Complete and Divine
One of the things I pay attention to when I’m writing a sermon is avoiding homophones: you know, those pesky words that are spelled differently and have different meanings but sound the same. There and their. Peak and peek. Sole and soul. On paper, the difference is clear. But when you’re talking to folks, these words become confusing fast!
The two words I try to avoid the most are “holy” and “wholly.” You’d be surprised how often these words come up when talking about God. It’s only recently that I’ve realized they have a deeper connection. At the end of every Sunday Night Live, St. Paul’s youth group, each of us tells one another, “You are a child of God, wholly and dearly loved. Jesus loves you, and so do I.” When I was explaining this tradition to a pastor colleague, they asked, “Is it ‘wholly and dearly loved’ with a ‘wh’ or with an ‘h’ (as in holy)?”
Until that moment, I hadn’t thought of the difference. I was struck with a thought; is there a difference? The entire narrative of our Scriptures is of a God that is completely attached to us: who saves us from monstrous enemies, who wanders with us in wilderness and chaos, who literally becomes one of us and experiences for himself our own suffering and death. Our God doesn’t just love us partially. It’s complete and total love. We are loved wholly.
And, it is exactly because we are loved to the absolute, because we are loved in totality, that we ourselves become holy, just as God is holy. Through our baptism into Jesus’ own death and resurrection, the love that washes over us is so powerful that it fills us up with God’s own divinity. We are made new people, one among many, walking examples of holiness in a world that is seeking answers to grief, sadness, identity, and purpose. We live hand in hand with God to bring holiness into the lives of others so they might experience God’s love through us.
So, is it with a “wh” or an “h”? I’m not sure it really matters. In the end, we are truly wholly holy. We are total and complete, living divine lives of love with God. And that’s a good enough answer for me.
Marcia Willi
A good reminder Pastor Mac! That God loves us Wholly and in a holy way; always good to remind ourselves of this
Dixie Kutzbach
Interesting and thought provoking!
Thank you.
Deb Lamp
For me also! Awesome message and a good reminder of how much we are loved. Thank you