Ordinary 22A – A sermon based upon Exodus 3:1-15
Good morning. It is a true blessing to be back with you and I’ll be here for the next few weeks. I’ve missed you but you’ve remained in my prayers. And you’re never far from my heart, either.
Well, today’s scripture from Exodus is another one of those treasure troves of God’s wisdom. I have chewed on it all week and kept hearing more revelation from God even though I knew I needed to narrow the focus. So who knows, maybe I’ll preach this text again in a few weeks with a different focus. But for now, we’ve got enough to chew on.
It’s that amazing story of Moses and the burning bush. Moses was on his way to work and worried that he would be late but he turned to see what was happening up the hillside. What was this fire that burned but did not consume the bush? It turns out it was a message from God and a calling to do something remarkable. God had heard the cry of the Israelites and wanted Moses to help in the work of spreading God’s liberation and justice. Moses insisted that he would be too afraid to do this task. He protested and told of reasons he could not do it but God’s call was still the same. He wanted to know how this could be done. And you know what? God was not explicit on how this would happen even when asked. God never offered a detailed roadmap of how to overthrow an empire. But God’s promise to be with Moses through it all was loud and clear.
It’s a great story isn’t it? It has all these amazing ways of thinking about it. For example, we could ask what can we learn about God through this story. What about what we can learn about Moses or human nature? We could even ask about what we can learn about the life of people 3500 years ago. But for this day, I think we might be well served by asking what we can learn about our lives today through this story.
What is it that we need to know so that we to can experience a life changing moment with God? For Moses, this was just a brief encounter but it definitely changed the whole direction of his life. So what are a few of the take-a-ways for our lives?
Well, for today, we’re going to focus in on three… how very three point sermon of me. First, there are all kinds of burning bushes. Second, we just might be missing some burning bushes around us already. And third, following God’s call on our lives is not about having all the answers or always being fearless.
First, are there all kinds of burning bushes? I know we read the stories of the bible and often wonder why doesn’t God light up a bush and talk to us sometime? It would be much easier to have faith if God just spoke more loudly and clearly. But even though we might like a burning bush or at least a nice email from God, God has already filled our lives with life changing messages that came in all kinds of forms.
For those of you who have felt the call to be involved in some sort of ministry or cause, how did you know that was the right thing to do? Or when you were looking for a church home, how did you know this was the one? And when you were struggling to find meaning, direction, or vocation, what led you down the path the fulfillment?
See, I doubt it was a burning bush. The answers to any one of those questions are going to be so varied among us. It could have been a series of seemingly unrelated events that collided that made you see a certain direction… providence, if you will. It might have been a still small voice that kept whispering the same thing to you over and over. Perhaps it was a large event that happened long ago that changed you in a way that has altered your decision making ever since. Regardless of what it looked like, if it was the right decision, it was God.
God speaks to us in all kinds of ways. God used Moses to speak to the Israelites and encourage them to believe that they would not always have to suffer. God used passersby to tend to the wounds of an injured person. God speaks through moments and whispers and people and God speaks to us in this time and place.
It may not be a burning bush but unlocked, this bible has set lives on fire. Social time between services may consume more donuts than a non-consuming flame but lives are transformed and the face of God is seen. Vacation bible school, reaching out to one another as neighbors, community events, meals with loved ones, and ALL the countless ways we “hear” and “are” God’s voice in the world… oh yes, there are all kinds of burning bushes in our lives that set us on a path and guide us all the way.
Second, are there already burning bushes around us that we may have missed? Well, let’s see. There is a tale told by rabbis about why the bush was burning but not consumed. I mean, for the purposes of delivering a message, does it really matter if the bush is left in ashes or not? Well, as the story goes, the rabbis argued about this until one of them said, “The bush was burning but not consumed so that one day when Moses passed by he would finally notice it!”
If we re-read this passage, stopping to think that Moses might have missed it before, suddenly some of the language makes sense. God put out this sign waiting for Moses to turn away from what he was doing long enough to notice it. So, this bush needed to not be burned up by the flame. It needed to last.
Now, whether or not the bush had been burning for years or just that afternoon doesn’t really matter. The point is that God did not put it right in front of Moses but rather it was off to the side and took some intentionality on Moses’ part to go to it. The scripture says he had to turn aside from what he was doing to go over to the bush.
So, coming back to the idea that there are already burning bushes in our midst, how often are our lives like this? (walk past communion table in a hurry) Or this? (walk past communion table reading) Or this? (walk past communion table meandering) Or this? (walk past communion table on phone) Or this? (walk past communion table with a hurt back) Or this? (walk past communion table laughing) (Turn and finally notice the communion table)
The joys, the tears, and everything in between are always going on in our lives. How often do we walk past the same thing and then finally one day see it? I venture to guess, quite a bit. And God knows that too. Sometimes we probably do miss out on a message. But for the big stuff, God keeps a bush lit for us. That bush may have to be moved from place to place or time to time to keep up with us but it stays lit.
What do I mean by this? Well, what would happen if we all took a bit to talk about the direction of this church? I bet that conversation would end with some pretty amazing ideas about invigorating existing relationships or maybe starting new ministries. It’s not that these are new ideas. It’s just that we didn’t stop to notice them before now.
It only takes pausing for a bit and being willing to see something new or different to realize that God has set fire to a bush near each of us. Maybe the message we’ve been missing is that of embracing something we weren’t sure we could handle. It could be a message to forgive someone. It might even be a calling to do something entirely different in our lives. But the point is that when we are intentional to pause, look, and change course even a little, we always find a place God is speaking to us that we didn’t recognize before.
So, to the final point, following God’s call on our lives is not about having all the answers or always being fearless. If we know anything about Moses’ story, we know that he was plagued by repeated doubts, fears, and was nearly always asking God to “Prove it.” And repeatedly God addressed the doubts, fears, and pleas to prove it with the reply “I will be with you.”
God’s greatest gift to Moses and to us is that we are never alone. We are going to have fears and we are most definitely going to have doubts. We are even going to be dissatisfied with the unclear plan we have in front of us and ask God to show us more of the road map. But God’s constant answer is “I am with you.” And then in due time, more is revealed.
So what does that mean in practical terms for us? We need to keep our focus on what God has called us to do today and not let our anxiety and fear about the how all this is going to work out distract us. And how does that happen? We keep living as the body of Christ, watching and responding to burning bushes as they appear.
