+ Have you ever thought about how we receive communion? We come forward, often smiling at friends we pass along the way, then we either kneel or stand at the rail and stretch out our hands, palms up, ready to receive the body of Christ and the cup of salvation. Ready to receive God’s Love given to us as God’s only begotten Son. Ready to accept this amazing gift...
Now imagine for a moment that you came forward to receive communion with clenched hands and a closed mouth? I tell you, it would be easier for a camel to get through the eye of a needle than for us to receive the gifts of God through clenched teeth, closed hands and hardened hearts.
You see, although God is deeply invested in who we are, we cannot receive God’s gift of never-ending Love unless we are open, receptive and willing to let go of everything that keeps us clenched and closed and clouded over: the stuff of our lives. To accept God’s love, we must be willing to let go of everything that keeps us closed and distracted and afraid.
Everything. Because without open-ness and willingness, we can't fully receive God; without open-ness and willingness the Gifts of God will fall to the floor, discarded, unused, and unappreciated.
“Jesus said, ‘You are lacking one thing. Go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor.’ ”
What Jesus is saying to us in this morning’s parable of the Rich Man is that God’s investment in us can only bear fruit if we in turn are invested more in God than in the stuff that binds us.
Because to completely turn our life over to God, to completely believe all that Jesus is saying, to be willing to live as God wants us to live, we must discard all that stands in our way and invest our hearts and our minds and our souls in that which does matter---loving God and loving our neighbor which, in turn, results in us loving ourselves in a way that isn’t egotistical or selfish, but true and genuine and God-given.
Now hear me clearly—Jesus isn’t telling us to become destitute, he’s not saying that having stuff---even being wealthy--- is BAD, He’s saying that when we allow the stuff of life—our material possessions, our petty jealousies, our worries, our fears, to get in the way of God’s love for us, we’re unable to invest in the life God intends for us.
Jesus is saying, open those hands, unclench those teeth and let me in.
Jesus is telling us that what stands in the way of our spiritual health, are our attachments.
To make his point Jesus references the material attachments the man had---his stuff--- But if you read more carefully, Jesus isn’t suggesting a pauper’s existence but rather a life of richness, abundance, and love. That is, a life that begins and ends and dwells in God. A life where we remember that all Love flows from God. That our love of spouse, parents, children, friends, fellow parishioners all comes from God. Jesus wants us to remember that to fully receive the love that surpasses all understanding we must be open, willing, and eager to receive it, to live a God-infused life. To do that, we must be free. And the only way to be free to do the investing we need to do in the gifts God has given us, is to trust God.
Which is precisely Jesus’ point.
Those things that close us up and shut us down, these are the things that keep us from entering the fullness of God’s Love.
When our fear of scarcity takes center stage, we block out God.
God’s love is abundant, it's expansive, it's never ending and it’s available to all of us, all the time, no matter what.
We just have to be open and attentive enough to let God in and be invested in where that love can take us.
As St. Luke’s continues to be a place of welcome for all people, all the time, no exceptions, as St Luke’s becomes more and more of a leader in this community and this region, St Luke’s needs as many of you to let go of all those things that hold you back so that you can be open to the grace and wonder and joy of God that moves in and through and out of this place.
October marks the beginning stewardship campaigns across the church. It's when rectors and stewardship committees try to come up with just the right catch phrase and theme to garner the greatest investment of people’s time, talent and treasure.
I asked Luke about the stewardship campaign here at St Luke’s and he said, it’s about opening up space for people to realize and invest in what really matters. For it’s when we realize—really realize---what matters to us that our hearts and our souls are broken wide open, letting all that God offers us, room to roam.
My wish for you, the wonderful people who are St Luke’s Jamestown is that this year you give out of your gratitude, not out of some misplaced guilt. That you give back to this community which has soothed you, supported you, loved you, infuriated you and frustrated you not because you should, but because you want too.
This year I pray you’ll act as Jesus has taught us: detaching from all the things that stand in your way and with open hands and unclenched teeth, welcome the outlandish Love from which all other love flows: God. I believe that if you do this---if you invest in this crazy dream that God has for our world—miracles, like camels squeezing through the eye of a needle, will continue to unfold among you. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment