May 2017

Lay Reader = 1 Kings 19:9-13

⁹At that place he came to a cave, and spent the night there. Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”¹⁰He answered, “I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away.” ¹¹He said, “Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.” Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was splitting mountains and breaking rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake;¹²and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of sheer silence. ¹³When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. Then there came a voice to him that said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

Introduction

We are still looking at how our spirituality can be life-giving. Last week we looked at life-giving celebration – choosing to fill our mind with the excellent things in life makes our hearts more joyful. This week we are looking at life-giving solitude.

We live in an era where you can be connected with other people at all times. I once saw a cartoon that was satirizing this. A person was telling a friend that they were going to give up Facebook for a while, that it was just too much to keep up with. And then later that night the person is writing about how well it’s going…by posting on Facebook.

So in this ever-connected age, how can we find life-giving solitude?

Matthew 26:36-46

³⁶Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane; and he said to his disciples, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” ³⁷He took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be grieved and agitated. ³⁸Then he said to them, “I am deeply grieved, even to death; remain here, and stay awake with me.” ³⁹And going a little farther, he threw himself on the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet not what I want but what you want.” ⁴⁰Then he came to the disciples and found them sleeping; and he said to Peter, “So, could you not stay awake with me one hour? ⁴¹Stay awake and pray that you may not come into the time of trial; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” ⁴²Again he went away for the second time and prayed, “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.” ⁴³Again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. ⁴⁴So leaving them again, he went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same words. ⁴⁵Then he came to the disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? See, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. ⁴⁶Get up, let us be going. See, my betrayer is at hand.”

Something New

I was in 8^th grade, and our basketball coach was actually a football coach. That’s the way of Texas – hire as many football coaches as you can afford, but make them the token leader of the other sports as well. But at least he had played basketball, which was more than I could say about the new tennis coach we got in high school.

Our 8^th grade team wasn’t very good. We had one guy who was very athletic but not particularly skilled, and some of his athleticism came from failing two grades and still playing against the younger kids. But what really irked me was the playcalling. We had one play. Not even variations on one play. Just one play.

If we ever deviated from the plan, we were taken out of the game. And so, after about a quarter of seeing the same thing like a bad case of déjà vu, even our 8^th grade opponents knew what was going to happen. In case you’re wondering, having your opponent know exactly what you’re going to do and when you’re going to do it is NOT a recipe for success.

So my painfully shy, introverted, awkward, 8^th grade self cautiously approached the football, I mean basketball coach, and suggested that we learn a new play in practice today. I was told to run laps for my insolence. On the plus side, at least it was different than running that same play again!

We desperately needed a new plan!

When I was in high school, my best friend received a treasure trove of old computer parts. So we resolved to piece together a few fully functioning computers out of the parts. We didn’t have a purpose for them, it was really just a challenge. We scavenged some cases, carefully assembled the motherboard, mounted it to the case, connected the hard drive and floppy drive – you remember those, right? And we wired up the power, plugged it in, turned it on, and *POP*! We didn’t think it was supposed to pop like that, and it wasn’t showing anything on the screen…curious.

So we took it apart and tried again – we assembled everything with the care of a heart surgeon this time, wired it up, turned it on, and *POP*! Nothing on the screen.

We were down to our last set of parts, so we decided to take a step back. We took apart one of his family’s fully functioning computers and analyzed how the professionals did it. And that’s when we noticed a very small black thing – a little rubber spacer. You see, we were accidentally running electricity through the entire metal case whenever we pushed power, instantly frying the electronics. That was the *POP*. We desperately needed a new plan! And with that new plan, we at least got ONE fully functioning computer out of enough parts to make three. If you ever want to know how I learned so much about computers, it was by frying, crashing and exploding so many of them. Just don’t tell my mom about the exploding ones.

Have you ever needed a new plan in your life? Have you been running the same play over and over with the same disappointing results? Have you been hearing a disconcerting *POP* that tells you something is wrong, but you don’t know what? Do you need to take a step back and figure out a new way forward?

In our first text today, the greatest Old Testament prophet – Elijah – is running away. He just had one of his greatest victories over the prophets of Baal, but he offended the queen along the way and she wants to kill him. So he runs away. Far, far away. His complaint? He says he is all alone. He says, “I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away.”