Consider what the Pastor Nominating Committee does. They join together seeking the voice of God each week. Now I am positive they might prefer an obvious burning bush but the fact of the matter is that their ongoing relationship with one another makes them more and more aware of God’s presence and work in this place. Their work is hard and produces a lot of fear and anxiety. I bet every one of them worry “what if we get it wrong?” Have they missed a few burning bushes? In this case, I doubt it. But I am absolutely sure that God is with them. They need only keep on the path before them until a new burning bush illuminates God’s way. And we need to support them by offering encouragement and reminding them that God’s guidance will be present in this church, no matter what.
But the practical part of knowing God is with us even though we fear doesn’t end there. When John Karins died last month, the presence of God was felt by his family because this congregation responded with love and support. When the church needs juice boxes for vacation bible school, we bring them in. When a hurricane strikes the east coast, we donate to the Red Cross. When there is a new birth in our midst, we celebrate with one another.
All of these things we do as the body of Christ, Emmanuel… God with us, are a constant reminder that we are not alone. Our fears will find comfort in God and one another. The path we should take will be made known if we hold together as a body. Even the future of this church, it’s members, and it’s leadership are secure in the workings of God. Our job is to keep moving forward as a body and being ever watchful for that next burning bush. Amen.
Showing posts with label seek. Show all posts
Showing posts with label seek. Show all posts
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Sunday, March 13, 2011
How Did He Do That?
How Did He Do That?: <-- Audio file of sermon based upon Matthew 4:1-11
Good morning. We missed you if you weren’t able to be with us on Ash Wednesday. It was a lovely service full of the Spirit’s moving. We joined in soup and salad supper with one another, watched as the kids bore in the elements to the table for communion, and sought to understand where and how God wants us to experience the holy during this time of Lent. But it’s not too late. Just because you might not have been here, doesn’t mean that the fruits of retreating into the wilderness have passed. We’ve barely gotten started in seeking the holy so keep coming back… we’re on a journey together.
Okay, that sounded more like a sales pitch than I meant but the essence is the same. We’re on a journey and a worthy one at that. And the main origin of that journey is part of our scripture passage today. We read in Matthew about Jesus retreating to the wilderness to fast. He did this just after his baptism and just before he set out on his ministry.
See, we have to remember that prior to this point, we know very little about Jesus other than a few stories of his childhood. We can guess that he was a good Jew who worshiped and kept the holy days. We also can guess he was in the family business as a carpenter. He was in his early 30’s so that makes all this more interesting. You see, the average life expectancy for folks in his time was only 35 because the infant mortality rate was so high. But if you made it into adulthood, you would likely die by age 50. So, in the scheme of life and in his community, he would be seen as well into or past mid life. Now a days we say we might call him a young man but then, he would have been a master carpenter with nearly 20 years under his belt.
But I didn’t start down this road to fill the room with all that we don’t know or understand about this man from Nazareth. I actually want to point to what we do know and can understand from his life. I want to point to what we can know in our own lives from this because Jesus sets a wonderful example for us to follow. The fact of the matter is that by the time we get to the end of this passage, he’s going toe to toe with Satan and wins. So, I think it bears some interest on our part to find out how he did this since most of us have a hard time resisting the little things let alone the offer of the world.
So, how did Jesus do it? What does this passage tell us? First of all, we can know that good decision making and preparation are important.
We don’t know exactly why he suddenly at age 30 decided that it was time contemplate a career change but we know he did not enter into it lightly. He was diligent in his decision-making. How do we know this? Because he listened to the Holy Spirit and went on a retreat into the wilderness to fast and pray.
Now you may ask what that has to do with it since it only takes up one verse in this passage. Well, the answer is a lot. This is more than what anthropologist Joseph Campbell would call the typical retreat of the hero archetype before a journey.
Jesus chose retreat to isolate himself so he could consider what was happening. He did not want distractions of his work or community life to get in the way. This gave him the space to understand what was going on more fully.
Also, he fasted. Now, fasting is a somewhat lost spiritual discipline in the modern era but it is an amazing tool for digging deep into ourselves. The process of fasting is more than just an act of self-discipline. It is an act of therapy.
Theologian Richard Foster wrote a book some years back called The Celebration of Discipline where he shares the practices of several mostly lost spiritual disciplines. In it, he talks about fasting in a way that has always stayed with me and informed my own attempts at fasting. He said that when we fast, there is a tendency to dismiss our feelings but that the feelings are precisely the point. If we are agitated or short tempered or sad when we’ve not eaten, it’s not because we have not eaten. We have those feelings because the spirit of anger or sadness lives within us and without food to cover it up, those feelings come to the surface. So, fasting provides an amazing opportunity to look our un dealt with feelings and issues in the eye and do something about them.
I imagine Jesus stared down a lot of fears and doubts during this 40-day period of fasting. It was probably a period of great growth with the combination of fasting and isolation. There would have been nowhere to hide from his inner angst.
But what does Jesus’ example of decision making and preparation mean to us? We all have times in our lives that we are about to do something big or make decisions that are life changing. Many of us have even contemplated and changed careers too. But it’s unlikely we went to the wilderness to make those decisions.
Well, the model of Jesus is a sound one here but I think we can learn more than just how to imitate his actions. The point is that he clearly took it seriously. He did what he could to consider what setting out on ministry would mean and to prepare himself. Likewise, when we are in that place, we must take steps to hear the Holy Spirit and to make good decisions and prepare ourselves.
This looks different for different people. Some of us are helped by engaging in various spiritual disciplines like fasting. In fact, if you’re ever interested in learning more or practicing it or other disciplines, I can suggest some books for you. Others of us make decisions and prepare through equally spiritual means of prayer, consulting loved ones, and careful analysis of the situation. Regardless of the decision, how serious we take it will be clear by how intent we are to seek God’s guidance and gifts in making that decision.
And speaking of gifts, that has bearing on the second point I want us to see in this passage. The bulk of this scripture tells of Jesus resisting temptation. How does he do this? By quoting scripture and standing firmly upon it. Each and every time Satan temps Jesus, he comes back by quoting scripture.
So, what does this tell us? Well, it’s unlikely that Jesus had lugged up the sacred scrolls from the temple so he could study them in the wilderness. First of all, the Rabbi probably would have attacked him at the door since scrolls were not only expensive, they were sacred. But more to the point, Jesus would have already known these scriptures because his culture was much more imbedded in the use of scripture for stories and cultural references.
So again, what does this tell us? Well, much like the example of Jesus on retreat, I don’t think the answer is necessarily to mimic Jesus outright. We can learn from his example. The point is that to resist temptation, Jesus used the skills and gifts God had given him. He tapped into what he already had.
