April 17, 2016
Easter 4
John 10:22-30
Acts 9:36-43
(prayer)
Over the almost 26 years
that I have been an Ordained Minister in the United Church of Canada, I have
grown more accustomed to the perceptions and assumptions some people make about
who I must be (and how I must think and feel) because I am a church minister.
It is interesting gauging
people's reaction to my answer when I am asked the quintessential small-talk question: "So, what do you do?"
//
I always laugh when I
remember when a certain person I played with on a slow pitch team in Swan Hills
(where I spent the first six years of my life as a minister). This guy always felt the need to apologize
for swearing around me. He played short
stop and I played third base so we were beside each other on the field. If he bubbled a ball, he would exclaim
"Shit! ... Oh, sorry
pastor."
//
Even after a quarter century, I still feel uncomfortable with the presumptions behind this attitude...
that I am too delicate or (too righteous) to be able to handle authentic feelings and language.
While I do attempt to
choose my words and actions carefully, I (like everyone [clergy
included]) have not always lived up to 'my best self'.
//
//
If we are honest with
ourselves (and each other), we have to admit that every single one of us has a skeleton or two in the closet.
Even the most transparent
among us probably has some examples of words we've spoken (and actions we have
taken) that are in opposition to the person who we would like to be known as.
I suspect that pretty much
everyone of us has that "story about our past" we hope never becomes
public.
And I would venture to
guess that many of us even have "something" in our lives right now that we are a bit embarrassed
about - because it could be interpreted as inconsistent
with the wider narrative of our being.
//
I do.
And no - I'm not telling.
//
//
The fact that you have
chosen to include this worship time
likely indicates that you are seeking a spiritual connection to aid you in
living a good and meaningful life.
You might even have
experienced the presumptions of what others sometimes think a church person should be like.
We can understand where
that comes from.
It is a fair assumption
that faith is supposed to influence who we are, what we say, and how we behave.
//
As a Christian Community of
Faith, our raison d'être (reason for
existing) is to know (and live out) the love of God.
St. David's mission statement
says that we seek... to inspire [each
other] to serve others as Christ taught.
To me, the good news of
Jesus' actions and teachings is to appreciate that... the central nature of God
is extreme compassion - and that this
extreme compassion is expressed (in our lives) as a love for neighbour as one's
self.
This is a lofty goal.
In all honesty it is a goal
we strive for, but do not live out perfectly.
//
In his letter to Christians
in Rome, the early church leader Paul wrote that we have all "fallen short of the glory of God"
(Romans 3:23). Paul's message seems to
be that even the words and actions of the most authentic disciple are not
sufficient to earn the love of God.
Divine Love is a gift of
God... given out of selfless grace.
My point... God does not
expect you (or me) to be the perfect follower of Jesus.
You are accepted for who
you are... the person you are today - not the person you think you should be or
even hope to be some day.
It gets complicated because
the fact that you go to church might cause others to assume that you are devoid
of imperfections... that your words and actions will be 100% consistent with a
fully faithful life.
You could even be critical
of yourself for what you might see as hypocritical aspects of your life.
Do any of you ever think...
if the person beside me in church today
knew "x" about my life, they would question the authenticity of my
faith?
//
I do.
And no - I'm not sharing.
//
We all have hidden
skeletons.
We all struggle at the
growing edges of our faith.
// //
And... that is okay.
We are all worthy of the
title Faithful Follower of Jesus...
imperfections and all!
//
Being faithful is not about
being perfect. It is about embracing
the graciously given love of God and letting that holy compassion become
increasingly influential in our lives.
Faith is a journey... a
path... an on-going experience of discovery.
//
Being faithful is also
about seeking to love those around us for the whole person they are...
imperfections and all.
//
//
We may have all fallen short of the
Glory of God, but we are still able to reflect the light of God's compassion in
this world.
I believe that our imperfections
(obvious or hidden) cannot overcome the perfection of God's love that can come
through in our most authentically faithful words and actions.
//
As a UCCan minister, I have officiated
at almost 400 funerals and have heard as many eulogies and tributes shared by
loving family and friends.
As you might expect, the content of
those memorials focused on the best and most influential aspects of those
lives. In reflective times (like that)
people have a natural desire to focus on the positive legacy of the person
whose life they are honouring.
I don't imagine that any of those
funerals were for people whose lives were without regret or mis-steps. Although, I have never heard a eulogy
extolling the most horrible traits of the deceased. The focus is on what was good and worthy of
happy memory.
And everyone listening to those
eulogies knew that there was another side to their loved one!
It is not that they were ignoring the
full nature of the person, but that they were intentionally appreciating the
good - in spite of aspects of life that might seem hypocritical.
We do that easily at the end of
life. So, it should not be an
insurmountable stretch for us to focus on the good and meaningful during our
living years as well.
I believe that a life of faith is a
progressive one. We do not need to
define ourselves by the parts of us that might get labeled as hypocritical.
//
The way I phrased it on Facebook this
week was to say that... Jesus invites us to reduce
and reverse our acts of hypocrisy by modeling for us A Way of authentic living.
One of the aspects of a faithful life
is to work through the edges of who we are... to bring us closer to our best
self - it is part of the journey of faith to discover the aspects of ourselves
we want to improve for the greater good (for ourselves, our neighbours and the
world).
//
In the reading from John's gospel
today, Jesus wants people to judge him by the work he does in God's name. Instead of relying on rhetoric, Jesus wants
his actions to speak for themselves. He
knows that the holiness of God can be seen in how he conducts himself.
I find it interesting that the text
says that this conversation took place during the Feast of Dedication. Also
called, the Feast of the Maccabees or
the Festival of Lights (known as Hanukkah now-a-days).
The central story told during the Feast
of Dedication is that God can exceed our expectations.
What we see as our potential (as
followers of Jesus) is mostly likely far less that God knows we can be.
Time for an applicable
cliché:
God
won't give up on us,
even
if we are tempted to.
//
//
The people in Joppa were inspired by
the way that Tabitha lived out her compassion.
She was a seamstress who used her skills to make better the lives of people in her community.
So influential were the good aspects of
Tabitha's life that people wanted the holiness that her life exposed to endure
beyond the limits of her human life.
At a literal level, the story we heard
from Acts chapter nine was one of a miraculous resuscitation, extending
Tabitha's life for a while.
On a metaphoric level, there is a desire
for Joppa to claim the legacy of the best of Tabitha's good works and acts of
charity. The best way that they could
honour her life, was to live out the same compassion she did.
//
In Luke's gospel we can read about a
time when Jesus preached that one of the primary expections of God is for us to
love our neighbours. Jesus was asked to
limit the definition who can be considered our neighbours.
Okay,
love my neighbour.
Now,
who is my neighbour?
[Those of you who were at the Mayors'
Prayer Breakfast a week ago heard Howard Lawrence speak about this.]
In that section in Luke 10 (aka
"The Parable of the Good Samaritan"), Jesus chose not to discuss
exceptions to the definition of neighbour, but instead told a story how the love of neighbour is not to be restricted
by social status, reputation or outward appearances.
Jesus' instruction was to strive to
live like a good neighbour. Which of these was a
neighbour to the one in need? The one who
showed compassion. Go and do likewise.
//
When we are able to live as loving
neighbours in our communities, we are exposing the Love of God to a longing
world.
Through the best of who we can be...
the Ministry of Jesus is revealed.
//
end //
This is something that we all can take
part in... regardless of those aspects of our lives we might be less proud of.
God's perfect love supersedes our
imperfections.
When we seek to live out the best of
ourselves (to serve others as Christ taught), we have the opportunity to make the hope at the heart of God real in the
world.
Our actions speak do have the potential
to (so loudly) express what we claim to believe.
//
Regardless of the full degree of
authenticity of who you have been up to this point, you are invited to reveal
God's compassion in your next action.
//
//
(prayer)
#139MV
"When Hands Reach Out"
No comments:
Post a Comment