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How Mysteries Abound!
A Sermon (Chapel Service for Children and Families) Given
by Betty Jo Middleton
on Easter Sunday, March 31, 2002
at Cedar Lane Unitarian Universalist Church
Bethesda, Maryland
A Litany of Miracles
Adapted by Betty Jo Middleton from two readings by Henry Youlden, #24
and #63 in We Speak of Life
O all ye things of tenderness and grace!
Bless ye our minds and lift us up forever.
O beautiful the flying moon that gleams and hides in the dappled sky!
Bless ye our minds and lift us up forever.
O beautiful the mist and rain, the sunshine and blue weather!
Bless ye our minds and lift us up forever.
O beautiful the love of parents for their children!
Bless ye our minds and lift us up forever.
O beautiful the children of every land and time!
Bless ye our minds and lift us up forever.
O beautiful those who serve in humility and love!
Bless ye our minds and lift us up forever.
O all ye memories of love!
Bless ye our minds and lift us up forever.
Words for Easter Morning
How miracles abound!
Everywhere we look we see things that--if we really think about it--are
hard to believe.
The bulbs planted last fall, or maybe many autumns past, seem dead all
through the winter, only to burst through the earth in shoots of green and
blossom forth in spring. The trees that lose their leaves put forth new
ones. The days started getting longer a few months ago and now we are
truly aware of how much more light there is in our world.
In Afghanistan, someone is getting ready to plant the seeds we sent them,
and here at home, some of us are thinking of starting our gardens, too!
The icy waters of winter begin to seem inviting, and we think of the time
of swimming (or wading!) that will be here before we know it.
Life itself is a mystery--something we cannot truly understand. What a
gift "of tenderness and grace" it is to be alive and loved and to have others
whom we love.
Have you ever seen a tiny, newborn baby, or one just a few days old? It is
hard to believe that tiny baby even came to be. The way life begins and
then goes on and on is a miracle to me!
Have you ever known someone who died? And have you noticed how that
person's love seems to stay with you always and how you remember
laughter and joy as well as sadness when you think of them? And the way
you keep on loving that person? O all ye memories of love, that do bless
our minds and hearts and lift us up forever!
This Easter morning I am thankful for "most this amazing day" as
e.e.cummings put it. When I read "this is the birth day of life and of love
and of wings," I think of what someone said about a caterpillar turning
into a butterfly: "Caterpillar thinks he's dying, but he's really being born."
As we grow and stretch and change and sprout metaphorical wings may
we feel renewed, transformed, and lifted up by tenderness and grace. May
Easter "bless…our minds and lift us up forever."
Music for the service was provided by members of the Junior and Youth
Choirs, directed by Gannett Cassidy, and Kathie Bryant.
Office@CedarLane.org
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