Wings of a Dove
The Gospel According to Dolly Series
What happens when the songs of Dolly Parton meet the stories of Jesus? You get a gospel full of heart. The Gospel According to Dolly is a worship series that brings together scripture and song to tell the good news in a new key. Dolly’s lyrics do more than entertain. They testify. They speak of heartbreak and healing, of heaven and home, of a Savior who never walks away. In her music, we hear echoes of the gospel. In the gospel, we find the kind of grace Dolly sings about. This series invites us to listen closely and see Jesus through the lens of faith, tenderness, and ordinary acts of love.
Wings of a Dove
Reflection:
Write a prayer for peace on a sheet of white paper. Follow the instructions in this video to fold it into a paper “dove.”
John 14:23–29 (CEB)
Jesus answered, “Whoever loves me will keep my word. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. Whoever doesn’t love me doesn’t keep my words. The word that you hear isn’t mine. It is the word of the Father who sent me.
I have spoken these things to you while I am with you.
The Companion, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I told you.
“Peace I leave with you.
My peace I give you. I give to you not as the world gives.
Don’t be troubled or afraid.
You have heard me tell you, ‘I’m going away and returning to you.’ If you loved me, you would be happy that I’m going to the Father, because the Father is greater than me. I’ve told you before it happens so that when it happens, you will believe.”
Wings of a Dove and the Presence That Stays
Dolly Parton’s Wings of a Dove echoes a powerful moment in Scripture. When the Spirit descended like a dove at Jesus’ baptism. It was unmistakable, a sign of love and peace that moved in and stayed. That is what the Holy Spirit still does. And that is what we are called to do as well.
Because love like this, the kind that forgives betrayal, shows up for people who would not do the same, and keeps going when things fall apart, is not something we can do alone. It is bigger than our willpower. It is rooted in something deeper: presence. A peace that settles into your bones. A love that does not leave when things get messy.
And we need people around us to help us live it out. We can’t love others when we are alone. It’s impossible to practice radical love when we are alone. We need others, we need community. Real community, the kind that says, “Hey, that doesn’t sound Christ-like,” or, “Who is missing from your table?” That kind of love stretches us, grows us, reminds us who we are and who we are becoming.
Church can be hard. Church hurt is real. Church can be a community, but so can a lot of other things. Community is essential to us loving like Jesus. Jesus knew this. He also knew that community is hard, so God sent us help. The word for Holy Spirit in Greek even means “helper.”
The Holy Spirit came,
To make a home in us.
To send peace that stays.
To help us love like Jesus, even when it is hard.
