from Ephesians:14-21
There must be some mistake. Surely the scribe copied it down wrong over the centuries. Maybe the editor missed it. Maybe it's hyperbole. It sure sounds like a mistake, when Eph. 3:20 says, "Now to him who by the power at work within you is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all you can think or imagine."
Mistakes happen, even today, like in newspaper headlines. You are going to laugh at these:
Include Your children When baking Cookies
Police Begin Campaign to Run Down Jaywalkers
Panda Mating FAils: Veterinarian Takes Over
Stolen Painting Found by Tree
War Dims Hope for Peace
It Strike Isn't Settled Quickly, It May Last a While
Man Struck by Lightning Faces Battery Charge
New Study of Obesity Looks for Larger Test Group
Kids Make Nutritious Snacks
Local High-School Dropouts Cut in Half
Then there are those from church bulletins and newsletters:
Barbara remains in the hospital and needs blood donors for more transfusions. She is also having trouble sleeping and requests tapes of Pastor Jack's sermons.
The Pastor will preach his farewell message, after which the choir will sing, "Break Forth Into Joy."
Irving Benson and Jessie Carter were married in October 24 in the church. So ends a friendship that began in their school days.
Eight new choir robes are currently needed, due to the addition of several new members and to the deterioration of some others.
The church will host an evening of fine dining, superb entertainment, and gracious hostility.
Those were mistakes. But it is not a mistake, what we read in Eph. 3:20, "Now to him who by the power at work within you is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine."
We make a mistake when we come from a stance of scarcity. I wanted to get you laughing. Seriousness cuts off options. I wanted to get you laughing, because anxiety cuts off options. When we get afraid that we don't have enough money, or people, or facilities, or spiritual gifts, we are choking off God's abundance.
Much scholarship has gone into who wrote Ephesians. If Paul is the author, Paul who started many churches in the first generation of Christianity, then Paul writes as a prisoner in chains. Just imagine him, saying, far more than all we can ask or imagine, from that viewpoint. If the school of Paul, that is, his followers who continued his thoughts, wrote the letter, then many of them were being persecuted and martyred. Just imagine them talking about God far exceeding all that they could think or imagine.
Our biggest mistake is when we forget to pray. This whole passage we read today is a prayer. It puts us in a place of humility, a place where God might work, a place where God's abundance might be made plain.
I have a story from a sermon by a seminary classmate of mine, John Thornburg, who serves in the North Texas Conference. It is from a sermon he delivered this past year, called, I'm thanking God in Advance.
He says that 29 years ago his life was changed by a crazy, wondrous powerhouse of a woman, named Elizabeth Blessing. What a great name! She was one who rejected common sense in favor of God's possibilities. She was part of a cooperative parish council, 6 churches in East Dallas, all slated for closure. The Bishop and District Superintendents saw more hope in the suburbs than in the central city. Some members thought it best to give the churches a decent burial.
The churches were struggling financially. There was never enough money to do what was planned and prayed for. In Dec. 1984, they were 10 days away from having the payroll checks of the 2 employees bounce. It was life or death.
Being Methodists, they decided to have a meeting. The parish council had 2 groups: one to make plans to continue the ministries if the money could be found and one to make plans for how to gracefully shut down the churches and lay off the employees. John was chosen to head the "shut it down" group.
The 2 groups met. They were quiet and sober. It was not easy.
They reconvened. The chair called on John to report from the "shut it down" group. But before he could speak, Elizabeth Blessing stood to her full height, about 5' 0'', and announced, "I refuse to hear the report of your group. As a matter of fact, I'm thanking God in advance for helping us to find a way for this cooperative parish to thrive."
So if you don't mind, we'll just move on to our report." She then announced the 4 or 5 strategies that her group had fashioned to see them through the end of the year and to launch them into the new year.
Mary Lou Swann, a real estate agent and loyal member said, "Good plan, Elizabeth, but it won't get those salaries paid. I'm passing the hat around. We need $1800 to meet payroll. There are 18 of us here. You do the math." The hat went around. They got the $1800 needed to get through Christmas. Within the next few weeks, they raised $40,000, and never looked back.
It was because Elizabeth didn't believe in common sense. She believed in God, the miracle worker. Those 6 churches would be closed by now if Elizabeth has settled.