And God has two interesting responses. First, he tells Elijah that he’s not alone because God is with him. He shows Elijah his presence – and it’s not in the earthquake or the mighty wind or the towering inferno. God’s presence is found in the sound of sheer silence. Solitude.

And once Elijah finds that sheer silence, that solitude, that ability to finally listen, God also says something interesting. We didn’t read it, but God tells Elijah about the allies he didn’t know he had. God tells Elijah there are others who are still faithful. It takes solitude for Elijah to realize that his one man against the world approach wasn’t working. It takes solitude for Elijah to find a new plan – to gather allies. Solitude – listening in that sheer silence – that’s what Elijah needed to hear God’s new plan.

Jesus is looking for something similar in the Garden of Gethsemane in our second text today. He left his disciples, but took Peter, James, and John with him before telling them to remain close but not right with him. And then Jesus says, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet not what I want but what you want.” He’s looking for another way. Another plan.

Elijah got a new plan. Jesus didn’t. But both used solitude to listen to God in sheer silence. There’s no guarantee what God will say. He might give you a comforting word. He might give you a challenging word. He might give you a new plan. He might tell you to stay the course. But the best way to hear a fresh word from God is in solitude – listening to God in sheer silence.

It’s kind of like Santa Claus. Santa only comes when you’re sleeping, right? Well God does his best work on our souls when we are listening in sheer silence.

Things You Do Not Know

Now solitude is a little different from the other spiritual practices we’ve looked at. If you remember when we talked about fasting, I encouraged you to pick a question to think about or have a goal in mind. Solitude is different. Solitude is less about answering a question and more about hearing something new from God. Solitude is listening when you don’t even know the right question to ask. Something’s wrong, you need a new plan, you need a new play, but you don’t know what it is.

God tells the prophet Jeremiah, “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.” Do you want God to tell you things you don’t know? That requires solitude – listening to God in sheer silence.

Vacation Bible School is coming up soon, and I’m leading the large group time. And I get to pull out all my geeky stuff – my 3D printer, my robotic mill, my drone. It’s going to be a blast!

But I remember when I first got my 3D printer several years ago. I was ecstatic when the box arrived! Like a kid in a candy store, I giddily unwrapped the package. I whipped out the instructions and got it connected to my computer. I connected everything, turned it on. And then…I scratched my head. I was so focused on getting the 3D printer that I hadn’t thought about what I wanted to make with it. I had the tool, but I didn’t have the idea. It was a bit of a letdown. I had to go online and search for the ten best starter projects for a 3D printer! Nine of which were stupid! But that tenth one was pretty cool…

Solitude is like doing that search for a new idea. When you don’t know what to do, when you don’t know where to go, when you don’t know the question to ask. Seek God in the sheer silence. Listen to God in solitude.

I spent a year studying the science of creativity, and one researcher made an interesting point. He said that having an objective or a goal in mind limits your creativity. If you have a clear path, objectives are great – when you need lunch, having a goal to make a BLT is a great choice. But if are trying to create something new – if you need a new idea, a new plan, a new play, a new direction, then having a goal or objective can stand in your way. Solitude – listening to God in sheer silence – is about listening to God without an objective in mind. It’s Elijah standing on the mountain asking for God to say something – anything! It’s Jesus in the Garden asking God if there’s another way, but “not my will but thine be done.”

Putting It Into Practice

If you’re feeling like you need a new plan, a new play, a new direction, a new question to ask, how can you give solitude a try? Well solitude is more of a state of mind than a place, but certain places can help. TS Eliot wrote, “Where shall the world be found, where will the word resound? Not here, there is not enough silence.” Where can you find silence? This doesn’t necessarily have to be literal silence as measured in decibels. I sometimes have a better connection with God at Panera where I can be a cocoon of thought in a sea of noise. I think the energy in the room helps me stay focused – unless someone’s on their phone next to me, then no dice. That’s when I wish I had a portable microwave I could turn on and mess up their phone signal.

Where can you form your own cocoon of thought? I have two young kids, I know how hard that is. But without that solitude it’s very hard to hear that new word from God.

Sometimes for me walking the dog is a way to gain some solitude. Actually, the American Psychological Association had a study where they found that walking leads to more creative thinking, more imagination. As a philosopher once said, “Never trust an idea that didn’t come by walking.”

