Wasn’t it joyous to be back in our Chapel this past week?  The room radiated with beauty – sunlight scattered on the pews, the surge of the organ, the heartfelt songs, the indomitable energy you exuded!  It was overwhelmingly beautiful.

Beauty isn’t just beauty – it carries layers of meanings and values.   We communicate with beauty.  It is a way of saying to what group we belong, what are our values, our history, our hopes.

When our daughter Siri graduated from high school, she insisted she buy a new white dress.  I couldn’t understand why she had to spend hard-earned money on a dress that would be covered by her graduation robe, and quickly exchanged for a tee-shirt and jeans for the after-party.

But on graduation day Mom suddenly got it. This was a beautiful school tradition!  All those young women in their white graduation gowns, open and displaying their flowing white dresses, standing out on the field.  They all were a white cloud of joy . . .beauty that stretched back for years and years.

We are drawn to beauty and desire it.  This week, in our sermon series on desire, “Hungry and Human,” we come to the topic of beauty.

Beauty is a blessing, but it can also mislead and lie.

This week we’ll think about our need for beauty – and especially the beauty of Jesus Christ.