“Healing…” — Gospel and Sermon for Sunday May 22, 2022

Watch the video: https://youtu.be/kek78W5Xr1g

The manuscript for the sermon is below:

In 1992, the band REM released the song “Everybody Hurts.” It’s different than most of REM’s songs. The lead singer’s voice is very clear in this song. He wanted to make sure everyone heard and understood what he was singing.

The song is an anti-suicide song. The lyrics are powerful, emotional, and speak right to the heart. So powerful that the song has literally saved people’s lives. Michael Stipe, the lead singer, was interviewed about the song and said this, “It saved a few. People have told me. And I love hearing that. That’s for me, that’s my Oscar, that’s my gold on a shelf right there… that something we did impacted someone’s life in such a profound way. That’s a beautiful thing.” Indeed, it is.

We have a hurting world and society. Our hurts are often out in the open and on full display for everyone to see as a society. Just watch the news, read a paper, check out a social media or news sites, or listen to the gossip around us. There’s a lot of hurt around us. And it can feel overwhelming. What exactly are we supposed to do in the midst of so much hurt and pain and suffering? We can’t solve it all and often we think that we don’t even make a tiny dent with our efforts.

Everybody hurts. Are we even willing to acknowledge our own hurts and pain?