Summary

Sisters and brothers, if you want to hear something new from God, something you don’t understand, some new direction, some new plan, some new play, find some solitude to listen to God in sheer silence. Sometimes we have a question that we need answered, and there are other life-giving spiritual practices that can help with that.

But if you don’t even know the question to ask, just listen to God in silence, or in your own cocoon of thought. Don’t even try to speak – for the person who speaks loses the ability to hear the whispered word. How can you find some solitude, and what might God tell you? Amen.

Lay Reader = John 15:9-17

9As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. 10If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. 11I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete. 12“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14You are my friends if you do what I command you.15I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father.16You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name. 17I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another.

Introduction

We are still in our series looking at how our spirituality can be life-giving. Last week we looked at life-giving meditation. We were reminded that Christian meditation is anything that eliminates distractions, helps you listen for God’s voice, and then encourages you to put it into practice. But all you REALLY remember is me choking on the Gobstopper.

This week we are looking at life-giving celebration. It may seem counter-intuitive, but celebration can be a discipline, it can be a choice. But doesn’t that take all the fun out of it? Well, maybe…but maybe not.

Philippians 4:4-9

4Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. 5Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. 6Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.8Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. 9Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.

Negativity Bias

At my previous church, there were two families with very different reactions. Both of these families were pretty young. Both of these families had a little kid. Both of these families had a little kid who liked to dance in church when the music was playing. But these two similar families had very different reactions.

One family chose to start sitting closer to the door so they could whisk their kid out of worship and chastise him for being a distraction. The other family chose to start sitting closer to an open area up front so their kid could dance without running into anyone. And do you know how people responded when they connected the dots? They would say, “Oh, you’ve got the dancing kid! I love seeing such joy!”

And that got me wondering – what are those reactions really teaching the kid about faith in Jesus? The one who was chastised was being taught that faith is serious business. The one who was allowed to dance was being taught that faith is about expressing your joy.

Which one was right? Well, both are capturing part of the truth. But I know plenty of Presbyterians who take their faith seriously, and I don’t know too many who are distractingly joyful. That’s not really our gig, right?

Over the course of this series, we’ve looked at fasting – serious spiritual business. Prayer – serious spiritual business. Meditation – serious spiritual business. Being serious is in our wheelhouse, right? That’s our thing! Practicing celebration, though – that might be a bigger stretch for us than fasting.

Let me show you what I mean. We have a weekly Joys and Concerns – you can pick them up as you leave the Sanctuary today and see how you can pray for people in our congregation. And you know, we are never lacking for concerns – lots of people to pray for. That’s good. But I can’t tell you how many times we have to ask, “Anyone have a joy we can share?” It is FAR harder to find a celebration than it is to find a need. It’s how we’re wired.

This is actually something that has been studied – it’s called negativity bias. We weigh the negative far more than the positive. To illustrate, imagine a person who has lied to you 17 times in a row. But the 18^th time they tell the truth. Does that change your opinion of them? Now let’s flip the script. A person has told you the truth 17 times in a row. But the 18^th time they tell a bold-faced lie. Does that change your opinion of them? If you’re like most of us, it only takes a few lies to write someone off as dishonest, but you’ll always wonder about a dishonest person no matter how many times they tell the truth. We remember the negative far more strongly than the positive.

Even the text we read today, which tells us to rejoice always, to never worry, don’t be anxious, to put our minds on excellence – do you know what was written just TWO verses before this? Paul, the author, had to tell two prominent women in the church to stop fighting with each other. That was the context. He’s telling them and the rest of the church to focus on their reasons to celebrate rather than whatever it was they were fighting about. Paul wrote this, not because the church was practicing it, but precisely because they WEREN’T. The practice of celebration is exceptionally difficult – it goes against our nature.

We all need someone who is safe to vent. To blow off steam. But do you have someone who can listen to your celebrations and joys? Do you just HAVE to share the good news with the same vigor that you HAVE to share the bad news? We are wired to complain more than we’re wired to celebrate.

Joy Is a Choice

Have you ever seen a Christian community in a developing country? A place where they still lack the basic necessities of life – like our sister churches in Zimbabwe where we’re helping them build wells. If you’ve ever been to a place like that, were the people walking around complaining about everything they didn’t have? Were they angry and bitter because you had so much more than they did? Did they hoard what they had lest they run out?

