The Pastor’s Study – March 2023
by: Rev. Alex Molozaiy
It might surprise some folks to learn that I’m a fan of classic country music, but growing up as I did in the heyday of “Urban Cowboy” and “The Dukes of Hazzard” it was everywhere. On my way to the church a couple weeks back, one of my favorite songs came up on my phone when I was driving to work: “Lookin’ for Love (in all the wrong places).” While I’ve heard this song countless times, this time was different because this time I heard it at the beginning of Lent in a year when our theme is Seeking: Honest Questions for Deeper Faith. The song began to take on a new meaning for me.
As I thought about the song’s protagonist, I realized that people are really bad at finding what will really bring them fulfillment and joy, and it’s not for a lack of looking, but rather looking in all the wrong places. As Saint Augustine understood 1,600 years ago: our souls are restless until they rest in God. As a collector, I’m kind of amazed by the lengths to which people will go in pursuit of finding ‘that one’ special and elusive crown jewel. In comparison, how much passion, time, and effort do we honestly spend in seeking ‘The One’ who created us for love? Perhaps that’s why “Lookin’ for Love” is a great song: we can all relate to seeking fulfillment ‘in all the wrong places.’
As Jesus nears Jerusalem, he patiently teaches his disciples how to seek first the kingdom of God: to humble yourself and take the lowest seat, that the last shall be first, that the greatest of all must be servant of all. What might happen if in the remainder of this Lenten journey we funneled just 30 minutes of our week spent elsewhere and turned it into looking for love in all the right places, like its author and sustaining source: our still-speaking God?