their grieving partner. And for all of us who’ve stood beside someone in grief, we know we can’t do it. We can’t bring them back, and we can’t make right in the life of our friend or family member, what’s going on in their heart as they grieve.
But I also hear that line, as a whisper of God to each of us. Because surely, the light of God’s love will guide us home, to our eternal home in Him. And our very bones will be ignited, lit aflame by the all-encompassing love God has for us. But here’s where it gets a little different… unlike our “try” that we know is insufficient. Unlike our attempts to comfort and make right what is amiss in each other, our ourselves. God doesn’t just try, God does.
God will “fix” us, and this world, renewing and redeeming all that is broken and in God’s perfect timing, we will experience the “fix” we long for.
So, God says, I WILL try to fix you!
When I gather with a family or our congregation to grieve and celebrate together with a memorial service, my best gift is not to try to do anything, other than to try to point to the One who will do what He said. It’s an honor and privilege.
Welcoming You to Grow in Jesus, one song, one light, one gracious gathering at a time,
Pastor Don