Our church is in a process called the Healthy Church Initiative. We are not in trouble, but we could do better. We have been given 5 prescriptions for greater health. They are challenging. I believe with God's help, out of God's abundance, we can meet them. We make a mistake if we try to do it out of our own strength. We need to go to God in prayer. I allow for some time now for us to pray. You may do this in silence. You may journal. You may be led to a song, or a scripture, or a vision. But let's pray. Let's put ourselves before God's abundance. "Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish far more than all we can ask or imagine."
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
Thursday, February 20, 2014
First Fruits: It's Professional
from Feb. 2, 2014, from Numbers 18:8-15a
It was Tuesday night, 8 p.m., when Cathy and I were watching TV, that I got the call on my cell phone. It was my mom. "I am in the Heart Hospital in Lubbock. I have an angiogram in the morning." My mom is a very private person. She is the kind who will have something major happen in her life, and it will be weeks or months later that I will learn about it. "I thought I should let someone in the family know. Now don't tell your brother or sister." Gee, thanks mom.
Wednesday morning, I called her early. "Still haven't gone in for the procedure. I haven't heard when it is scheduled. I called my mom's United Methodist Church in Lubbock. I got hold of their visiting pastor. He said that he would check in on her. I left my cell phone on. During staff meeting, about 11:15 a.m., I got the call from him. "I'm here with your mom and her nurse. She came through just fine. She had one stent put in, and she needed one anglioplasty. Her heart is not at 100%; it's at 98%." I thanked him. And then I went ....big relief...It was great to have an objective professional there to tell me exactly what was going on.
Then it hit me. This is what I do all of the time. I have been there 100's of times, maybe 1000's of times with a family in crisis, helping with communication. Mostly what I do is represent the fact that Christ is with them.
That's what priests do, represent the presence of God. We re-present. We are bridges to God. As a professional I do this all of the time.
You do too. You re-present God.
Our key verse in this stewardship series has been Proverbs 3:9, Honor the LORD with your substance and with the first fruits of all your produce. We give to God our first in time and our first in quality gifts, realizing that all we have comes from God. In the scripture we had read today, these gifts were to be presented to the priests in the Temple in Jerusalem. These gifts were the only income of the priests. When the Hebrews entered the Promised Land, all the other tribes were granted a portion of land, but the Levites and priests were not. They were totally dependent upon God, upon what was given. They represent that we are dependent upon God too.
Our giving of our first fruits helps us have a looser grip on all the stuff we have. We realize that it all comes from God. We are dependent upon God too.
I am a priest, one who re-presents God. But so are you. All who profess Christ do. Martin Luther said that we are the priesthood of all believers. Not just the clergy or paid staff, but every follower of Christ can make a big impact on others.
I saw an example of this over this past weekend when 8 of our members volunteered to be small group leaders at Created by God where we taught about human sexuality for 5th and 6th graders and their parents. Talk re-presenting God. Talk about depending upon God. They did.
I see it in our Stephen ministers, 3 more who begin their training today. They learn to listen and to love with those undergoing some difficulty in their lives.
I hope that you can see that you are a priest too, one who re-presents God. That is your calling. Sometimes you call me and say, "I wish you could have been there, Pastor Lynn, for this family in need." I will say back to you, "That was your turn to profess your faith, to live into your calling." We will never be able to hire all of the staff to do all of the work of ministry. Christ depends on you. You depend on Christ.
Our giving of our first fruits reminds us that we depend upon God as we re-present God to others.
It was Tuesday night, 8 p.m., when Cathy and I were watching TV, that I got the call on my cell phone. It was my mom. "I am in the Heart Hospital in Lubbock. I have an angiogram in the morning." My mom is a very private person. She is the kind who will have something major happen in her life, and it will be weeks or months later that I will learn about it. "I thought I should let someone in the family know. Now don't tell your brother or sister." Gee, thanks mom.
Wednesday morning, I called her early. "Still haven't gone in for the procedure. I haven't heard when it is scheduled. I called my mom's United Methodist Church in Lubbock. I got hold of their visiting pastor. He said that he would check in on her. I left my cell phone on. During staff meeting, about 11:15 a.m., I got the call from him. "I'm here with your mom and her nurse. She came through just fine. She had one stent put in, and she needed one anglioplasty. Her heart is not at 100%; it's at 98%." I thanked him. And then I went ....big relief...It was great to have an objective professional there to tell me exactly what was going on.