In my experience, it’s just the opposite. Many times the communities that have the least are the most joyful. Many times the communities that have the least are the most open in sharing their resources. I’ve built houses for people in poor parts of Mexico where the things I could fit in the bag I packed for the trip probably had more value than everything they had. And yet they insisted on cooking our team a meal, and they wouldn’t let us pay for it. They fed us out of their joy rather than demanding more from us out of their need.

On the other end of the spectrum, on another trip we repaired houses for elderly people outside of Chicago. They were low income but not extremely poor. They had everything they needed, but they couldn’t afford to pay someone to repair some big things around their home. After our second day on the sites, we had a debrief and one of the students was complaining that the homeowner was following them around saying how bad of a job they were doing, and how annoying it was that they were in her home, bringing in dust and causing noise. I asked the student if Jesus would tell him to stop serving that homeowner because of her attitude. He grudgingly admitted that her attitude didn’t change what we came to do. It just made it harder.

So the community in Mexico had almost nothing, yet they were joyful. The community in Chicago had far more than Mexico, but they had little compared to their wealthier neighbors. And they were demanding and bitter. I know very wealthy people who are joyful and generous and gracious. And I know very wealthy people who are deathly afraid they’ll lose everything tomorrow, so they hoard like a squirrel saving up for winter.

So if you can be poor and joyful or poor and bitter. If you can be rich and joyful or rich and bitter. If you can be somewhere in the middle and either joyful or bitter. Then I think it’s safe to say that it’s a choice. We can choose to be joyful or bitter. We can choose to find reasons to celebrate or reasons to complain. We can choose to look for God-sightings or devil-sightings. It’s a choice.

I mean, today is Mothers’ Day. So I have a question for the moms in our midst. Rewind if you can to the moment you saw your first child for the first time. What do you remember? What emotions do you recall? What were the first words you had for your child?

I bet I can guess what you said. “You, baby have been a pain in my pelvis for the last nine months, you little stinker!” No? Did I guess wrong?

Of course not! Despite the fact that that baby had been making you hot, giving you back pain, making you not fit into your clothes, changing your taste buds, maybe giving you morning sickness which is never just in the morning, not to mention the childbirth process (which I’ve heard is mildly unpleasant) – despite ALL of that, I bet you weren’t complaining about the baby you were holding in your arms for the first time. No promises on how long that moment lasted before they started screaming at you, but hey let’s focus on that first moment.

Joy is a choice. Joy is a decision to fill your mind, as Paul writes in our text today, with “whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”

Filling our mind with THESE things results in the “peace of God, which surpasses all understanding.” Peace isn’t a function of our circumstances. It’s a function of remembering the most important things. Peace is a result of remembering that you are a child of God. Peace is a result of remembering that there is truth, there is honor, there is justice, there is purity, there is pleasure, there are things worthy of praise. The world isn’t exactly filled with these things, but they exist. And in Christ they are enough of a reason to celebrate. In Christ they are enough of a reason to be firm in the storm. Fill your mind with THESE things. That’s a CHOICE to celebrate.

Celebration

Now you do have to watch out for fake celebration. Have you ever been at a restaurant and seen someone pray with thanksgiving over their food before tasting it and sending it back to the kitchen? They’re not really thankful for that food. Or have you ever known someone going through a tough illness or a bitter divorce and yet they’re spouting off how wonderful everything is? There’s a fine line between choosing to celebrate and being fake.

But Mark Twain once said that the only reason angels can fly is that they take themselves so lightly. So I want to give you a chance to fly today. Let’s try to celebrate right now.

You have a bulletin in front of you, so grab one of the pencils or pens in the pew, or pull out your phone and start up a note. Get ready to write something down.

Take a minute now to list three reasons you have to celebrate. Three reasons to be joyful. Three things that Paul would say to fill your mind with. Take a minute now to write down just THREE reasons to celebrate. (LONG PAUSE) When you put your mind on the reasons to be joyful, your heart BECOMES more joyful.

Now you may only have one thing. But I don’t want you to complain about how hard it was to find reasons to celebrate. That’s going the wrong direction down a one-way street! Just celebrate whatever you have in front of you.