You see, in a general way we often talk about becoming more Christ like. But we mean that in terms of our the likeness of our heart, mind, and spirit. But when it comes to gifts, we all are in different places. To resist temptation and do the right thing, we don’t all have to become bible scholars and quote scripture with ease. The key is to find, cultivate, and use the gifts and skills God gave each of us. To me, this is one of the most crucial pieces of spiritual truths we can ever internalize.
Jesus stood on a foundation of faith he knew and supported him. It didn’t feel empty to him to quote scripture. It felt empowering and fortifying. So, what is it that each of us have that helps us do the right thing? What foundation is our faith built upon that empowers and fortifies us? What blessings has God given us to make us better people?
We all have something to tap into. Some have the gift of scriptural study and knowledge. Others have a strong moral compass reinforced by rigorous attention to growth and love. For some of us, our families and friends are the fortress that makes us stronger. Reading, persuasive speech, compassion, learning, fasting, quite time, journals, prayer, retreats, holy days, volunteering… whatever it is that God has given each of us, it will help us to become better people… fuller members of the body of Christ.
And that’s the point. This holy season of Lent can be like a time of retreat to consider what God has fortified and empowered us with. It can be a time when we emerge with a stronger understanding of the tools God has given us so that we are able to do the right thing when we are faced with temptation.
So, this is where we are… Lent, on the journey. We know how Jesus emerged from the wilderness stronger. What can we apply from his example so that we can do the same?
Last week pastor and theologian Peter Gomes died. It is a loss of a theological giant. But his words live on and I think he completely understood what we’re talking about here today. He said, “The question should not be ‘What would Jesus do?’ but rather, more dangerously, ‘What would Jesus have me do?’ He came to ask human beings to live up to their full humanity; he wants us to live in the full implication of our human gifts, and that is far more demanding.”
Sisters and brothers, Peter Gomes, just like Jesus, knew that it is by living into our God given gifts and skills that we find the tools we need in situations. That doesn’t mean that we have to do things alone. In fact, sometimes our biggest gift is our community. But it does mean that we have to be rigorous in finding and cultivating those gifts. May we use this season of Lent to do that work so that we blossom into the creation God calls us to be. Amen.
Good morning. We missed you if you weren’t able to be with us on Ash Wednesday. It was a lovely service full of the Spirit’s moving. We joined in soup and salad supper with one another, watched as the kids bore in the elements to the table for communion, and sought to understand where and how God wants us to experience the holy during this time of Lent. But it’s not too late. Just because you might not have been here, doesn’t mean that the fruits of retreating into the wilderness have passed. We’ve barely gotten started in seeking the holy so keep coming back… we’re on a journey together.
Okay, that sounded more like a sales pitch than I meant but the essence is the same. We’re on a journey and a worthy one at that. And the main origin of that journey is part of our scripture passage today. We read in Matthew about Jesus retreating to the wilderness to fast. He did this just after his baptism and just before he set out on his ministry.
See, we have to remember that prior to this point, we know very little about Jesus other than a few stories of his childhood. We can guess that he was a good Jew who worshiped and kept the holy days. We also can guess he was in the family business as a carpenter. He was in his early 30’s so that makes all this more interesting. You see, the average life expectancy for folks in his time was only 35 because the infant mortality rate was so high. But if you made it into adulthood, you would likely die by age 50. So, in the scheme of life and in his community, he would be seen as well into or past mid life. Now a days we say we might call him a young man but then, he would have been a master carpenter with nearly 20 years under his belt.
But I didn’t start down this road to fill the room with all that we don’t know or understand about this man from Nazareth. I actually want to point to what we do know and can understand from his life. I want to point to what we can know in our own lives from this because Jesus sets a wonderful example for us to follow. The fact of the matter is that by the time we get to the end of this passage, he’s going toe to toe with Satan and wins. So, I think it bears some interest on our part to find out how he did this since most of us have a hard time resisting the little things let alone the offer of the world.
So, how did Jesus do it? What does this passage tell us? First of all, we can know that good decision making and preparation are important.
We don’t know exactly why he suddenly at age 30 decided that it was time contemplate a career change but we know he did not enter into it lightly. He was diligent in his decision-making. How do we know this? Because he listened to the Holy Spirit and went on a retreat into the wilderness to fast and pray.
Now you may ask what that has to do with it since it only takes up one verse in this passage. Well, the answer is a lot. This is more than what anthropologist Joseph Campbell would call the typical retreat of the hero archetype before a journey.
Jesus chose retreat to isolate himself so he could consider what was happening. He did not want distractions of his work or community life to get in the way. This gave him the space to understand what was going on more fully.
Also, he fasted. Now, fasting is a somewhat lost spiritual discipline in the modern era but it is an amazing tool for digging deep into ourselves. The process of fasting is more than just an act of self-discipline. It is an act of therapy.
Theologian Richard Foster wrote a book some years back called The Celebration of Discipline where he shares the practices of several mostly lost spiritual disciplines. In it, he talks about fasting in a way that has always stayed with me and informed my own attempts at fasting. He said that when we fast, there is a tendency to dismiss our feelings but that the feelings are precisely the point. If we are agitated or short tempered or sad when we’ve not eaten, it’s not because we have not eaten. We have those feelings because the spirit of anger or sadness lives within us and without food to cover it up, those feelings come to the surface. So, fasting provides an amazing opportunity to look our un dealt with feelings and issues in the eye and do something about them.
I imagine Jesus stared down a lot of fears and doubts during this 40-day period of fasting. It was probably a period of great growth with the combination of fasting and isolation. There would have been nowhere to hide from his inner angst.
But what does Jesus’ example of decision making and preparation mean to us? We all have times in our lives that we are about to do something big or make decisions that are life changing. Many of us have even contemplated and changed careers too. But it’s unlikely we went to the wilderness to make those decisions.
Well, the model of Jesus is a sound one here but I think we can learn more than just how to imitate his actions. The point is that he clearly took it seriously. He did what he could to consider what setting out on ministry would mean and to prepare himself. Likewise, when we are in that place, we must take steps to hear the Holy Spirit and to make good decisions and prepare ourselves.
This looks different for different people. Some of us are helped by engaging in various spiritual disciplines like fasting. In fact, if you’re ever interested in learning more or practicing it or other disciplines, I can suggest some books for you. Others of us make decisions and prepare through equally spiritual means of prayer, consulting loved ones, and careful analysis of the situation. Regardless of the decision, how serious we take it will be clear by how intent we are to seek God’s guidance and gifts in making that decision.
