“Love is not a victory march. It is a cold and broken alleluia.” – Leonard Cohen

On Sunday we laid to rest one of our parish matriarchs, Ida May Corner.

She was there from the beginning and never left us. Few were as devoted to our community as Ida May. That’s why we named our Parish Hall for her and her husband, Al.

Her place in our parish history was not self-appointed. It was earned. Ida May cared for us, worried about us, laughed with us, and loved us. And she did it for six decades.

That’s where the Leonard Cohen lyric comes in.

We can often be tricked into thinking that love is easy or that it is an everlasting feeling. However we know it is neither. Love is born out of a commitment to another that is not swayed by feeling or challenge. This is what Ida May exemplified for us – and this speaks to us today.

Is our love for our work feeling cold and broken?

Is our love for another feeling chilled and disconnected?

Is our love for our children not being adequately reciprocated?

Relax, all of this happens with love. And none of this need dissuade us from loving. For we march on. The victory will come. Love is our necessary option. Love is our given destiny. The place of alleluia will find itself.

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Reading

Generation to Generation – Edwin Friedman

Evolution of the Word – Marcus Borg

The Guidebook – NRSV Bible