Last Sunday while I was enjoying the afternoon with my family, I saw something on my sister’s kitchen wall that I’ve been thinking about ever since. It was a canvas image of the Easter Bunny donning teal glasses and a bright red polka-dot bowtie underneath the words, “Never be too hip to hop.”
There’s something about becoming aware of God’s love that brings about an audacity to keep hopping. Like the rays of light coming from the sun to warm us, as Francis of Assisi once said, so too does God’s love come to set us free. This love is healing, it’s transformative, it’s liberating, and it’s joyful. God’s love invites us to laugh and to be more fully who we authentically are. And all we can do is acknowledge it, receive it, and allow ourselves to be transformed by it.
My experience of our community at Redeemer is that we kind of get this. We’re a community that hops, a lot. From the planned moments of prayer and Bible Study to the organic hallway conversations, our community is one that isn’t afraid to just be who we are, not holding back from laughing or crying, as we hold deeply meaningful realities together.
I think especially of our youth group at RYG and the many ways that our young people enjoy opportunities to grow into themselves. From the many hours preparing for the play to the monthly opportunities to serve and dine with residents at Baltimore Station, our young people hop. Whether they are under the pressure of endless quizzes and exams or if they are enjoying a break from the demands of assignments, our young people gather on Sunday afternoons to catch up, to play together, to break bread, and to share what’s happening in their lives with one another. The support and love from our broader community, the countless folks who help with creating the set and preparing for the play to the many parents and friends who provide food, snacks, and smiles, all of it helps our young people to focus on the main point of our youth ministry program, growing into who we are and not being too hip to hop.
This Sunday is Youth Sunday and, as in years past, we will be led in prayer by our young people. A high school senior, who I’m sure you’ll recognize, will spark our reflections with his sermon and other young people from RYG and our two scouting programs will lead our reflections on the sacred scriptures and voice our prayers and petitions. My hope is that this Sunday provides us with another opportunity to experience God’s love and to allow ourselves to be liberated by that love and set free from anything that would hold us back and make us too hip to hop.
Love,