And speaking of gifts, that has bearing on the second point I want us to see in this passage. The bulk of this scripture tells of Jesus resisting temptation. How does he do this? By quoting scripture and standing firmly upon it. Each and every time Satan temps Jesus, he comes back by quoting scripture.
So, what does this tell us? Well, it’s unlikely that Jesus had lugged up the sacred scrolls from the temple so he could study them in the wilderness. First of all, the Rabbi probably would have attacked him at the door since scrolls were not only expensive, they were sacred. But more to the point, Jesus would have already known these scriptures because his culture was much more imbedded in the use of scripture for stories and cultural references.
So again, what does this tell us? Well, much like the example of Jesus on retreat, I don’t think the answer is necessarily to mimic Jesus outright. We can learn from his example. The point is that to resist temptation, Jesus used the skills and gifts God had given him. He tapped into what he already had.
You see, in a general way we often talk about becoming more Christ like. But we mean that in terms of our the likeness of our heart, mind, and spirit. But when it comes to gifts, we all are in different places. To resist temptation and do the right thing, we don’t all have to become bible scholars and quote scripture with ease. The key is to find, cultivate, and use the gifts and skills God gave each of us. To me, this is one of the most crucial pieces of spiritual truths we can ever internalize.
Jesus stood on a foundation of faith he knew and supported him. It didn’t feel empty to him to quote scripture. It felt empowering and fortifying. So, what is it that each of us have that helps us do the right thing? What foundation is our faith built upon that empowers and fortifies us? What blessings has God given us to make us better people?
We all have something to tap into. Some have the gift of scriptural study and knowledge. Others have a strong moral compass reinforced by rigorous attention to growth and love. For some of us, our families and friends are the fortress that makes us stronger. Reading, persuasive speech, compassion, learning, fasting, quite time, journals, prayer, retreats, holy days, volunteering… whatever it is that God has given each of us, it will help us to become better people… fuller members of the body of Christ.
And that’s the point. This holy season of Lent can be like a time of retreat to consider what God has fortified and empowered us with. It can be a time when we emerge with a stronger understanding of the tools God has given us so that we are able to do the right thing when we are faced with temptation.
So, this is where we are… Lent, on the journey. We know how Jesus emerged from the wilderness stronger. What can we apply from his example so that we can do the same?
Last week pastor and theologian Peter Gomes died. It is a loss of a theological giant. But his words live on and I think he completely understood what we’re talking about here today. He said, “The question should not be ‘What would Jesus do?’ but rather, more dangerously, ‘What would Jesus have me do?’ He came to ask human beings to live up to their full humanity; he wants us to live in the full implication of our human gifts, and that is far more demanding.”
Sisters and brothers, Peter Gomes, just like Jesus, knew that it is by living into our God given gifts and skills that we find the tools we need in situations. That doesn’t mean that we have to do things alone. In fact, sometimes our biggest gift is our community. But it does mean that we have to be rigorous in finding and cultivating those gifts. May we use this season of Lent to do that work so that we blossom into the creation God calls us to be. Amen.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Seeking the Holy
Seeking the Holy: Ash Wednesday sermon based upon Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21
Good evening. It is good to be with you on this beginning day of the holy season of Lent.
Some in this room look forward to Lent as a time they’ve encountered since childhood. Many have negative memories of being forced to fast without understanding why or what is to be gained. Others look at this time as something odd that just doesn’t quite make sense. No matter our history, Ash Wednesday and Lent still come to us like clockwork 40 days before Easter.
So, here we are. We gather on a day we don’t usually and with the imposition of ashes, we engage in a practice that seems foreign in our culture. But why are we here and what is all this about? Well, I’ll sum up all of Lent for you in one phrase: Seeking the Holy.
The idea of Lent is about seeking what God has for us so that when Holy week arrives, we’ll have the courage to bear the crucified Christ. We’ll be able to look into the eyes of a Christ murdered for living fully into love. And by the end of Holy week, we hope our Lenten practices will have prepared us to receive in a new and bolder vision of the risen Christ. We’ll recognize when we see Christ around us in the world. We’ll hear God’s call more clearly and we’ll respond with faith and passion to that call.
Now, that’s a lot of hope to be bound up in 40 days. Most of us can’t give up our biggest vice for a few days. How are we supposed to get from here to there and feel like we’ve experienced that kind of growth? Well, it starts right here. (Hold up ashes)
We start this journey on ash Wednesday with the symbol of ashes for a reason. Ashes are about sorrow and repentance. They also symbolize our own mortality as we are formed from the dust of the earth and to dust we shall return. So, when we receive the ashes, the hope is that it is an outward marker of an inward understanding, and understanding of humility.
When we are humble, we can truly repent because we can truly see the damages we’ve caused by our words, deeds, and deeds left undone. So, a good first step in seeking the holy is cultivating humility. That’s really what the whole of the Matthew passage is about. It’s a guidebook for keeping ourselves humble so we can see God.
And usually that’s what the practices of self-examination and penitence, prayer and fasting, works of love, and reading and meditating on the Word of God are about. The things we give up and the practices we take on for Lent point us toward God.
So this is where we find ourselves this evening. What is it each of us needs to see God more clearly and experience God more fully? What is it that will prepare us to bear witness to what Easter has to offer? Many of us have already chosen Lenten practices that will be of meaning. But I want us to think not only of the practices but of the experience.
So, I’d like to take us on a guided meditation to reflect on how we might seek and find the holy during this time. I realize this might be a bit out of our comfort zones. I know it’s out of mine. But I believe God’s still small voice is bolder than mine will ever be. What God will tell you is what you need. So, as we prepare ourselves, just try to remember that you are in God’s loving arms and the loving arms of God’s community. Whatever is revealed to you is something God and those who love you will help you through.
To begin, I’d like you to know that there are no wrong answers here. There are times in our lives when silence is too much to bear and recognizing that the inner conflict is holy too. So, if you find yourself uncomfortable, ask yourself and God why. If the answer is too big for this moment, then feel free to sing a song in your head or do what you need. This won’t last long and we’re here together.
So, let’s begin. Let’s lower the lights just a bit. Try to relax the tension you feel in your body.
Breathe naturally and you can either close your eyes or just relax your gaze. Remember, there are no wrong experiences here.
Now just let the silence speak to you for a few moments.
I imagine God is already speaking to you but let’s try and focus in. Think on the question, “where is God?” or “where is the holy?”
What things have been getting in the way of experiencing God and the holy? Fear, discontentment, boredom, frustration, embarrassment, hate, fatigue, depression, sadness, greed, self-centeredness… gossip, haunting memories, health problems, our playthings like television and the internet, overscheduled time, underutilized time.
