Things I didn't Say

When I started this blog a couple months ago, I discussed with several folks what its content should be. By and large, it was agreed that I would reflect on things I didn't say in my sermon the previous Sunday. Yeah...haven't done that very effectively. But today I am (or I THINK I am...I'm always a little surprised where these reflections find themselves wandering as I follow along).

So...as you may or may not be aware, I participated in my first "march" last week. It was a march walked in celebration of the 60th anniversary of the desegregation of Charlotte area restaurants (From Sit-ins to Eat-ins. Check it out on google). During that march, Maria Hanlin, out-going director of Mecklenburg Ministries (she is leaving to take on the director-ship of Habitat for Humanity in NC...I will miss her) reminded us not only to remember and celebrate the courage of those who went before us in the civil rights movement, but also, she challenged us to be aware of the courage we need for today, to continue to be the voice and feet and hands of those who do not live in the freedom we do. During the march I met Dr. Rodney Sadler (Professor of Bible at Union Presbyterian Seminary). Maria saw us talking and said, "Now, the two of you together, that could be trouble!" (I am confident that she meant that in the most positive of ways!). A day or so later, I received an e-mail from Rodney inviting me to be part of a gathering of Charlotte area clergy-folks who were discussing how we could be more effective in "Bearing Witness" in Raleigh, at our state's capitol...Not really protesting, but truly bearing witness, reminding our elected officials of their own faith commitments (Many of whom got elected by touting their faith commitments). The following italicized section is part of Rodney's e-mail (the highlights are his).

 

The Bible in countless places calls on God's people to care for the needs of husbandless women, fatherless children, aliens and sojourners, the poor, the sick, and the incarcerated. It is a call that resounds in the Torah/Pentateuch, which is echoed in the words of the Prophets, that is part of the core teachings of Jesus, and that is prevalent in the Koran. Every strata of sacred literature in the Abrahamic tradition (and other traditions) bears witness to God's concern for marginalized people. Further, biblical governments are often judged based upon their tendency (or lack thereof) to attend to the needs of their neediest members. In this regard, in the light of the current moral crises in our state legislature the need for us to raise our collective voices as clergy and bear witness to God and God’s will is undeniable.

As you read this letter, the North Carolina General Assembly is passing bills that will remove 500,000 people from the Medicaid roles leaving them without health insurance; that will remove 170,000 people from unemployment when unemployment rates remain at historically high levels; that threaten to replace the graduated state income tax with a consumption tax that will adversely impact the poorest North Carolinians who will face increased prices on basic goods; that will force college students to return to their often distant homes to vote or cost their parents their $2,500 dependency deduction; that will take money away from the financially strapped North Carolina public schools to provided vouchers for private schools; that will require voter ids in upcoming elections causing an undue burden on countless poor and elderly citizens; and that will even strip voting rights away from formerly incarcerated North Carolinians who have served their time. These and many other bills will adversely impact those who can least afford it and therefore demand a fervent response from people of faith!

It is in this regard that I am writing to you today to invite you to participate in a meeting on Friday May 24th at Union Presbyterian Seminary (5141 Sharon Road). The purpose of this meeting is to discuss ways that we as members of the Charlotte religious community can bear witness to God in response to the legislation that is coming out of the NC General Assembly. Our hope is to remind our brothers and sisters in the State House, Senate, and Governor's Mansion of their own faith commitments. We hope to encourage them on moral grounds to govern in a manner that is in keeping with the precepts of our sacred Scriptures and that is humane for the most vulnerable North Carolinians.

I went to that meeting, and left all ready to preach a remarkable and bold sermon on Romans 5:1-5 ("Suffering produces endurance and endurance produces character and character produces hope and hope does not disappoint us."), the (in)conveniently assigned reading for Sunday. I was going to be all big and bold and brave and fume and roil (look it up...it's a great word!) against those people in Raleigh who would rather sell-out than risk the suffering that would result from their honestly and openly standing up for the husbandless women, fatherless children, aliens and sojourners, the poor, the sick and the incarcerated. I was ready with the rejoinder that Jesus was VERY political (which he was). I thought, finally, I can wave my "I will stop being political when politicians stop making decisions that affect the lives of those for whom Jesus died" banner (wish I could remember where I stole that sentence from. Apologies). I was worked up and all ready to go...Ready to rally the troupes to "be the hope" in the world. And I let the memory of her comment shut me down...the woman who told me that she'd left her last church because the pastor got political. I didn't do it. I didn't roil. I wimped out.