Then it hit me. This is what I do all of the time. I have been there 100's of times, maybe 1000's of times with a family in crisis, helping with communication. Mostly what I do is represent the fact that Christ is with them.
That's what priests do, represent the presence of God. We re-present. We are bridges to God. As a professional I do this all of the time.
You do too. You re-present God.
Our key verse in this stewardship series has been Proverbs 3:9, Honor the LORD with your substance and with the first fruits of all your produce. We give to God our first in time and our first in quality gifts, realizing that all we have comes from God. In the scripture we had read today, these gifts were to be presented to the priests in the Temple in Jerusalem. These gifts were the only income of the priests. When the Hebrews entered the Promised Land, all the other tribes were granted a portion of land, but the Levites and priests were not. They were totally dependent upon God, upon what was given. They represent that we are dependent upon God too.
Our giving of our first fruits helps us have a looser grip on all the stuff we have. We realize that it all comes from God. We are dependent upon God too.
I am a priest, one who re-presents God. But so are you. All who profess Christ do. Martin Luther said that we are the priesthood of all believers. Not just the clergy or paid staff, but every follower of Christ can make a big impact on others.
I saw an example of this over this past weekend when 8 of our members volunteered to be small group leaders at Created by God where we taught about human sexuality for 5th and 6th graders and their parents. Talk re-presenting God. Talk about depending upon God. They did.
I see it in our Stephen ministers, 3 more who begin their training today. They learn to listen and to love with those undergoing some difficulty in their lives.
I hope that you can see that you are a priest too, one who re-presents God. That is your calling. Sometimes you call me and say, "I wish you could have been there, Pastor Lynn, for this family in need." I will say back to you, "That was your turn to profess your faith, to live into your calling." We will never be able to hire all of the staff to do all of the work of ministry. Christ depends on you. You depend on Christ.
Our giving of our first fruits reminds us that we depend upon God as we re-present God to others.
Wednesday, February 19, 2014
First Fruits: It's Personal
from my first fruits stewardship series, from Feb. 9, 2014, from I Cor. 15:20-23
Belongings...or belonging....which would you rather have?
Every morning I get up early, I sit in my chair with the Bible and the Daily Disciplines. I stay with the scriptures till I get my prayer verse for the day. The Daily Disciplines have a short devotional for each day. This past week, Jerry Haas was talking about a teaching mission to Mozimbique in 2001. He was part of a team from the Bd. of Discipleship of the United Methodist Church. These rich, mostly white American Christians were going to one of the poorest countries in the world, in the southern part of Africa. The flight was long and hard. The team arrived in the village in Mozimbique tired and cranky. They were met with smiles, singing and dancing. Jerry says, "our faith was put to shame. We came with our full suitcases and weary bodies. They walked for days with nothing in their hands but their faith." At worship, Pat, one of the team got up to preach. What could she possibly say? She said, "We have great wealth, but we lack your joy. True wealth comes in relationships."
What would rather have....belongings ...or belonging? For followers of Christ, it is personal. We belong to Him.
Our key verse for these weeks has been Proverbs 3:9, Honor the Lord with your substance and with the first fruits of all your produce. We remember that the whole crop belongs to the Lord. We give the first in time and the first in quality back to God to acknowledge that all we have belongs to God.
Our scripture for today takes a new direction. Jesus is the first fruits of the resurrection from the dead. All who belong to Him will be raised like him. He is the promise of God that the whole harvest of souls belongs to God. If he has been raised, then we will be also. We can count on his promises.
Do any of you have any stocks...any mutual funds? How have those done this first month of January, 2014? Are they down, 5%, 7%, 10%? I am glad that God's promises are sure, that they don't fluctuate.
On your death bed, which would you rather be covered by....certificates of deposit....or the prayers of the faith community? Which would you rather be surrounded by....stocks and bonds...or your family and friends?
Which would rather have....belongings or belonging? It's personal. We belong to Christ. Our hope is in Him and His resurrection.