What does God want for you? joy, liberation from fear, guilt, & shame, belonging, courage, vitality, peace, kindness, humility, gratitude, an inner sense of grace, community & connection… to volunteer, to take quiet time in the day, to enter into a different kind of prayer, to seek God in study, to restore God’s temple (your body), to engage in acts of love of both yourself and others.
What small steps can you take to claim what God wants for you during this time? Intentional scheduling, covenanting with a friend for support, making a plan, cutting out something distracting, taking the time to breathe.
What would it take to start out each day with grace and love for yourself and others that God has for us? What would it take to see the holy in others and our everyday lives?
What God’s still small voice tells us right now is true. It is something that will bear fruit in Lent and beyond. This time is about a journey to seek the holy and I believe God is calling. Take what God has shown you and hold onto it. Nurture it in the days and weeks to come. Feed it in the ways God has shown you tonight and will reveal in the time to come.
If we are seeking the holy, I imagine that what will emerge is not just a single Lenten practice but a focus on something that will truly make us better people and stronger community. May God bless this journey and our walk together. Amen.
Good evening. It is good to be with you on this beginning day of the holy season of Lent.
Some in this room look forward to Lent as a time they’ve encountered since childhood. Many have negative memories of being forced to fast without understanding why or what is to be gained. Others look at this time as something odd that just doesn’t quite make sense. No matter our history, Ash Wednesday and Lent still come to us like clockwork 40 days before Easter.
So, here we are. We gather on a day we don’t usually and with the imposition of ashes, we engage in a practice that seems foreign in our culture. But why are we here and what is all this about? Well, I’ll sum up all of Lent for you in one phrase: Seeking the Holy.
The idea of Lent is about seeking what God has for us so that when Holy week arrives, we’ll have the courage to bear the crucified Christ. We’ll be able to look into the eyes of a Christ murdered for living fully into love. And by the end of Holy week, we hope our Lenten practices will have prepared us to receive in a new and bolder vision of the risen Christ. We’ll recognize when we see Christ around us in the world. We’ll hear God’s call more clearly and we’ll respond with faith and passion to that call.
Now, that’s a lot of hope to be bound up in 40 days. Most of us can’t give up our biggest vice for a few days. How are we supposed to get from here to there and feel like we’ve experienced that kind of growth? Well, it starts right here. (Hold up ashes)
We start this journey on ash Wednesday with the symbol of ashes for a reason. Ashes are about sorrow and repentance. They also symbolize our own mortality as we are formed from the dust of the earth and to dust we shall return. So, when we receive the ashes, the hope is that it is an outward marker of an inward understanding, and understanding of humility.
When we are humble, we can truly repent because we can truly see the damages we’ve caused by our words, deeds, and deeds left undone. So, a good first step in seeking the holy is cultivating humility. That’s really what the whole of the Matthew passage is about. It’s a guidebook for keeping ourselves humble so we can see God.
And usually that’s what the practices of self-examination and penitence, prayer and fasting, works of love, and reading and meditating on the Word of God are about. The things we give up and the practices we take on for Lent point us toward God.
So this is where we find ourselves this evening. What is it each of us needs to see God more clearly and experience God more fully? What is it that will prepare us to bear witness to what Easter has to offer? Many of us have already chosen Lenten practices that will be of meaning. But I want us to think not only of the practices but of the experience.
So, I’d like to take us on a guided meditation to reflect on how we might seek and find the holy during this time. I realize this might be a bit out of our comfort zones. I know it’s out of mine. But I believe God’s still small voice is bolder than mine will ever be. What God will tell you is what you need. So, as we prepare ourselves, just try to remember that you are in God’s loving arms and the loving arms of God’s community. Whatever is revealed to you is something God and those who love you will help you through.
To begin, I’d like you to know that there are no wrong answers here. There are times in our lives when silence is too much to bear and recognizing that the inner conflict is holy too. So, if you find yourself uncomfortable, ask yourself and God why. If the answer is too big for this moment, then feel free to sing a song in your head or do what you need. This won’t last long and we’re here together.
So, let’s begin. Let’s lower the lights just a bit. Try to relax the tension you feel in your body.
Breathe naturally and you can either close your eyes or just relax your gaze. Remember, there are no wrong experiences here.
Now just let the silence speak to you for a few moments.
I imagine God is already speaking to you but let’s try and focus in. Think on the question, “where is God?” or “where is the holy?”
What things have been getting in the way of experiencing God and the holy? Fear, discontentment, boredom, frustration, embarrassment, hate, fatigue, depression, sadness, greed, self-centeredness… gossip, haunting memories, health problems, our playthings like television and the internet, overscheduled time, underutilized time.
What does God want for you? joy, liberation from fear, guilt, & shame, belonging, courage, vitality, peace, kindness, humility, gratitude, an inner sense of grace, community & connection… to volunteer, to take quiet time in the day, to enter into a different kind of prayer, to seek God in study, to restore God’s temple (your body), to engage in acts of love of both yourself and others.
What small steps can you take to claim what God wants for you during this time? Intentional scheduling, covenanting with a friend for support, making a plan, cutting out something distracting, taking the time to breathe.
What would it take to start out each day with grace and love for yourself and others that God has for us? What would it take to see the holy in others and our everyday lives?
What God’s still small voice tells us right now is true. It is something that will bear fruit in Lent and beyond. This time is about a journey to seek the holy and I believe God is calling. Take what God has shown you and hold onto it. Nurture it in the days and weeks to come. Feed it in the ways God has shown you tonight and will reveal in the time to come.
If we are seeking the holy, I imagine that what will emerge is not just a single Lenten practice but a focus on something that will truly make us better people and stronger community. May God bless this journey and our walk together. Amen.
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Along the Way
Along the Way <-- Audio File - Sermon based upon Psalm 107:1-9, 43
Good morning. It’s an honor to be back with you again to worship. For those of you that weren’t here on my previous visits, my name is Lavender Kelley and I’m a chaplain at Children’s Memorial Hospital in Chicago. I’m a graduate of Louisville Seminary and have been a chaplain in the 4 years since then. Actually, some of your youth recently met Adam Fischer, a classmate of mine from seminary. He is now at Harvey Brown Pres in Louisville, the host church for the youth mission trip.
As a chaplain and cancer survivor, I’m very involved in volunteering for causes near and dear to me. Some of you may recognize that I have more hair than I did last time I was here because I had shaved my head in a fundraising event one month prior to that. Anyway, I mostly just want you to know that I’m grateful to spend some more time with you in this holy time of worship.