I preached a faithful enough sermon. I really did. But it fumbled and fluttered and felt flat, because I knew what I didn't say. I knew that I, like all the rest of them, sold out rather than risk the suffering that could result from outright challenge. If you read last week's blog...I was not as big a "word out of place" as I imagined myself being (and this on the very same weekend that we recognize/remember those who gave their lives securing a country where I can openly challenge what I do not agree with!).

So, there you have it...what I didn't say. I am happy that God keeps cheering for me, and that Rodney will keep holding my hand and calling me "sister." And I'll keep trying...I may even go and quietly "bear witness" in Raleigh. I want to. I forget that I am just learning how to do this. Baby steps seem so small and unsatisfying. But, I suppose they eventually lead to more confident strides and perhaps even leaps (hopefully graceful). And before long, as I gain more courage, I hope we can dance together.

A "Word Out of Place" at the Festival of Homiletics

"You're going where? To do what?" "I'm going to Nashville for the Festival of Homiletics." "Really? There is a festival for that?!" "Well, yeah." 

"Are  you, at least, going to go to Opryland while you're  there?" "Yeah...probably not."

Seems that there were a few people who did not understand my excitement about this festival 

(you may be among them...you can admit it...It's okay.).

I had the opportunity//great blessing last week of attending the aforementioned Festival of Homiletics. It is an annual gathering of about 2000 folks (I went to one about 12 years ago...I will not wait so long to go to another.), most of whom preach on a regular basis ("Homiletics" is really just a fancy word for "preaching." There is some specific definition that I used to know, but don't anymore. Basically, it is just "preaching."). We were a gathering of interdenominational clergy-types, who share a common - albeit baffling - calling. Proclaiming God's word//telling God's story in a world that most often chooses to believe a different story. The presenters were all of those theologians and preachers whose work feeds us - or, at least, it feeds me - week in and week out (the really big names in the field: Walter Brueggeman - after whom my cat is named...I actually built up the nerve to tell him that. He looked at me like I was a lunatic...but seemed oddly honored (?); Barbara Brown Taylor; Mark Hanson; David Lose; Anna Carter Florence; Barbara Lundbladt; Craig Barnes; Brian McLaren; Phyllis Tickle; Diana Butler Bass...These are really big names to preaher-types, and sometimes I depend on them and their writing, maybe more than I should, for sustenance and sanity). For a week, they fed me. For a week, I got to hear sermons (I never - or very rarely - get to hear a sermon.). And I sat and soaked it all in and sang and prayed and was filled again for the journey. They helped me realize that I am not losing my mind. That what we do is difficult. They shared their own stories of "process" (how they approach the task of preaching), which, of course, is always helpful. But most helpful for me, they shared their own stories of exhaustion and frustration coupled with determination coupled with hope. They were, for me, cheerleaders, encouraging and supporting and insisting that what we do matters. And it matters for the sake of the world.  

One man - David  Lose - began his lecture showing a picture from the movie The Matrix, of two hands - one holding a blue pill, the other holding a red  pill  (I can't remember which color is which - I know that some of you will remember....But the guy in the movie can choose to take the one pill to learn the truth or the other to keep living in the illusion of the  Matrix). Dr. Lose's point was that most of the world chooses to hold on to the illusion//the Matrix pill, and that our (read "preacher's") task is to tell the truth, even when it will challenge everything folks think is "reality."

Walter Brueggemann  encouraged us to be sensitive to the process of grief...which I always assumed I was. But then he reminded me that it is our entire world that needs to grieve...grieve the fact that the way we "do things" isn't working...grieve the fact that we will never "go back" to the way things were...that, in fact, resurrection only comes when there is total death, and until we face the death (which necessitates grief...which, understandably, none of us wants to do) we will not be able to live into the resurrection (This, I believe, is a particular challenge to our country, as we spend so much time and energy trying to go BACK to the "good old days" instead of of letting that die and working to move forward toward something new.). He reminded me that the only way to survive grief is to walk through it together...with one another (This, too, is especially difficult for us, since we all like to appear so independent and happy and "fine" all the time). 