And be on the lookout for reasons to celebrate this week! My wife and I are celebrating our tenth anniversary this year. But do you think it would be OK with her if I waited for year 10 instead of celebrating each of the previous anniversaries? I wouldn’t have made it to 10 if I did that. You don’t have to have a world-changing event to celebrate.

We know a couple who celebrate not just their anniversaries but also what they call “love week.” The week that marks the start of their dating relationship. It’s just another reason to celebrate their relationship.

Or I know it’s tempting to just throw away all those school art projects, but how can you celebrate them first…and then throw them away when no one’s looking?

What about half year birthdays or anniversaries? I know someone who gives baptism anniversary gifts.

Find reasons to celebrate – they don’t have to be world-changing. This is like the Christian version of “it’s 5 o’clock somewhere.” There’s a reason to celebrate somewhere. There’s a reason to be joyful somewhere. There’s a reason to remember who we are in Christ somewhere.

Summary

In the first text we heard today, Jesus said, “I have said these things to you 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.”

Jesus wants you to filled with joy. He already went to the cross for you. Beating yourself up about what you’ve done wrong won’t help. Beating others up about what they’ve done wrong won’t help. What will help is putting your mind on the excellent things in life. The evidence of Jesus’ presence around you. The abundance of love and the opportunities to show love. That’s a CHOICE that will help us have Jesus’ joy in us, and that our joy may be complete.

Sisters and brothers put your mind on the reasons to celebrate. They don’t have to world-changing. But constantly choosing to remember our joy makes our hearts more joyful. That’s my prayer for you this week. Amen.

Lay Reader = Matthew 14:6-14

⁶But when Herod’s birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced before the company, and she pleased Herod ⁷so much that he promised on oath to grant her whatever she might ask. ⁸Prompted by her mother, she said, “Give me the head of John the Baptist here on a platter.” ⁹The king was grieved, yet out of regard for his oaths and for the guests, he commanded it to be given; ¹⁰he sent and had John beheaded in the prison. ¹¹The head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, who brought it to her mother. ¹²His disciples came and took the body and buried it; then they went and told Jesus.

¹³Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a deserted place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. ¹⁴When he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them and cured their sick.

Introduction

We are still in our series looking at how our spirituality can be life-giving. Last week we looked at life-giving fasting, and we were encouraged to remove something from our lives for a time (to fast), and then to replace the time we spent on that to listen to what God has to say to us. That’s how NOT eating something can be the most nourishing thing for your soul.

This week we’re looking at meditation. Now, probably you’re picturing something like a Hindu monk sitting cross-legged, maybe some cinnamon incense burning nearby, softly intoning “Ohm.” But Christianity has meditation as well. We already saw it in our first text – what did Jesus do when he heard that his cousin and friend John the Baptist had been killed by Herod? He withdrew to a deserted place by himself. He meditated!

German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer was well-known for his practice of meditation. And when he was asked why he meditated, he replied, “Because I am a Christian.” He saw meditation as an essential practice of our faith. So now that we know that Jesus meditated, and now that we know that meditation could be an essential practice of our faith, our second text outlines the two most important ideas in Christian meditation.

Luke 11:24-28

²⁴“When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it wanders through waterless regions looking for a resting place, but not finding any, it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ ²⁵When it comes, it finds it swept and put in order. ²⁶Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and live there; and the last state of that person is worse than the first.”

²⁷While he was saying this, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to him, “Blessed is the womb that bore you and the breasts that nursed you!” ²⁸But he said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it!”

Emptying vs Filling

When I was in seminary we were doing a project in the World Religions class. For this project my group got to know a practicing Buddhist – he was already friends with one of the people in the group, so we didn’t have to go yell on a street corner, “Anybody Buddhist around here?” Really helped.

We were talking with him about his religion, and inevitably we got around to meditation. And he said something interesting. He said that he had studied Christian and Buddhist meditation, and his conclusion was that they were the exact same thing. Not close, not mostly the same, exactly the same.

When we asked him to explain, he said that meditation was about emptying your mind and body of distractions and attachments. Getting rid of the everyday concerns that clog your mind. Now I didn’t say this at the time, but I was thinking, “I think you only studied half of Christian meditation if you think that’s what it’s about.”