That hope is found in community here and now. You have heard the phrase, "Your money is no good here." I once knew a women here in Austin, a writer for Texas Monthly magazine. This was years ago, back when the Soviet Union still existed and was just beginning to open its borders. This women got a last minute invitation to see some rare icons at a church or museum. She left in a hurry. She arrived just in time to stand in line with all of the bubushkas who spent all of their time standing in line to find bread or sugar or whatever was available. She finally got to the entrance. They would take her credit card or her check or her American dollars. Here she was, having travelled all of this way, to be denied entrance because she didn't have the right currency. The women around here, out of their poverty, gave all they had, their rubles, to let the American woman in.
It's personal. We belong to Christ and His community.
We find that resurrection hope begins right here and now in worship. I went very unwillingly to a meeting yesterday in San Antonio. I don't like church meetings on Saturday, that's my day off. This one had some positives. It was like a reunion for me. This young woman came up to me. "You baptized me. Now I am a delegate to the conference." "You performed our marriage. We are now retired to Kerrville." Another positive was that the Southwest Texas Conference united with the Rio Grande Conference to form a new Rio Texas Conference. Our primarily white, English-speaking conference joined with our primarily Hispanic/Latino, Spanish-speaking conference. An historic event.
And our bishop, Jim Dorff, can preach. He told the story of the time he led a mission trip to the Appalachian Mountains to do home repair, when he first started in ministry. There were some 70 people involved, with a bus, trucks, and vans. The work went well. He was trying to have all of the jobs finished by Friday, 11:30 a.m., so they could load up and be gone by 1 p.m. One group of youth asked, "Can we do a Bible study with prayer for the 2 women whose house we worked on?" "Yes, just be through by 11:30 a.m." That Friday morning, it started to rain. Jim got anxious. The roads back up in the hollers were dirt and rugged. He was scurrying around, trying to get everyone loaded up, so they wouldn't be stuck up in the mountains. He couldn't find them. He went to the house where the 2 women lived. The work on the porch had been finished. He knocked on the door. All of the youth were inside. They made him take off his muddy boots. They were having Bible study, prayer, and worship. They got it right. What really matters is relationship. Not belongings, but belonging. Thank you youth and children for helping us keep our priorities straight.
It's personal.
I close with some words of wisdom from some scholars of 50 years ago. You may have heard of them, as Ed Sullivan said on his Sunday night show, 50 years ago, "The Beatles." Remember what they said, "I don't care too much for money....money can't buy me love."
It's personal. That's the good news I have to share.
Belongings...or belonging....which would you rather have?
Every morning I get up early, I sit in my chair with the Bible and the Daily Disciplines. I stay with the scriptures till I get my prayer verse for the day. The Daily Disciplines have a short devotional for each day. This past week, Jerry Haas was talking about a teaching mission to Mozimbique in 2001. He was part of a team from the Bd. of Discipleship of the United Methodist Church. These rich, mostly white American Christians were going to one of the poorest countries in the world, in the southern part of Africa. The flight was long and hard. The team arrived in the village in Mozimbique tired and cranky. They were met with smiles, singing and dancing. Jerry says, "our faith was put to shame. We came with our full suitcases and weary bodies. They walked for days with nothing in their hands but their faith." At worship, Pat, one of the team got up to preach. What could she possibly say? She said, "We have great wealth, but we lack your joy. True wealth comes in relationships."
What would rather have....belongings ...or belonging? For followers of Christ, it is personal. We belong to Him.
Our key verse for these weeks has been Proverbs 3:9, Honor the Lord with your substance and with the first fruits of all your produce. We remember that the whole crop belongs to the Lord. We give the first in time and the first in quality back to God to acknowledge that all we have belongs to God.
Our scripture for today takes a new direction. Jesus is the first fruits of the resurrection from the dead. All who belong to Him will be raised like him. He is the promise of God that the whole harvest of souls belongs to God. If he has been raised, then we will be also. We can count on his promises.
Do any of you have any stocks...any mutual funds? How have those done this first month of January, 2014? Are they down, 5%, 7%, 10%? I am glad that God's promises are sure, that they don't fluctuate.
On your death bed, which would you rather be covered by....certificates of deposit....or the prayers of the faith community? Which would you rather be surrounded by....stocks and bonds...or your family and friends?
Which would rather have....belongings or belonging? It's personal. We belong to Christ. Our hope is in Him and His resurrection.
