Pastor’s Corner: Sorrow and Sadness

July 18, 2018

Sorrow and sadness are not my favorite parts of life.

I’m more than familiar with them, of course. So are you. The first beloved toy I broke, and the first friend who moved away from you, and the loves that proved more fragile than I’d believed, and the lives that ended too soon, too soon for all of us… Yes, we know about sorrow, sadness, and loss.

Today I grieve for my father. Today I — we — grieve for the Rev. Susumu Yamane. I’m grateful I got to spend time with each of them just recently, and no, it wasn’t enough time with either of them. Today I — we — grieve for many others who’ve also gone before. Each loss, you see, summons other losses, other sorrows. We do not grieve for one; we grieve for all.

Loss is not just loss, however. It is also love. Our sorrow is great because our love has been great. The tears flow because love flowed. The heart groans empty because the heart was so full.

And love, Saint Paul reminded us, never ends.

As God, friends, family, and faith bring us com-fort, let us also take heart that we still love, and will love, and are loved. Our sadness is love’s echo, love’s refrain. Our sorrow is love enduring. Our grief is love renewing.

The bitterness of tears will fade: but love never ends.

With aloha,

Pastor Eric