I mean, let’s take the example of Jesus in our first text today. He went off on his own partly because he was mourning the loss of his cousin. Do you think he went out there to rid himself of his attachment to his deceased cousin and friend? Did he go out into the wilderness alone to make himself STOP caring about John the Baptist? Absolutely not! In fact, when Jesus came back from his meditation and he saw a crowd, he had COMPASSION on them and helped them! That’s not detachment. That’s the highest form of engagement!

In our second text today, Jesus told a parable of the unclean spirit being tossed out of a house. It gets bored and comes back to the same place and brings along some of its friends to trash the freshly cleaned abode. What’s the point? The point is that you can’t just toss out distractions. You can’t just eliminate your attachments and your heart for others. You can’t just stop sinning. Emptying is a nice first step. But it’s only the first step.

After that you have to fill the house with something new. And what is that new thing? Jesus says it at the end of the text we read, “Blessed are those who hear the word of God and obey it!”

THAT, sisters and brothers, is Christian meditation. Hearing the word of God and then obeying it.

Now it’s really hard to hear God’s word when you’re thinking about the shopping list, and you’re calculating how long it’s been since your last oil change, and you’re wondering when you’re going to get to exercise this week, and (oh yeah!) you need to call your cousin to wish them happy birthday. On, and on, and on we go like this. That Buddhist friend was right about the first step – you have to clear your mind of all of those distractions. But he was wrong about that being the end of the line. For Christians, we are emptying our mind of those distractions SO THAT we can hear what God is saying. And we want to hear what God is saying SO THAT we can put it into practice in our lives.

Those are the three steps of Christian meditation #1 eliminate distractions, #2 listen for God’s word, and #3 put it into practice. Everything else is just implementation details. Richard Foster, who wrote the seminal book on spiritual practices called Celebration of Discipline, said it this way: “Christian meditation, very simply, is the ability to hear God’s voice and obey his word.” That’s it.

Practicing Meditation

There’s no special body position. There’s no holiest of holy chants. There’s not a ritual formula that’s probably in Latin that you need to follow. No! Christian meditation is anything that eliminates distractions, helps you listen for God’s word, and then encourages you to put it into practice in your life.

Now, there are some common forms that have been helpful to people over the centuries. But that’s the only thing that’s special about them – they’ve been helpful to a bunch of people for a long time. They may or may not be helpful to you. If they’re not helpful, find some other way to eliminate distractions, listen for God, and do what he says. Grab a copy of the devotional for this sermon series for some ideas.

But what are some of those helpful forms? Well, we’re in Colorado, and that helps with one of the helpful forms – meditating upon God’s Creation. Every year we have our high school seniors share their faith story with the church, and I think it was two years ago one of them said she sees God every time she looks West to the mountains. We’re pretty lucky here. One way to meditate is to go for a hike in the mountains. Turn off your cell phone. Maybe write down a few verses from Psalm 8, which says, “O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens. When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you have established; what are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them?”

What a way to connect with the God of All Creation! What might God say to you up on the mountain? What might the Creator of the moon and the stars say to you, a human being, a mortal that God deeply cares for? That’s meditation upon God’s Creation.

Probably the most foundational meditation form is meditation upon Scripture. Now meditation isn’t Bible study. Meditation isn’t devotional reading. Meditation is something else. Related, perhaps, but a little different. Because one of the biggest dangers in meditating upon Scripture is to go too quickly. To take too much Scripture at once. You don’t generally meditate on a whole chapter of the Bible. More like one verse, or even a half a verse, or two words from a verse.

I remember in high school I was sitting at the lunch table eating Gobstoppers – a hard ball of candy. And I was taking them down with excessive gusto, because when I went to finish the Gobstopper it slid down my airway and I had absolutely NO way to breathe. Luckily I was able to do a kind of self-Heimlich and it shot out of my mouth. Also, luckily for my friend sitting right across from me, I stretched out my hand and caught it right before the Gobstopper-turned-projectile smacked her in the eye.

When you meditate on Scripture, you don’t want to choke on too much spiritual food at once. You want it to slowly dissolve on your heart and mind. When the angel appeared to Mary to tell her she was going to give birth to Jesus, the Bible says she pondered and treasured all of these things in her heart. That’s meditation on Scripture – you slowly ponder and treasure these words as if they were a personal letter written by a loved one. Don’t choke on a Biblical Gobstopper, slowly ponder and treasure the words of God’s love letter.