That hope is found in community here and now. You have heard the phrase, "Your money is no good here." I once knew a women here in Austin, a writer for Texas Monthly magazine. This was years ago, back when the Soviet Union still existed and was just beginning to open its borders. This women got a last minute invitation to see some rare icons at a church or museum. She left in a hurry. She arrived just in time to stand in line with all of the bubushkas who spent all of their time standing in line to find bread or sugar or whatever was available. She finally got to the entrance. They would take her credit card or her check or her American dollars. Here she was, having travelled all of this way, to be denied entrance because she didn't have the right currency. The women around here, out of their poverty, gave all they had, their rubles, to let the American woman in.
It's personal. We belong to Christ and His community.
We find that resurrection hope begins right here and now in worship. I went very unwillingly to a meeting yesterday in San Antonio. I don't like church meetings on Saturday, that's my day off. This one had some positives. It was like a reunion for me. This young woman came up to me. "You baptized me. Now I am a delegate to the conference." "You performed our marriage. We are now retired to Kerrville." Another positive was that the Southwest Texas Conference united with the Rio Grande Conference to form a new Rio Texas Conference. Our primarily white, English-speaking conference joined with our primarily Hispanic/Latino, Spanish-speaking conference. An historic event.
And our bishop, Jim Dorff, can preach. He told the story of the time he led a mission trip to the Appalachian Mountains to do home repair, when he first started in ministry. There were some 70 people involved, with a bus, trucks, and vans. The work went well. He was trying to have all of the jobs finished by Friday, 11:30 a.m., so they could load up and be gone by 1 p.m. One group of youth asked, "Can we do a Bible study with prayer for the 2 women whose house we worked on?" "Yes, just be through by 11:30 a.m." That Friday morning, it started to rain. Jim got anxious. The roads back up in the hollers were dirt and rugged. He was scurrying around, trying to get everyone loaded up, so they wouldn't be stuck up in the mountains. He couldn't find them. He went to the house where the 2 women lived. The work on the porch had been finished. He knocked on the door. All of the youth were inside. They made him take off his muddy boots. They were having Bible study, prayer, and worship. They got it right. What really matters is relationship. Not belongings, but belonging. Thank you youth and children for helping us keep our priorities straight.
It's personal.
I close with some words of wisdom from some scholars of 50 years ago. You may have heard of them, as Ed Sullivan said on his Sunday night show, 50 years ago, "The Beatles." Remember what they said, "I don't care too much for money....money can't buy me love."
It's personal. That's the good news I have to share.
Tuesday, February 18, 2014
Just Imagine: Beginning with the end
from my Just Imagine series, from Rev. 22:1-2
Broken. Do you know anything about brokeness? Broken promises, broken trust, broken hearts, broken heads, broken relationships, broken bodies, broken spirits.
"You said that you would be at my soccer game, but you never came." "We stood at the altar before God and those people. We both said, 'I do.' Now you are telling me that you don't, you don't love me any more." "You will never amount to anything!"
I found a Peanuts cartoon. Charlie Brown is talking with Lucy. "Look at my hands. These hands may someday do great things. They could build bridges. They could fly an airplane. They could perform surgery and save a life." Lucy says, "Your hands have jelly on them."
Broken. Do you know about brokeness?
The church is broken. She is a first time guest in worship who brings her little girl with her. She sits down in the pew, and the person behind her goes, "SSShhh. Make your child be quiet." Do you think she will return?
"The pastor looked right past me as if I didn't even exist." "I shared with the prayer group a confidential request, and now it is being gossiped all around the church."
Broken. Do you know about brokeness?
The nation is broken. Our globe is broken. Broken treaties, broken pacts, broken agreements. It sometimes sounds like children on the playground. "We can't trust the other party." "He hit me first." "She took my toy."
Broken. Do you know about brokeness? I am here to share some amazing good news. You were not meant for brokeness. God's intent for us is wholeness. Our scripture comes from the very last chapter of the very last book of our Bible. You can't get any closer to the end than this. God's final vision for us, for humanity, for creation is of a garden. Not a return to the garden of Eden, but a new garden, with a river of life, with a tree of life that bears fruit all through the year and the leaves are for the healing of the nations.