Our scripture text that John read for you this morning is from Psalm 107. The lectionary guide for this week chose only to include verses 1-9 & 43. That means you heard the introduction, 1 story illustration, and the benediction. But if we were to read the whole psalm, what we would see might seem more like a full sermon. Because the whole psalm contains an introduction, 4 very similar sermon illustrations, a conclusion, and a benediction.
This Psalm focuses on God’s “steadfast love” or “hesed” as it is read in Hebrew. Scholars frequently refer to this as the model psalm of God’s “steadfast love.” They say this because the psalm in its entirety contains repeated stories of God’s unrelenting love for people. That’s part of what I find remarkable about this psalm. Many of the psalms are written to God as prayers. Those prayers reveal what people believe God should do or how they want to interact with God. But this one is written from a different perspective. In this one, the psalmist shares their previous experience with and of God… how God intervened and delivered them from distress.
Verses 4-9 are the first of those similar stories that the psalmist shares of God’s loving intervention. The writer tells us:
Within this story and the other three that follow later in the Psalm, there are different details but the plot is the same. It begins with the people feeling hopeless and lost. They are not just suffering with physical hunger & thirst. Their soul is withering. Next the people cry out to God for help. This is followed by God delivering them from their distress. And finally, the people encourage thanksgiving and gratitude toward God.
Several things strike me about this story. First, like I said earlier, this was written about their experience of God rather than what they wanted God to do. Second, God delivers them only after they call out for help. And third, God’s deliverance does not magically transport them out of the desert. Rather, God’s deliverance was to help them along the way.
So let’s look at these pieces a little further. When we read this psalm, it tells stories of the people in the wilderness and deserts. It’s easy to imagine the early story telling that led to writing this psalm. It might have arisen from the experience of the Israelites being led out of Egypt by Moses. They traveled and searched and kept getting lost. They called out to false gods and idols for help but still were lost. It was only with the help of the one true God that they found their way. Or maybe the story was of shepherds traversing wild terrain looking for grazing lands and becoming lost. They seek and try all the ways they know to get their bearings but are still lost.
Regardless of the story’s origins, the images make sense given the history of the people in that era. Yet, even sitting here we can imagine such an experience today. Though few of us have been lost in a literal desert, many of us find ourselves lost in the wilderness of finding or keeping a job. We feel lost in a maze of ethical decisions like whether to choose financial security for ourselves at the expense of others. False gods offer us quick and easy ways to get rich but never ask what God’s calling on our life is.
Others of us have confronted illnesses that leave us feeling in the dark, struggling to make sense, find answers, and build a new path home. We ask questions, look for understanding, and use all our best methods to get our bearings but we are lost.
Still others of us have struggled through traumatic events where we just can’t seem to find our way home. We sit in what feels like a wilderness of sorrow and loss feeling all alone. We grow tired not knowing how to help ourselves and soon we start to feel our soul wither.
And let’s face it, even without extreme events, our day to day lives can feel daunting and draining and like we’re all alone. We try all kinds of things to help make the journey better… to help us find our way. But for all our best efforts, sometimes we still find ourselves in a wilderness, wandering and hungry. We were still hungry for that which only God can provide.
This psalm recognizes that hunger and tells the story of how others that came before us were filled. I find great comfort that this is not simply a prayer for what we want God to do but rather people touched by God telling of the great things from God. I don’t know about you but sometimes my most hope-filled moments are hearing the stories of others and this one is no different. It gives hope.
It is that hope that brings me to the second point in this passage. As they talk about their experience, they say that God delivers them after they call out for help. Why do you think that is? As a hospital chaplain, I often sit with people who feel alone and abandoned. They truly are in the darkest places of their lives. So if God’s love is so steadfast, why does it take calling out for them to experience deliverance?
Maybe the answer is not that simple. This is a story of people who knew God intimately and already believed God was there for them. They were already believers and they struggled like the rest of us. So what are they trying to tell us? I think they are sharing their story from their point of view. Think about it. When we talk about our experience of something, there’s a particular way people talk about the timing of things happening. They talk personally rather than a big picture point of view that might explain how God was always with them but they could not see it. But more importantly, I think the psalmist’s story of calling out to God reminds us that we usually aren’t open to help until we ask for it.
Think of those times when we’re frustrated such as when we’ve been working on something truly difficult. If someone just comes up and offers help, we usually aren’t open to it. I had one of those uncles who would never ask for directions no matter how lost they were. And I once saw someone break 2 bones falling because they refused help in carrying something. Sometimes we don’t ask for help because we’re too proud to receive it. Yet at the hospital I meet people who are too overwhelmed by sorrow and worry to even remember to ask for help. When offered even something simple like water, they refuse because they are too overwhelmed in that moment to receive. We go get them water, a cool cloth, and call their family, all of which they will use. But until they are open to help, they will not have an experience of being supported. They feel alone.
Yet, when we call out for help it is an entirely different matter. It’s us saying that we want and are open to help. It’s us letting go of our ego, our fears, and our walls to be humble and receptive to help. When we call out, especially in desperation, we have our ears, eyes, heart, mind… our whole self open to help.
So it goes with these people of God lost in the desert. They called out and God was there with the help they needed. But what was it exactly that they needed? This brings me to what I find most striking about this passage. What stuck out to me is not that these people were desperate or that they called out to God or that God helped them. What is most remarkable is that this passage tells us the way God helped them and it may not be what we expect.
The passage says that “God delivered them from their distress; God led them by a straight way, until they reached an inhabited town.” God’s deliverance did not magically transport them out of the desert to their destination. Rather, God’s deliverance was from their sense of distress… their withering soul. They no longer felt alone. Though God was already with them before, now they knew God was present with them. Their emotional and spiritual experience of hopelessness was nurtured and they were delivered from their distress.
God also stayed with them and helped them journey on a straighter path that would lead to inhabited towns where they could be replenished along the way. I thought this was an interesting passage so I looked up the history of people finding passage through the desert. What I found out is that there is no path because in the desert, the sand is always moving. Even the sand dunes moved. So the way one group went was not the way another went. What they did was that the leader would get their bearings on the direction they needed to go and they would try to walk a sort of wavy path around the sand dunes. That way they expended their energy more efficiently walking on level ground rather than up and down dunes. The path would be longer but they would not be so tired. So the path they traveled may have made them miss an oasis or small town, thus missing an opportunity for fresh water and a straw mattress.
