And though I am filled with deep grief at leaving Sophia's, though I cannot yet say I am sure it is the right thing, the voice is whispering there too that it is time to venture out from that safe home of the heart, no matter how hard the leave-taking may be. Last Wednesday, when we were talking about this sermon, we talked about the reading. I love that image of the camel going through the eye of the needle because it is so descriptive. However, Peter gave me another image to think about. He told us that the eye of the needle to which Jesus referred is a gate built into an old city wall.
Travelers enter by the gate.
The inhabitants of the city purposely built the gate as a very narrow one so that the camels carrying the travelers' belongings would have to be unpacked, making it difficult for strangers to just sneak in with pack animals. I carry that image to you today for this Recommitment Sunday. As I ready myself to fully commit to this community, commit to whatever thread this is that tugs at me, I am being asked to unpack. When I first began thinking about the reading, I thought I might talk about how, as we recommit, we must unpack emotions like pride, fear and envy. Now though I think that what we are often asking to unpack and leave behind is that which we most love.