We are broken, but God's final vision for us is one of healing. My spiritual director told me this past week, "Are you broken down....or broken open?" God's intent is not to harm us, hurt us, break us. God does not cause our brokeness. But God can work through any brokenness to bring about healing, about transformation.
I will tell you the story of my chalice. I got it from a potter in San Antonio named Rob Grimes. I used it one evening, I think it was Holy Thursday night, before Easter. I had broken the bread and poured the grape juice and served the people. I was taught that the left over elements were to be returned to the ground from which they came. Cliff was helping with that process. This was at my former church, down on the Texas Gulf coast. He poured the juice back onto the ground and set my chalice down. He broke the bread into small pieces for the birds to pick up. Do you know that the wind can gust down on the coast? My chalice blew over on the sidewalk and broke. Cliff came back in. "Lynn, Lynn, I am so sorry. I broke your chalice. I will do whatever you say. I will buy you a new one. I will go to San Antonio to the potter and get you another one." I said, "No, I want that one. I want you to put it back together." And he did, as you can see. But it still broken. There is a crack here and a chip out here. When I pour grape juice in it today, it bleeds.
This is the kind of God I can believe in...One who has been broken like we are. One who has joined us in our brokenness. One who can transform our brokenness into healing.
The writer of Revelation is a prisoner on an island off the coast of Turkey. In the awful situation, God gives John a vision of the last things, the lasting things, the ultimate things. God's end vision is one of healing. John is not broken down, but broken open.
Our church has been broken open. We have gone through the Healthy Church Initiative. We have been a good church for 40 years, but we could be better. A team came here last October and pointed out some things that need to change. Frankly, it hurt me a bit. But I realize that we need to address some issues.
In the Healthy Church Initiative, we were given 5 prescriptions for greater health. We have started on them. We have had a day of prayer. We have had a day of visioning with 80 people participating. I am supposed to come up with a vision by March 15. I am working with 3 other people, Jim, David, and Liz, on this statement. I don't have it for you today.
But I was asked by this team of 3 to make a first attempt at it. Here's my vision for Westlake UMC. In 25 years, I want people to say, "Don't go to that church unless you want to be changed. If you want to be entertained, go somewhere else." Don't get me wrong. We like to have fun around here, like at the Super Bowl party where the game was just an excuse to eat and talk together. I loved seeing some 5th graders playing Twister. We have That's Amore', Mon, coming up this Saturday. We laugh and have fun around here. But we have a deeper joy too, not just entertainment.
I said, "Don't go to that church unless you want to be changed. If want to be comfortable, go somewhere else. It will be a safe place for you to share your brokenness. But you will be invited into a relationship with Jesus Christ. You will be given an opportunity to learn leadership skills. You will grow in prayer. You will learn about stewardship, so that you can move beyond our grasping greedy culture to a place of gratitude."
Finally I said, "Don't go to that church unless you want to change the world. You will learn about your spiritual gifts, how you can make an impact on others, how you can fulfill God's purposes." We already do a pretty good job here. But we need to learn how to add words to our deeds so our witness will be complete.
That's what I imagine. What do you imagine for us for the future?
We are broken, but God can use broken things, even us, for the transformation of the world.
One of my favorite books is Strong in the Broken Places by Leonard Sweet. He tells a story of a grandmother on the porch, sitting in her rocking chair, mending clothes, sewing on patches. Her granddaughter is at her feet. "Grandma, what does God do all day?" She replies after a pause, "God spends all his time fixing broken things."
That's the good news I have to share.
Broken. Do you know anything about brokeness? Broken promises, broken trust, broken hearts, broken heads, broken relationships, broken bodies, broken spirits.
"You said that you would be at my soccer game, but you never came." "We stood at the altar before God and those people. We both said, 'I do.' Now you are telling me that you don't, you don't love me any more." "You will never amount to anything!"
I found a Peanuts cartoon. Charlie Brown is talking with Lucy. "Look at my hands. These hands may someday do great things. They could build bridges. They could fly an airplane. They could perform surgery and save a life." Lucy says, "Your hands have jelly on them."
Broken. Do you know about brokeness?
The church is broken. She is a first time guest in worship who brings her little girl with her. She sits down in the pew, and the person behind her goes, "SSShhh. Make your child be quiet." Do you think she will return?