So when this passage says that God led them on a straighter way that passed through towns, they are not saying that all was easy. Being delivered didn’t mean they were suddenly without work to do. They did not go from roughing it to sitting by the pool with an umbrella drink. And they did not suddenly arrive at their destination. They were still in the midst of a long and perilous journey… but they were not alone. God’s presence in the form of steadfast love stepped in and transformed their experience of the desert.
So let’s linger here for a bit. They clearly understood this as action as God’s love for them. They even said, “Let them thank the Holy One for this steadfast love, for God’s wonderful works to humankind. For the Holy One satisfies the thirsty, and fills the hungry with good things.”
So what happened to them? They found satisfaction and fulfillment along the way. They experienced God’s actions as wonderful works towards them. They were open to help and received it.
But what did this help look like exactly? They don’t say that a booming voice came from the sky directing them. They really don’t say much at all. But they are clear that God was with them along the way.
Honestly, I don’t think their experience of God is much different than our own. When God’s love shines through the faces of other people, if we are open to it, we recognize it as God. When God’s love holds us through the dark places, if we are open to it, we recognize it as God. When God’s love guides us to make decisions that are best for our families and communities, if we are open to it, we recognize it as God. And when God’s love lightens our hearts and fills us with hope, if we are open to it, we recognize it as God.
But the key here that seems to be that their fulfillment and even ours today is that God helped them along the way. So often we pray for things to be fixed. Or we want the miracle cure. Sometimes we desire a change but without all the work. But these people found God’s help along the way.
What do our lives look like when we receive God’s help along the way? Well, it usually means we still have work to do of some sort. But it also means we have something we’re focusing upon. It may not be a destination. Perhaps it is an ideal instead.
Have you ever been involved in one of those trips where everything just seems to go as planned? I think it would be very easy to attribute that to God… and rest assured, God was there. But the times I am more keenly aware of God are when things aren’t going well. Because if we’re open to it, we find unexpected help, meet new people that make our world brighter, and become better people for the journey.
I have spent a lot of time talking with cancer patients during my own treatment. Attitude is what seems to make the biggest difference in how people experience it. I’ve met people who feel like everything that can go wrong will go wrong with them. They feel like the world or God is out to get them. But others who have almost identical circumstances talk of all the great new people they’ve met. They share stories of how they found new interests and hobbies they would have never even thought of otherwise. They share stories of how a certain nurse is surly an angle because she always has the right words to comfort. Life isn’t just happening to or at them. Life is happening with God at their side.
Sisters and brothers, this is a passage about life happening. Life includes the joyous and the tragic and all that lies in between. Not all these events happen because of God but God is in the midst of them and still with us after them. Our job is to be open to God’s help. Our job is to keep journeying. Our job is to share in the journey with others around us. And we do this with hope knowing God is with us all along the way.
Amen
Good morning. It’s an honor to be back with you again to worship. For those of you that weren’t here on my previous visits, my name is Lavender Kelley and I’m a chaplain at Children’s Memorial Hospital in Chicago. I’m a graduate of Louisville Seminary and have been a chaplain in the 4 years since then. Actually, some of your youth recently met Adam Fischer, a classmate of mine from seminary. He is now at Harvey Brown Pres in Louisville, the host church for the youth mission trip.
As a chaplain and cancer survivor, I’m very involved in volunteering for causes near and dear to me. Some of you may recognize that I have more hair than I did last time I was here because I had shaved my head in a fundraising event one month prior to that. Anyway, I mostly just want you to know that I’m grateful to spend some more time with you in this holy time of worship.
Our scripture text that John read for you this morning is from Psalm 107. The lectionary guide for this week chose only to include verses 1-9 & 43. That means you heard the introduction, 1 story illustration, and the benediction. But if we were to read the whole psalm, what we would see might seem more like a full sermon. Because the whole psalm contains an introduction, 4 very similar sermon illustrations, a conclusion, and a benediction.
This Psalm focuses on God’s “steadfast love” or “hesed” as it is read in Hebrew. Scholars frequently refer to this as the model psalm of God’s “steadfast love.” They say this because the psalm in its entirety contains repeated stories of God’s unrelenting love for people. That’s part of what I find remarkable about this psalm. Many of the psalms are written to God as prayers. Those prayers reveal what people believe God should do or how they want to interact with God. But this one is written from a different perspective. In this one, the psalmist shares their previous experience with and of God… how God intervened and delivered them from distress.
Verses 4-9 are the first of those similar stories that the psalmist shares of God’s loving intervention. The writer tells us:
Some wandered in desert wastelands, finding no path to an inhabited town; hungry and thirsty, their soul withered within them. Then they cried out to the Holy One in their trouble, and God delivered them from their distress; God led them by a straight way, until they reached an inhabited town. Let them thank the Holy One for this steadfast love, for God’s wonderful works to humankind. For the Holy One satisfies the thirsty, and fills the hungry with good things.
Within this story and the other three that follow later in the Psalm, there are different details but the plot is the same. It begins with the people feeling hopeless and lost. They are not just suffering with physical hunger & thirst. Their soul is withering. Next the people cry out to God for help. This is followed by God delivering them from their distress. And finally, the people encourage thanksgiving and gratitude toward God.
Several things strike me about this story. First, like I said earlier, this was written about their experience of God rather than what they wanted God to do. Second, God delivers them only after they call out for help. And third, God’s deliverance does not magically transport them out of the desert. Rather, God’s deliverance was to help them along the way.
So let’s look at these pieces a little further. When we read this psalm, it tells stories of the people in the wilderness and deserts. It’s easy to imagine the early story telling that led to writing this psalm. It might have arisen from the experience of the Israelites being led out of Egypt by Moses. They traveled and searched and kept getting lost. They called out to false gods and idols for help but still were lost. It was only with the help of the one true God that they found their way. Or maybe the story was of shepherds traversing wild terrain looking for grazing lands and becoming lost. They seek and try all the ways they know to get their bearings but are still lost.
Regardless of the story’s origins, the images make sense given the history of the people in that era. Yet, even sitting here we can imagine such an experience today. Though few of us have been lost in a literal desert, many of us find ourselves lost in the wilderness of finding or keeping a job. We feel lost in a maze of ethical decisions like whether to choose financial security for ourselves at the expense of others. False gods offer us quick and easy ways to get rich but never ask what God’s calling on our life is.
Others of us have confronted illnesses that leave us feeling in the dark, struggling to make sense, find answers, and build a new path home. We ask questions, look for understanding, and use all our best methods to get our bearings but we are lost.