My favorite, though, was Barbara Lundbladt. She said two things that I am holding on to. First, she said that we (preachers) have to paint a picture of hope that is stronger than the world's picture of despair. Then, she said that we need to be brave enough to be a "word out of place." She preached a sermon on Isaiah 35, which is a chapter of hope in the middle of chapters of chaos and threat. It makes no sense that chapter 35 is stuck where it is in the book of Isaiah. All that surrounds it is gloom and doom...And then, "The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad, and the desert shall rejoice and blossom; like the crocus it shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice with joy and singing." It is a "word out of place." 

This is what I think...I think that the world really knows that it needs to choose the truth and leave the matrix, but we are too afraid of the grief that we will have to endure if we admit the death that is surrounding us. But without that grief-work, we will not live into the resurrection that is ours. So, we need to BE a "word out of place" painting a picture of hope (in all we do and say..which means being brave) that is stronger than the other words that surround us. And, that, I believe is the job of the church. We are the only ones with this story of Resurrection from death. 

It's not always an easy story to tell. And it can be exhausting to keep at it. But, I have a renewed energy for the task. And I will keep telling you the Story and you keep telling me. And together we will be the "word out of place."

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Clothing, Abiding, Love & Weddings

These are the texts Jesse and Lindsay chose for their wedding: Colossians 3:12-17 & John 15:9-17 and they are about the most perfect texts anyone has ever chosen anywhere for a wedding (but I have no strong feelings one way or another!! And, by the way…No, they are not the texts Cliff and I had read at our wedding…oh well, live and learn). The Colossians one says, in brief, "Above all [holy and beloved], clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts." And the John passage says this: "[Jesus said] 'As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love…so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete…This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.'"

A pastor I know, Frank Honeycutt, wrote an article eight years ago for The Lutheran magazine (June, 2003) called "Lasting Love." It's about marriage and the taking the "long view" (Another friend of mine, Cheri Williams reminded me and a group of folks in a "marriage enrichment class" that the key to marriage is remembering to take the "long view." She says that sometimes it may seem like years go by when things are blasé or even hard in a marriage. But over a lifetime…those times do not fall into consideration). Anyway, back to Frank's article. In it he says: "All too soon one learns things about a new husband that weren't known before – things that will drive you nuts if you think about them too hard. All too soon one discovers wacky facets of a new wife's personality that were never really noticed when dating…Marriage tends to knock the stars out of our eyes. Well, what then? Just before he died, Jesus gave some powerful advice…It's about the best advice that couples can hear too. Jesus said: 'I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.' The little word 'as' in this context may be the most challenging in the entire Bible. The love Jesus describes here is less like a Hallmark card and more like a cross. The best marriages I know," Frank says, "are marked by a love that looks quite a bit like a cross – love that is sacrificial," love that gives for the sake of the other, that stays with and beside and abides and cheers and cries and waits.

Before Jesse and Lindsay ever walked into the chapel at Lutheridge yesterday, it was already filled with more than 200 people who had been "abiding" with them their entire lives. Before they ever arrived, they had lived surrounded by this kind of "Jesus love" that endures and overcomes the deaths that it will face over the course of a lifetime together, a love that will endure the "stars falling from our eyes" as we learn that what we once found charming in our fiancé(e) is now annoying in our spouse. Before they ever opened their mouths to speak their vows, they had been clothed in this kind of love…A love that dwells in peace, even through the tragedies that a lifetime can know. A love that binds a variety of voices together into a harmony that sings perfectly along the journey of a lifetime (NB: harmony comes when different voices sing different notes…Not when they all sing the same note...That would be monotony.). A love whose goal is complete joy. Abiding is key. In a world where everything is temporary, there is a necessary permanence to abiding. It connotes steadfastness and security, dependability and integrity. It is what God does and who God is, walking and holding and comforting and cheering and receiving (like the one in whose arms you most like to be held, maybe especially when you have been your most annoying, or known your greatest tragedy, or suffered your most severe abuse). The world today, at least the world I live in, does not necessarily trust this kind of presence…the kind that is both good and dependable/steadfast/abiding. And yet, it is the presence for which it most desperately hungers (All you have to do is pay attention to the myriad ways we feed our various hungers to see the desperation). And that can make our calling a challenge. But, oh well. It is the calling to which we are called, sisters and brothers…To be Christ's abiding presence (in the world – to be sure, and sometimes even more "challengingly" in our own families)… Holding, receiving, embracing. It is the way we have been loved, and it is the way we are called to love.