Another form of meditation uses the palms of your hands. In fact, we can try this now. First off, take a deep breath. All together now, deep….breath. Don’t rush into meditation. Deep…breath. Now you can close your eyes or keep them open – whatever is less distracting to your mind and heart.

Imagine that you are walking up to a desk, maybe one of those big, roll-top desks. And you roll up the top and reveal a messy, full, desk with papers all over. Your stack of bills is on the right, your to-do lists are scattered around on different colored post-it notes. There’s a stack of thank you cards you were supposed to have already sent. Fill that desk in your mind with all of your burdens. All of your worries. All of the things that make it hard to be still. Got it?

OK, now pick up one of those things in your mind. It’s in the palm of your hand. Turn your palm down. You’re not throwing it away. You’re not recycling it. You’re putting it into someone else’s hands – into Jesus’ hands. Drop that worry, drop that burden out of your hand and into the hands of Jesus. Your palm is down to signify that you are releasing it, you’re dropping it into more capable hands.

Now you’re walking away from that messy roll-top desk in your mind and you walk into the kitchen. You open the pantry. And you notice there are a lot of bare shelves. There are some things you need. And I’m not just talking about some funky spice you need for just one recipe and then you’ll forget about it for the next nine years. No, you’re missing things like flour. Salt. Basics. Necessities even. Maybe you need to feel loved. Maybe you need to be able to love. Maybe you feel abandoned and alone. What is missing from your pantry?

With one of those missing items in your mind, turn your palms up to receive from Christ. Imagine Christ’s love pouring into you. How is Christ filling your empty palm? Filling your pantry?

You could repeat that process of palms down to release things to Christ and palms up to receive from Christ however long you want. But I know you want to get to lunch at some point, so we’ll stop there for now. You get the idea.

Regardless of the form, how can you eliminate distractions, listen for what God is saying, and then do what he says? That’s meditation.

My Meditation

Leading up to this sermon on meditation I have been, shockingly, meditating. I’ve been trying to hear what Jesus has in store for this church and for the people in it. And sure enough, I believe Jesus has started to speak.

I have been here for two years, two weeks, six days, and this morning, and we’ve come a long way in that time. When I arrived, we were in a very tight spot financially. Now we’re doing OK, and after we get rid of the parking lot debt over the next two years we’ll be in a pretty good spot.

When I arrived, we had seen some worrying drops in membership and worship for a few years, now we’re doing OK. Last year we added exactly as many people as we lost.

When I arrived, we had a few options for adults to grow in their faith but overall we had a pretty low percentage of our church participating. We’ve added more options and more people are participating, so now we’re doing OK.

Now, I haven’t done all of this. YOU have. JESUS has. That’s where credit is due.

If you look at the other churches in America, we’re actually doing better than OK. We’re in the top 15%. That’s a solid B! 85% of the churches in America are in decline – many of them in steep decline. 9% of churches are staying about even and 6% are growing. We’re in the 9% staying even. That’s something to celebrate.

But is that our goal? Is Jesus calling First Pres Littleton to be a “solid B” church? Is Jesus satisfied with us getting to “OK?” I’m grateful and even excited for the progress we’ve made, but I don’t think our new slogan is going to be, “First Pres Littleton – we’re OK!” That’s not gonna cut it!

And so I’ve started to see that, while we’re doing most things OK, and a few things well, we aren’t aligned around a common vision. We aren’t structured toward a common goal. We aren’t focused on a shared understanding of what it means to be a follower of Jesus in Littleton, Colorado in the year 2017 and beyond.

I am starting to see that we need to focus our church structure around the basic concept that you see in meditation – how can we build everything around helping people hear from the Living God and put it into practice in their lives? That’s what discipleship is. That’s what it means to follow Jesus. But that’s not how we’re setup.

Let me show you what I’m talking about. Get ready to raise your hand, and be honest. Raise your hand if you have ever volunteered to do something at this church because you felt guilty or you were worried that no one else would do it? Raise your hand if you’ve ever done that. Thank you for your honesty.