Still others of us have struggled through traumatic events where we just can’t seem to find our way home. We sit in what feels like a wilderness of sorrow and loss feeling all alone. We grow tired not knowing how to help ourselves and soon we start to feel our soul wither.
And let’s face it, even without extreme events, our day to day lives can feel daunting and draining and like we’re all alone. We try all kinds of things to help make the journey better… to help us find our way. But for all our best efforts, sometimes we still find ourselves in a wilderness, wandering and hungry. We were still hungry for that which only God can provide.
This psalm recognizes that hunger and tells the story of how others that came before us were filled. I find great comfort that this is not simply a prayer for what we want God to do but rather people touched by God telling of the great things from God. I don’t know about you but sometimes my most hope-filled moments are hearing the stories of others and this one is no different. It gives hope.
It is that hope that brings me to the second point in this passage. As they talk about their experience, they say that God delivers them after they call out for help. Why do you think that is? As a hospital chaplain, I often sit with people who feel alone and abandoned. They truly are in the darkest places of their lives. So if God’s love is so steadfast, why does it take calling out for them to experience deliverance?
Maybe the answer is not that simple. This is a story of people who knew God intimately and already believed God was there for them. They were already believers and they struggled like the rest of us. So what are they trying to tell us? I think they are sharing their story from their point of view. Think about it. When we talk about our experience of something, there’s a particular way people talk about the timing of things happening. They talk personally rather than a big picture point of view that might explain how God was always with them but they could not see it. But more importantly, I think the psalmist’s story of calling out to God reminds us that we usually aren’t open to help until we ask for it.
Think of those times when we’re frustrated such as when we’ve been working on something truly difficult. If someone just comes up and offers help, we usually aren’t open to it. I had one of those uncles who would never ask for directions no matter how lost they were. And I once saw someone break 2 bones falling because they refused help in carrying something. Sometimes we don’t ask for help because we’re too proud to receive it. Yet at the hospital I meet people who are too overwhelmed by sorrow and worry to even remember to ask for help. When offered even something simple like water, they refuse because they are too overwhelmed in that moment to receive. We go get them water, a cool cloth, and call their family, all of which they will use. But until they are open to help, they will not have an experience of being supported. They feel alone.
Yet, when we call out for help it is an entirely different matter. It’s us saying that we want and are open to help. It’s us letting go of our ego, our fears, and our walls to be humble and receptive to help. When we call out, especially in desperation, we have our ears, eyes, heart, mind… our whole self open to help.
So it goes with these people of God lost in the desert. They called out and God was there with the help they needed. But what was it exactly that they needed? This brings me to what I find most striking about this passage. What stuck out to me is not that these people were desperate or that they called out to God or that God helped them. What is most remarkable is that this passage tells us the way God helped them and it may not be what we expect.
The passage says that “God delivered them from their distress; God led them by a straight way, until they reached an inhabited town.” God’s deliverance did not magically transport them out of the desert to their destination. Rather, God’s deliverance was from their sense of distress… their withering soul. They no longer felt alone. Though God was already with them before, now they knew God was present with them. Their emotional and spiritual experience of hopelessness was nurtured and they were delivered from their distress.
God also stayed with them and helped them journey on a straighter path that would lead to inhabited towns where they could be replenished along the way. I thought this was an interesting passage so I looked up the history of people finding passage through the desert. What I found out is that there is no path because in the desert, the sand is always moving. Even the sand dunes moved. So the way one group went was not the way another went. What they did was that the leader would get their bearings on the direction they needed to go and they would try to walk a sort of wavy path around the sand dunes. That way they expended their energy more efficiently walking on level ground rather than up and down dunes. The path would be longer but they would not be so tired. So the path they traveled may have made them miss an oasis or small town, thus missing an opportunity for fresh water and a straw mattress.
So when this passage says that God led them on a straighter way that passed through towns, they are not saying that all was easy. Being delivered didn’t mean they were suddenly without work to do. They did not go from roughing it to sitting by the pool with an umbrella drink. And they did not suddenly arrive at their destination. They were still in the midst of a long and perilous journey… but they were not alone. God’s presence in the form of steadfast love stepped in and transformed their experience of the desert.
So let’s linger here for a bit. They clearly understood this as action as God’s love for them. They even said, “Let them thank the Holy One for this steadfast love, for God’s wonderful works to humankind. For the Holy One satisfies the thirsty, and fills the hungry with good things.”
So what happened to them? They found satisfaction and fulfillment along the way. They experienced God’s actions as wonderful works towards them. They were open to help and received it.
But what did this help look like exactly? They don’t say that a booming voice came from the sky directing them. They really don’t say much at all. But they are clear that God was with them along the way.
Honestly, I don’t think their experience of God is much different than our own. When God’s love shines through the faces of other people, if we are open to it, we recognize it as God. When God’s love holds us through the dark places, if we are open to it, we recognize it as God. When God’s love guides us to make decisions that are best for our families and communities, if we are open to it, we recognize it as God. And when God’s love lightens our hearts and fills us with hope, if we are open to it, we recognize it as God.
But the key here that seems to be that their fulfillment and even ours today is that God helped them along the way. So often we pray for things to be fixed. Or we want the miracle cure. Sometimes we desire a change but without all the work. But these people found God’s help along the way.
What do our lives look like when we receive God’s help along the way? Well, it usually means we still have work to do of some sort. But it also means we have something we’re focusing upon. It may not be a destination. Perhaps it is an ideal instead.
Have you ever been involved in one of those trips where everything just seems to go as planned? I think it would be very easy to attribute that to God… and rest assured, God was there. But the times I am more keenly aware of God are when things aren’t going well. Because if we’re open to it, we find unexpected help, meet new people that make our world brighter, and become better people for the journey.
I have spent a lot of time talking with cancer patients during my own treatment. Attitude is what seems to make the biggest difference in how people experience it. I’ve met people who feel like everything that can go wrong will go wrong with them. They feel like the world or God is out to get them. But others who have almost identical circumstances talk of all the great new people they’ve met. They share stories of how they found new interests and hobbies they would have never even thought of otherwise. They share stories of how a certain nurse is surly an angle because she always has the right words to comfort. Life isn’t just happening to or at them. Life is happening with God at their side.
Sisters and brothers, this is a passage about life happening. Life includes the joyous and the tragic and all that lies in between. Not all these events happen because of God but God is in the midst of them and still with us after them. Our job is to be open to God’s help. Our job is to keep journeying. Our job is to share in the journey with others around us. And we do this with hope knowing God is with us all along the way.
Amen
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