Sunday, May 27, 2018

Love is the Counter to a Cynical Society

Matthew 22:15-40 by Rev. Susan Lukey
Series:Daring Hope in Turbulent Times

Love. That was the theme of the sermon delivered by the Most Reverend Michael Curry during the wedding of Prince Harry & Meghan Markle. Rev. Murray quoted the late Dr. Martin Luther King, “We must discover the power of love, the redemptive power of love, and when we do that, we will make of this old world a new world.” But no sooner had Rev. Murray finished his sermon than the judgements began, proclaimed online & in the media, cynical judgements that missed the core message of the sermon. Love, they said: too sappy, too sweet. Love – no guts to that. Love – he should have preached that Jesus died for our sins and that you must be Christian to be saved. Love – anyone can talk about love – he sure missed his opportunity. Cynical judgements of a powerful sermon. Yet how can we be surprised, for we live in a cynical time, a time where everything and anything is quickly judged and pronouncements made, attacking the person, the message & the action, sometimes violently. The reason cynics don’t get a sermon on love is because cynicism is the antithesis of love – the opposite. And our North American culture is an especially cynical one. There is no room in a cynic’s heart, or a cynical culture, for the kind of love which Rev. Murray spoke about at the royal wedding.
Duration:23 mins 37 secs