P.M.A.

 

In January in the midst of a sermon series about Mr. Rogers, we sang this hymn: “Count your blessings, name them one by one.  Count your many blessings see what God has done.” This hymn is pretty simple, and definitely wasn’t everyone’s favorite.  But it does make a good point, don’t you think? 

I was on the basketball team back when I was a freshman in college.  I had always excelled at sports in high school, and I was thrilled to be able to continue playing.  What I hadn’t bargained for was the speed at which college ball was played, verses my high school, Class C, understanding of the game.  Conditioning for this began in the summer, long before I even arrived on campus.  Lots of running, jumping, shooting baskets, and lifting weights.  I thought I was ready.  I was not ready.

My memory of those weeks is still pretty clear, and I remember at many points wondering if I could really make it through some of those days.  One particularly rough day came when we were put in groups of 4 or 5, with the goal of running a relay of 100, 100-meter sprints. I honestly thought our coaches might be trying to kill us off.  And at that point we received a word about the power of a positive mental attitude.  If we think positively, we move positively, if we think negatively, that’s the way our thoughts and actions go.  We finished those sprints, celebrated, and headed into our season.

So much of who I am as a person, and what I know about leadership was formed in the gym, playing on basketball and volleyball teams, or out on the softball field or track.  I learned quickly the power of surrounding yourself with encouraging people, and that our team is only as strong as its weakest member.  I learned to value listening and patience, and to find joy in other people’s successes.  Most of all my life was grounded in the power of choosing to have a positive mental attitude.

This period of our lives is so challenging.  Social distancing impacts our entire lives: mental, physical, and spiritual.  We are itching to get on with it, to be free, to work towards the normal that we have known for so long. We can encounter these days with grief and anger, or we can decide to count our blessings and choose to have a positive mental attitude.  I recognize that this is not easy, and that we will certainly have challenging days.  But if we are intentional to look for the blessings and use our words and thoughts for encouragement, this period can strengthen us and draw us closer to our Creator.

Psalm 103: 1-5 says:

Bless the Lord, O my soul,
    and all that is within me,
    bless God’s holy name.
 Bless the Lord, O my soul,
    and do not forget all God’s benefits—
 who forgives all your iniquity,
    who heals all your diseases,
 who redeems your life from the Pit,
    who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
who satisfies you with good as long as you live    so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

How are you recognizing the blessings in your life right now?  How are you blessing the Lord – the one who creates, redeems, and sustains our lives?  Let us not get so focused on the loss we are encountering that we fail to remember God’s great benefits. 

I hope you today you have a strong positive mental attitude – it can make all the difference!

Pastor Devon

Kindness.

When I was in college and really struggling with whether God was actually calling me into the ministry, I had the opportunity to attend a retreat.  The United Methodist Church holds retreats called "Exploration" for young people that feel a call to ministry.  For me this was one huge step toward answering this call.  I remember though, that I was concerned about paying for my airline ticket to get to Tampa.  Someone who believed in me before I believed in myself donated the last $100 that I needed to make this trip a reality.  I found out by a phone call and it wasn't until years later that I realized who gave me this random act of kindness.  This time away with other young adults who were feeling similarly really gave me the foundation to continue on soul-searching.  

Today I got to be the face of a generous church, as we delivered sandwiches and chips to our hospital, in order that all the people working there had lunch.  We aren't unique in reaching out to the essential workers among us, but I noticed the joy that this food brought about.  It wasn't the sandwich that did it, though Three Girls Bakery did an amazing job. I think what brought about joy was the fact that people felt seen, noticed, and appreciated.  

It is easy to go about our lives without paying attention to the people on the periphery.  It is easy to get so focused on our own lives that we don't notice the people who are longing to be seen.  Yet, when someone does something unexpectedly kind for us it can make all the difference.  People these days are often quite skeptical when you just do something to be kind, to share compassion with no strings attached.  I think that is sad.

I long for a world where taking care of one another is not conditional, and kindness is the norm, rather than the exception.  Have you ever received a gift like this?  One that made you feel seen and loved, encouraged and lifted up?

I would not be a pastor today if it were not for people who saw something in me that I did not see.  Who are the people in your life that continually offer you kindness?  Have you thanked them lately?

How can we be intentional about our acts of kindness in the midst of this pandemic?  What can we do as individuals, what else can we do as a church?  Mostly tonight I encourage you to think about the last 24 hours.  Where did kindness rule the day?  Are there places where you could have been kinder, that you can resolve before you sleep tonight?  How did you offer kindness this day?

Let's get to it....random acts of kindness will change this world...

Pastor Devon

Brave

You are defined by what you embrace, not what you resist.

-Eugene Peterson, Running with Horses

We had the best colloquy professor in my first ever preaching class in seminary.  They had broken our large class into smaller groups that served as our encouragers and critics as we delivered sermons.  Our Prof would get out this little silver sugar-cube box, hand us these delicate silver tongs, open the lid and say, "Choose your text."  It was the most fun way to find out that we would all be preaching from the prophetic Book of Jeremiah.  

Preaching to preachers is kind of terrifying and I hadn't had much practice at that point.  Luckily I chose the beloved story of the potter's house, found in Jeremiah 18:

The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: “Come, go down to the potter’s house, and there I will let you hear my words.” So I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was working at his wheel. The vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter’s hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as seemed good to him.  

The passage goes on with the Lord giving Jeremiah this vision and the words that declare that God can pluck up, tear down, and destroy...but that if they turn from their evil God's mind can change.  The very next verse contains the Israelites' response.... "It's no use." 

