Prayer of the Day
Allmighty God,
God of beginnins and endning, God of sunrise and sunset.
Be with us this morning as we gather for worship: be with us as we contemplate about faith, hope and love.
Be with us today as you were yesterday. Be with us tomorrow as our hope.
One True God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Now and forever more. Amen.
First Reading: Psalm 67
1 May God be gracious to us and bless us
and make his face to shine upon us.
2 that your way may be known upon earth,
your saving power among all nations.
3 Let the peoples praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you.
4 Let the nations be glad and sing for joy,
for you judge the peoples with equity
and guide the nations upon earth.
5 Let the peoples praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you.
6 The earth has yielded its increase;
God, our God, has blessed us.
7 May God continue to bless us;
let all the ends of the earth revere him.
Introduction
Solo: “Landslides.”
By Fleetwood Mac, Stevie Nicks 1971
The forces of nature are strong and many. Wind, Rain, Landslides, Earthquakes, Thunder, Lightening and Clouds.
Clouds, Rain and Landslides are the focus on these summer services with meaningful music.
Today we will listen Maja and rush sing/play the iconic Fleetwood Mac song “Landslides.” Written by Stevie Nicks in 1974. And perhaps the most beloved and played song by her.
I took my love; I took it down.
I climbed a mountain, and I turned around.
And I saw my reflection in the snow-covered hills.
‘til the landslide brought me down.
This is the opening verse of the song, - and with these words we are brought up a mountain to the snow-covered hills – and reminded that landslides can bring us down again. Literally or metaphorically.
Now listen to the song….
Gospel: Matthew 13.24-30
The Canaanite Woman’s Faith
21 Jesus left that place and went away to the district of Tyre and Sidon. 22 Just then a Canaanite woman from that region came out and started shouting, ‘Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon.’ 23 But he did not answer her at all. And his disciples came and urged him, saying, ‘Send her away, for she keeps shouting after us.’ 24 He answered, ‘I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.’ 25 But she came and knelt before him, saying, ‘Lord, help me.’
26 He answered, ‘It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.’ 27 She said, ‘Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.’ 28 Then Jesus answered her, ‘Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.’ And her daughter was healed instantly.
Sermon: “On Landslides and Lives.”
I took my love; I took it down.
I climbed a mountain, and I turned around.
And I saw my reflection in the snow-covered hills.
‘til the landslide brought me down.
Oh, mirror in the sky.
What is love?
Can the child within my heart rise above?
Can I sail through the changing' ocean tides?
Can I handle the seasons of my life?
Well, I've been afraid of changing.’
Cause I've built my life around you.
But time makes you bolder.
Even children get older.
And I'm getting older too.
And if you see my reflection in the snow-covered hills
Well, the landslide brings it down.
The uncontrollable force of nature in a landslide is the image of this song.
Like any of the forces of nature: thunder, rain, clouds, earthquakes, so landslides are meaningful metaphors for our lives and how we manage.
Clouds can give rain and needed nourishment. It can pour too much so we get soaked, like I just experienced in stormy rainy Denmark at the top of Skagen.
Clouds can also give us shade and shelter from the scorching sun. Clouds can get in the way of the sunshine and even block the sun or our view, our perspective and hopes.
Landslides are dangerous as they literally make the land under our feet slide and slip away and give in to an avalanche of dirt, mud, debris, trees and bricks and ruin what was once firm secure ground and leave us helpless, homeless and hopeless.
Landslides are life-changing moments in our lives, when great forces take us by surprise and lift us up, push us and transform us and move us.
“Landslides” is one of the most iconic songs ever, written by Stevie Nicks and performed by Fleetwood Mac. The song was released in 1975.
It is one of those iconic songs that make you turn up the volume and sing along. Every time. Loud. Last time I listened to it was in the pouring rain driving through strong winds and heavy showers on the Freeway on my way to a memorial service in Denmark. A death can be a landslide. A divorce. An encounter. A decision.
Stevie Nicks wrote the song while contemplating either to go back to school and finish her education, - to do the rational and expected: - or to continue the uncertain path of working like an artist.
Stevie Nicks was 27 when she wrote her song, and as a struggling artist, working odd jobs as waitresses and cleaning lady to support herself and her dreams. And her love. Her the boyfriend is Lindsey Buckingham.
I took my love; I took it down.
I climbed a mountain, and I turned around.
And I saw my reflection in the snow-covered hills.
‘til the landslide brought me down.
Sometimes we need to climb a mountain, we need to turn around, to make the changes and decisions needed. Sometimes we need to trust that the landslide might bring us down, but it might also bring us to new realizations and possibilities.
Stevie Nicks wrote the song in aspen, Colorado “looking out at the Rocky Mountains pondering about the changes: the avalanche of everything that had been and now came crushing down…. “At that moment, y life truly felt like a landslide I many ways, “she said.
Oh, mirror in the sky.
What is love?
Can the child within my heart rise above?
Can I sail through the changing' ocean tides?
Can I handle the seasons of my life?
Well, I've been afraid of changing.’
Cause I've built my life around you.
But time makes you bolder.
Even children get older.
And I'm getting older too.
Asking all the questions that we ask when landslides hit us: can I manage? Can I handle the changing seasons of my life? Can I stay afloat on the ocean of life? Whom do I build my life around…. Do I dare to be bolder when I get older and those depending on me getting older?
Landslide talks about all the uncertainties we have when we’re younger and the fear of what ahead – whether we are on the right path or not.
She was her life as a landslide. Uncontrollable and changing. But not just as a bad thing. She saw herself in the mountains as she climbed to the peak, and then there was nowhere to go but down again.
Sometimes when we decide to take a risk, make a change and chase our dreams, we never know what might happen. It can have unforeseen consequences, but it could also be the beginning of something new and something better.
Life changing moments feels like landslides and avalanches of uncontrollable forces that just leaves you to follow the flow, take a deep breath and trust….
Landslides may be illness, accidents, divorce, death, disasters, choices, challenges, wake up calls.
Most of us are afraid of changes, which might be the line that resonates with so many of us in the song.
Afraid of changes, as we all have built our lives, our homes, our families around specific people or secure dreams, - that might not be what we thought it was. Or who we thought they were. Or who we thought we were.
If there is one truth about life, it’s that everything changes: nothing will stay the same forever. When we look at a mountain, it seems big, solid, unmovable. But even mountains change. Landslides may change it.
This song Is a searching song. Searching for meaning. Strength. It can be such a scary thing to have to rebuild your life, to have to completely change your plans. But despite the deep pain and hurt, there is a hope in this song as we might find strength to handle the changes, to become a bolder version of ourselves. To keep moving through this marvelous, beautiful life.
Think about the landslides in your life. The times when everything felt like crashing down around you and on you – forcing you to move, to change, to rebuild and rethink.
What came out of that landslide? Where are you able to handle it and navigate through it? Alone or with the help of others? Alone or with the faith in God?
“Mirror in the sky – what is love.”
Maybe that is our question to God, the majestic mirror in the sky… what love is, what is the meaning of everything. Where am I going?
I hope you came out of the landslides bolder, better and stronger.
I hope it made you less afraid of changes – as out of changes new life and new horizons will emerge.
That is also how I read the story about the woman of great faith. Her life had been an avalanche of change and uncertainty trying to help her daughter. She was certainly bold in her faith. Let us be bold too.
Amen