Power Ballad, Pearls, and Monday Manna

By Reverend TJ Lucas

A grain of sand is nothing. Small, rough, worthless — if it gets in your shoe, you shake it out and forget about it by lunch. But get that same grain inside an oyster can't be shaken loose and can cause harm to the creature. So it does something smart--it coats the grain, layer after layer, year after year, until grit becomes a smooth harmless pearl--to us something precious.

Jesus said the Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant who found one pearl worth everything he owned, and sold it all to have it. He knew what we forget — the things worth the most are never made in easy conditions. They're made out of friction, out of years that felt too long while we were living them.

I went to see Mötley Crüe this summer, as they launched the Carnival of Sin tour. And yes — I saw sin represented, in the imagery and all around me. But more than anything, I saw the presence of God in that arena. And I felt the power of it.

Mid-show, the noise dropped out. Nikki Sixx walked out with just his guitar and started talking about where music actually comes from — how sometimes a chord shows up in his head like it was placed there, not made by him. Tommy Lee sat down at the piano and said he knew exactly what Nikki meant, playing a little something that came to him from a place he couldn't name too. Then Vince Neil stood in front of that whole roaring crowd and said, plainly, none of them could explain where the music they made came from but they were discussing it once while on tour and Vince had a deep longing for home. As wonderful as the success was, at the end of the day he wanted to be home sweet home. So they sang the song that formed out of this unknown place--a power ballad about longing for home.

That pause was holy. God doesn't wait for us to leave the carnival before He speaks. He shows up in the middle of it and calls us home, while the lights are still spinning. Where does music come from? They didn't say but I had the ears to hear and I'd say its that divine spark within us all to create.

So much of their story is Jacob's story too. He ran from his own mistakes, showed up in a strange land with nothing, and fell in love with Rachel. Her father told him: work seven years, she's yours. He labored seven years believing that labor was the price of the life he wanted. The time went by quickly because his love for her was so strong but at the end of it, his uncle deceived the deceiver and slipped the eldest sister into the marriage arrangement instead. Stating, this is how things are done. Jacob knew the customs, he just wasn't much of a rule follower. It plagued him with trouble his whole life and even now in the building of a new life. So he labored seven more.

The most overlooked part of this story is Leah — the sister nobody wanted, the leftover in that whole arrangement. When God promised Jacob in our scripture from the week before to bless his descendants--carrying for the promises bestowed upon his father Isaac and his grandfather Abraham before him, that promise was fulfilled not in who he loved but in who God loved--the overlooked and undervalued Leah. The grain that was the precious jewel in the end became the mother of Judah. Through Judah comes David. Generations later, Jesus. The one everybody looked past carried the whole promise of God inside her.

Many of you know this in your bones better than I do. The years that felt hardest — the labor with no clear reward, the waiting, the raising of children through lean seasons, the burying of people you loved — none of it was wasted. Layer by layer, something in you was shaped into someone stronger and more able to love than you were before. Same hand that worked on Jacob for fourteen years is still working on you. The same God that chose the unchosen sister, chooses us.

Whether it's three men pausing in the middle of a carnival built on everything the world tells us to chase — or Jacob, finally understanding after fourteen years that what he wanted was never inheritance but love — it's the same answer. What we've all been reaching for, our whole lives, is home. Not a building. Not an address. The place where you're fully known, the good and the hard both, and loved anyway.

Wherever you are in your own story — still laboring, still working out what your years meant, or finally resting in a season where peace has settled in — hear this: you were never the leftover. You are the pearl God has been forming your whole life, out of exactly the years that felt hardest to live through.

And one day the noise will go quiet, and you'll finally be home sweet home.

Kick off your week with the Word of God through our weekly spiritual practice of Dwelling in the Word:

The Four Movements of Lectio Divina AKA Dwelling in the Word

Taking time to slow down and simply dwell in the Word is one of the most life-giving rhythms we can cultivate. In a world that constantly demands we read for information or efficiency, this spiritual practice invites us to read for intimacy and transformation. It is about letting the text master us, rather than us trying to master the text.

Here is a simple, four-step guide to help you sit with the Scriptures, followed by brief, clear summaries of the passages you've selected to guide your reflection.

Before you begin, find a quiet space, take a few deep breaths, and invite the Holy Spirit to speak.

1. Lectio (Read): Read the passage slowly, gently, and preferably aloud. Don't rush to finish. Just listen for a single word, phrase, or image that seems to shimmer or catch your attention.

2. Meditatio (Reflect): Read the passage a second time. Take that specific word or phrase and chew on it. Why did the Spirit highlight this for you today? How does it intersect with your current joys, burdens, or questions?

3. Oratio (Respond): Read the passage a third time. Now, turn your reflections into an honest prayer. Talk to God as you would a trusted friend — pour out your gratitude, your doubts, your requests, or your repentance based on what the text stirred up.

4. Contemplatio (Rest): Read the passage one final time. Release all your thoughts and simply rest silently in God's presence, letting His love wash over you like a deep exhale.

Scripture Summaries for Reflection This Week

Use these one-line summaries of the text to pick which scripture you will dwell in each day of this week. I have found staying in one scripture for a longer period of time can draw out more than bouncing between several. These are from the Revised Common Lectionary. You can read them in full all together here

Genesis 32:22-31 — Jacob wrestles all night with God and comes out limping, blessed, and finally named for who he really is.

Psalm 17:1-7, 15 — A prayer from someone who's kept their hands clean and still just wants to wake up and see God's face.

Isaiah 55:1-5 — God inviting the thirsty and the broke to come eat anyway, because grace was never for sale to begin with.

Psalm 145:8-9, 14-21 — God catching everyone who's falling and feeding everyone who's hungry, no exceptions.

Romans 9:1-5 — Paul so heartbroken over his own people that he'd trade his own salvation to bring them home.

Matthew 14:13-21 — Five loaves, two fish, a crowd of thousands, and Jesus showing us that not enough is still enough in His hands.

Reminders for this week:

Bible Study at 11 am on Wednesday. We are studying Ecclesiastes chapters 2 and 3.

Saturday we will be selling food out of our kitchen (grilled hot dogs, haluski, popcorn, cotton candy, and more!) and we will have lots of things for sale as well as others with tables up from others. If there are any open tables the day of, grab one for yourself for $10!

Sunday Worship in the morning is cancelled. You can hear a word at Calvin Presbyterian at 11 am from Rev. TJ or join us at 2 pm at The Reformed Church for the U2Charist service.

We have a lot going on this week! Don't miss out!