 

Thanks Jesse and Lindsay, for letting me be part of your story.

Blessings on your marriage ~

Sara

 

p.s. Here is another thing I read that made real sense to me (apologies to the author. I don't remember who it was): "Understanding happens when we are present to the other, when we abide with her or him as Christ abides with us." We could all use a little more understanding.

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Youth Sunday and the Advocate

So, to be honest...when I wrote "Youth Sunday" on my calendar a month or more ago, (Youth Sunday was yesterday), I did a little "happy dance" because that meant, that I would not have to write a sermon (I enjoy the break every now and then...Plus, I always have this underlying concern that folks "need a break" from my voice from time to time. Also, it is not very often that I get to sit in a pew and just listen.).

Now, a month or so ago, Jesse (our interim Youth Minister, whose last day was yesterday...sniff) came to me and said, "So, you all have your high school seniors preach on Youth Sunday, right?" To which I replied, "we all don't usually...but you sure can!" To which he replied, "Cool." Pause..."What's the gospel lesson for that day." I replied, "Oh Jesse, I'm so flattered that you imagine that I have all of the Assigned Readings in their order committed to memory...I have no idea! But you can find out."

A little while later, Jesse, found me and said "It's from John 14. Stuff about God sending the Advocate, the Holy Spirit to be with us after he's gone. That's a pretty awesome reading for Youth Sunday, right?" "Right," I said.

I honestly didn't think much more about it until I was sitting in the pew yesterday, ready to hear our three graduating seniors (Brian Elgar, Emma Morris, and Courtney Trent) preach.

Now, the first thing that blew me away, is the ease with which these three stood right up in public and individually talked about God (not just in front of the adults there, but, more impressively, in front of their peers!). And they didn't just talk "about" God...they said the name of "God" (maybe this doesn't sound remarkable to you - but I guarantee it is! For 17 and 18 year olds to stand in front of their friends and not be "too cool" to say "God" and "Jesus" and to share how they have seen the presence of the Holy Spirit active in their lives is truly amazing.)!

And then, then, they - each one in their own way - talked about how we have been the "Advocate" for them. They talked about how we have been the presence of the Holy Spirit in their lives: filling, encouraging, lifting up, forgiving, cheering on, standing by. They gave language to their parents' work and love and support - likely language their parents never would have claimed for themselves ("You have been the Advocate/the Holy Spirit for me." I'm pretty sure I have never given that language to the work and love and support that my parents have given me and my siblings, or to the work and love and support that my husband and I give to our children. And I am way, way older than 17 or 18!). Their message was powerful and important for us to hear. Jesus has given us the Holy Spirit (John 20.22)...You and me! We're supposed to be doing something with it...Maybe something like filling, encouraging, lifting up, forgiving, cheering on, standing by (I always like to remember that the word translated as "spirit" is "pneuma." It's the same word for "air" (pneumatic) or "breath" (pneumonia). You can hold your breath if you'd like...But eventually you'll die. It's best to breathe it in, and breathe it out. It's the way we were made.).

For some reason, we - in the church - seem to have over-complicated our call. Or, at least the adults among us have, as we argue "Oh, it can't be that simple." Well, sisters and brothers, I think it is that simple. We are to be Advocates...We are to be the presence of the Holy Spirit in the world: encouraging, lifting up, cheering on, etc. We are to breathe in...we are to let every cell in our bodies be infused with the Spirit/Breath of Jesus. Then we are to exhale that Spirit into the world in every single thing we do with abandon.

One of our graduating seniors made a comment something like: "Even those of you who may not think you have done anything to form me into the person I am today, you have. And I want to say, 'thank you.'"

 

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