It was this Scripture that I had to work with for that very first sermon delivered to my colleagues.  And just days before, my grandmother died.  I had flown from Atlanta to MI for her funeral and found myself writing this sermon literally on one of the airplane barf bags the night before it was to be preached.  

I stood up there and started to preach, and when I got to the part in my sermon where the people declared, "It's no use."  I started to cry.  It was as though all the emotion of the past few days just caught me right then.  I did manage to finish the sermon, then stood in the hallway while they all talked about it, before receiving their gentle critiques. 

That response, ""It's no use." has stuck with me ever since.  We get the potter's hand part, that we are clay and we are being molded....and can be re-molded when necessary.  That God is the potter, and we as God's creatures can be transformed in the hands of our Creator.  That is a beautiful image that we can get behind.  But the people basically throwing up their hands and not even being willing to change, that gets to me.  

It's human nature to be challenged by change, yet change seems to be a constant thread in our lives.  This is one of the reasons I loved working with college students so much, because they embrace change with the idea that the possibilities are endless and good.  The church on the other hand, is definitely quick to throw its hands up in fear when change is in the air.  

And then...we are told we cannot meet in our sanctuaries.  We are told we cannot worship the way it has always been done.  We are told to stop doing what we know how to do, the ways we know how to do it.  Our beautiful response this time: dig in.  Learn how to make videos that are semi-ok, teach people how to do things on the computer they've never done or wanted to do previously, make all the phone calls, sew all the masks, feed all the people...

Have you noticed the valiant acts of bravery and courage that are really EVERYWHERE right now?  I have listened to people (who would not have done this before) preach and offer devotions online that absolutely blow me away.  Musicians playing their hearts out to give us all some hope and joy.  Organizations in our community working tirelessly to make sure our children have the food they need.  Medical professionals and staff persons keeping hospitals going and literally sacrificing their safety for the good of others.  

The quote above by Eugene Peterson came to me as I was struggling with this quarantine last week.  It is that which we embrace that has the potential to change us, to mold and shape us.  When we are open and courageous enough to embrace even the hardest, scariest, messiest things we make space for God to show up, and God will show up.  When we are filled with resistance, which usually means we think we are right, we can easily slide into that "it's no use" mindset.  

Friends, as Christian people in this world right now - let's get brave, let's embrace newness and potential, let's trust that God is about a deep process of transformation.  Let's break down the walls of certainty that separate and open up to the movement of the Holy Spirit as it leads us forward.  

Tonight I wonder how you are being called into courage?  What are you bravely facing these days?  Are you the clay in the hands of the potter, or too busy throwing up your hands and saying "it's no use?"  

On this journey with you -
Pastor Devon

Poor in Spirit

This afternoon on my Zoom with the kids they asked to watch a little video about the Beatitudes.  These videos are pretty simple and they always end with a question that we can talk about.  But I was struck as this first verse was mentioned and have thought this evening about what Jesus may have meant when he said it.  The Beatitudes are found in Matthew 5: 1-12 and are part of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount.  At first glance you might read them with a bit of confusion....why would being poor in spirit be a good thing?  

The longer we are socially distanced from one another, the more often I hear sadness and grief in the voices at the other end of the phone.  I've spoken with so many of you who are feeling unproductive and really beating yourselves up about not accomplishing all the things on your to-do lists.  This unique and strange head and heart space is taking its toll.  For some it is motivation to reach out and call, write, zoom, and generally connect with as many people as possible.  For others, lethargy, sadness, and a deep feeling of being lost are companions on the journey.  For all of us though, there seems to be this profound realization that we really DO need one another.  

It is really easy to take our people for granted.  It's easy to get short tempered with the people you know are stuck with you - right?  These days it is easy to focus on what we are missing out on, the things we long for, what WE want...and to forget that there's a much larger movement at work for the good of the whole.  And yet, these days in that recognition of how much we long for our church, our friends, far-away family members, the normalcy of shopping and eating out without concern, it's in the midst of all of that, when we begin to understand what Jesus meant by poor in spirit.  

Being poor in spirit means that what I want is not more or less important than what others want, that having my needs met is not more important than the needs of others.  I suppose in some sense it is a form of humility, yet it is also a way of being, or a rule of life even.  Jesus is constantly calling his followers into an active form of sacrificial love.  

Now, don't hear me as beating up on any of you.  Because what I think we forget is that caring for ourselves may also be a true act of sacrificial love right now.  If you're feeling like you are the only one who can't seem to get it together, or that you should be accomplishing more, or that you're wasting this opportunity - remember that when Jesus called us to love our neighbor, he finished with....as you love yourself.  Are you showing yourself the grace and kindness that you show others?  

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of God.  When I think about the Kingdom of God I marvel at the way God fashions us all uniquely, and as Paul said, we are one member of the Body of Christ - but think what we would be without all the other people making up the other parts!  We aren't supposed to do this life thing in solitude - because it is when we interact with people who think and act differently than we do, that we catch one more glimpse of the identity of God.  The Kingdom of God is here...and not yet.  It is breaking into this world in which we live currently, it is the voice of God challenging us to really ponder what's most important, to look hard until we see the Image of God in ALL people.

So whether this finds you completely irritated at the world and the people with whom you share your current space,  riding high on quarantine productivity, or feeling like you might not make it another day....remember that you're never alone and that YOUR piece of the Body of Christ is a creation of the Great I AM. You are crucial to what God is doing in the here and now....yes, even in quarantine time.  May we continue our journey into the new normal, where I pray poor in spirit leads the way.

Love to you this rainy night.
Pastor Devon