But what if that didn’t have to happen? Picture that with me. Imagine what our church would look like in that scenario. What would be the same? What would be different?

I see two things that would need to be different to reach that vision. One, we would need to be really focused with what we’re doing. The more random stuff we do in the name of the church, the more random volunteers we need to keep it going. We need to be focused on what Jesus has called us to do. That would help a lot.

Second, we would need some more people, right? Wouldn’t that help to reach that vision? If there are more people around, you are less likely to be guilted into volunteering because it’s more likely SOMEONE ELSE is actually EXCITED about doing it. Are you with me?

If we have more focus on what Jesus is calling us to do in our church and in our community, and if we have more people to be Jesus’ hands and feet to make it happen, then instead of saying, “we have another slot to fill on the ushering team or on the elder board,” we could help you figure out your spiritual gifts. “Oh, Sue, God has wired you to be excellent and passionate about making people feel welcome. Could you put that into practice by helping those coming to worship feel at home? That’s what an usher does.” Or “John, you have the gift of administration. Would it excite you to help organize one of the Community Dinners?” Or “Sandy, you are an outgoing person wired for invitation. Could you put your faith into practice by helping us find people who are wired and called to be teachers at VBS this summer?”

Do you see the difference? Instead of asking you to fill a slot, could we help you discover your God-given wiring and see how Jesus can unleash your passion and abilities on our community and in our church?

I mean, I know some of my gifts. I am a decent administrator. I am a leader. I am a teacher. I’m not great at being a shepherd caring for his sheep. Pastor Carol is a thousand times better at that than I am. Our Deacons have that same wiring – they are way better shepherds than I am. You are better cared for if you have a Deacon or Carol in the room than if I’m there. So in that ministry, I’m a foot soldier, not a general. I ask Carol to tell me who I should visit or who I should call each week. That doesn’t come naturally to me. I bet almost every one of the former pastors here was more naturally gifted in that shepherding, caring role than I am.

But I can lead, and I can organize, and I can teach. I can make sure we have a healthy system to care for people. I can help the Deacons focus on their main task. When I got here, the Deacons were worried that they were scattered in too many directions. We’ve taken things off their plates and helped them focus on providing spiritual care, visiting people in the hospital or when they can’t leave their home. The things THEY are wired for that I am not. Are you with me?

I don’t have all of this figured out, but I think that’s what needs to happen across our whole church. Focusing very specifically on what Jesus has called us to do, and then unleashing the people who have the right spiritual gifts to do that ministry. As I have meditated recently, that’s what Jesus has shown me.

Maybe you think I need to get my eyes checked. Maybe you think I’m off my rocker. Maybe you’re right. But I don’t think First Pres Littleton is called to be an “OK, solid B” church. I think Jesus has a LOT more in store for us than that.

I know this is a lot longer than my normal sermons, and I’m sorry. If you’re a guest today, the whole second half of this sermon has probably bored you to tears or given you a chance to practice your meditation, but I think this is important for us.

I see it kind of like this. I feel like we’ve made it through the long winding line for a roller coaster. We no longer have to complain about the wait. We’re no longer baking in the sun. Now we have some options. Looking at the ups and downs and twists and turns, are we going to skip the ride and say, “No thanks, we’re OK?” Looking at the ups and downs and twists and turns, are we going to run away and say, “I’m getting on that ride over my dead body?”

Or looking at the ups and downs and twists and turns, do we say, “That looks like fun?”

I think we’re at the start of something fun. Do you want to go for a ride? Do you want to invite your friends on the ride with you?

If so, please, I beg you, pray for clarity. Pray for Jesus’ vision for this church to emerge. I don’t have it yet. I’m seeing glimpses. I’m seeing a fuzzy outline. I don’t have all the details yet. I can see the tree, but I can’t see all the leaves. I need your help to see more clearly. Pray for clarity.

Summary

Sisters and brothers, now you see that Christian meditation is a dangerous thing. If you eliminate distractions. If you really listen for God’s voice. If you resolve to do what God tells you. Then Jesus is no longer your co-pilot. He’s flying the plane and you’re along for the ride. But the thing is, I’ve regretted some of the decisions I’ve made when I was trying to fly the plane and control my life. I’ve never regretted letting Jesus take over. Are you ready for the ride? Amen.