Sermon Talk Back Part 4

 

As we rewind and review the Sermon on the Mount, I want to come back to Jesus’ words and wisdom in chapter 6 on faithfulness, forgiveness, fasting, generosity, and prayer.  When I preached on chapter 6, I invited you to put down definitions and descriptions for each of these words. 

 

And you are thinking, “I don’t remember that homework assignment!!  Um, I think I was absent that day.”

 

It’s okay, you can do it today!

 

And the people of God said, “Gee thanks???”

 

For me, faithfulness is growing in the image of God for the sake of the other.  I deeply desire to be formed and fashioned in image of God ~ to let God shape me, take me, and hold me.  But my soul is not a cul-de-sac ~ this isn’t about the unholy trinity of me, myself and I or navel gazing.  I grow to be salt and light for the world ~ God sends us out to share where we can and how we can.  What does faithfulness look like, sound like, feel like in your life?  What are examples?

 

For me, forgiveness is a process of letting go of the heartbreak and soul ache of life.  Richard Rohr says suffering is the reality that we are not in control or in charge.  People hurt us.  Systems oppress us.  There are sharp shards of brokenness in the world that lash and gash too many people.  And we could spend our days angry, blaming and shaming ~ which we do on social media and in the 24 hour news cycle and interviews with our leaders.  But forgiveness lives the words of Dr. King that hate is too great a burden to bear.  Hate harms us, it is like you swallowing rat poison and expecting the rat to die.  Forgiveness says, I need another way.  Forgiveness is a process (sometimes exhausting!) of day-by-day letting go of that hatred toward another as well as seeking reconciliation from those who we hurt.  Let’s be clear, you have stomped on some toes in your day too…you have said things you instantly and immediately regret/want to rewind time to shove those words back into your mouth!  Forgiveness is not just individual but collective.  There are groups of people we need forgiveness from, and we need to forgive.  Perhaps this is why we struggle with forgiveness, it is complex and complicated and controversial work. 

 

For me, fasting is about more than food.  One of definition of sin is disordered longing.  When I long for a new ipad to make me happy (even though I know I will still be the same schmuck once I buy the ipad, just with a bigger credit card bill).  Or when I think the vacation or new relationship or next zoom webinar will finally help me thrive and live my best life ever.  We are all restless, especially in a culture of unabashed consumerism.  To fast is to take the energy I pour into planning a great adventure or over working to prove my worth or filling every inch of my calendar with events, so I don’t have to deal with emotions ~ and instead direct my energy and attention and awareness to God showing up in my life.  Direct my energy toward those I need to forgive or need forgiveness from to free space for the Sacred to show up in my life and start cooking in new ways. 

 

Generosity is how I share the gifts of time, talent and treasure.  It isn’t just about giving money to church or other charities, it is about honestly and prayerfully seeking God’s wisdom in how I live, share, offer my heart, energy, words, and wallet each day. 

 

Last, but perhaps underneath all of the above, is prayer.  Prayer is silence, singing and sharing with others.  Prayer is walking in creation or sitting on the beach.  There are as many ways to pray as there are days in the week.  Prayer is when you feel alive and awake to the holy humming and hovering. 

 

All the above are pathways to the presence of God.  And to be clear, you don’t have to do all five at once.  One is enough for now.  Which of the above ~ faithfulness, forgiveness, prayer, generosity, fasting sings to your soul?  Which of the above to you feel a holy gravitational pull toward or a nudge (not guilt) to explore?  Listen to your one wild and precious life this day as a way for the holy to show up.  Amen.