"The pastor looked right past me as if I didn't even exist." "I shared with the prayer group a confidential request, and now it is being gossiped all around the church."
Broken. Do you know about brokeness?
The nation is broken. Our globe is broken. Broken treaties, broken pacts, broken agreements. It sometimes sounds like children on the playground. "We can't trust the other party." "He hit me first." "She took my toy."
Broken. Do you know about brokeness? I am here to share some amazing good news. You were not meant for brokeness. God's intent for us is wholeness. Our scripture comes from the very last chapter of the very last book of our Bible. You can't get any closer to the end than this. God's final vision for us, for humanity, for creation is of a garden. Not a return to the garden of Eden, but a new garden, with a river of life, with a tree of life that bears fruit all through the year and the leaves are for the healing of the nations.
We are broken, but God's final vision for us is one of healing. My spiritual director told me this past week, "Are you broken down....or broken open?" God's intent is not to harm us, hurt us, break us. God does not cause our brokeness. But God can work through any brokenness to bring about healing, about transformation.
I will tell you the story of my chalice. I got it from a potter in San Antonio named Rob Grimes. I used it one evening, I think it was Holy Thursday night, before Easter. I had broken the bread and poured the grape juice and served the people. I was taught that the left over elements were to be returned to the ground from which they came. Cliff was helping with that process. This was at my former church, down on the Texas Gulf coast. He poured the juice back onto the ground and set my chalice down. He broke the bread into small pieces for the birds to pick up. Do you know that the wind can gust down on the coast? My chalice blew over on the sidewalk and broke. Cliff came back in. "Lynn, Lynn, I am so sorry. I broke your chalice. I will do whatever you say. I will buy you a new one. I will go to San Antonio to the potter and get you another one." I said, "No, I want that one. I want you to put it back together." And he did, as you can see. But it still broken. There is a crack here and a chip out here. When I pour grape juice in it today, it bleeds.
This is the kind of God I can believe in...One who has been broken like we are. One who has joined us in our brokenness. One who can transform our brokenness into healing.
The writer of Revelation is a prisoner on an island off the coast of Turkey. In the awful situation, God gives John a vision of the last things, the lasting things, the ultimate things. God's end vision is one of healing. John is not broken down, but broken open.
Our church has been broken open. We have gone through the Healthy Church Initiative. We have been a good church for 40 years, but we could be better. A team came here last October and pointed out some things that need to change. Frankly, it hurt me a bit. But I realize that we need to address some issues.
In the Healthy Church Initiative, we were given 5 prescriptions for greater health. We have started on them. We have had a day of prayer. We have had a day of visioning with 80 people participating. I am supposed to come up with a vision by March 15. I am working with 3 other people, Jim, David, and Liz, on this statement. I don't have it for you today.
But I was asked by this team of 3 to make a first attempt at it. Here's my vision for Westlake UMC. In 25 years, I want people to say, "Don't go to that church unless you want to be changed. If you want to be entertained, go somewhere else." Don't get me wrong. We like to have fun around here, like at the Super Bowl party where the game was just an excuse to eat and talk together. I loved seeing some 5th graders playing Twister. We have That's Amore', Mon, coming up this Saturday. We laugh and have fun around here. But we have a deeper joy too, not just entertainment.
I said, "Don't go to that church unless you want to be changed. If want to be comfortable, go somewhere else. It will be a safe place for you to share your brokenness. But you will be invited into a relationship with Jesus Christ. You will be given an opportunity to learn leadership skills. You will grow in prayer. You will learn about stewardship, so that you can move beyond our grasping greedy culture to a place of gratitude."
Finally I said, "Don't go to that church unless you want to change the world. You will learn about your spiritual gifts, how you can make an impact on others, how you can fulfill God's purposes." We already do a pretty good job here. But we need to learn how to add words to our deeds so our witness will be complete.
That's what I imagine. What do you imagine for us for the future?
We are broken, but God can use broken things, even us, for the transformation of the world.
One of my favorite books is Strong in the Broken Places by Leonard Sweet. He tells a story of a grandmother on the porch, sitting in her rocking chair, mending clothes, sewing on patches. Her granddaughter is at her feet. "Grandma, what does God do all day?" She replies after a pause, "God spends all his time fixing broken things."
That's the good news I have to share.
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