I cannot take credit for this prayer. I adapted it from this Worship Book. But I intend to pray it as often as possible.
God, keep your Church in all the world poor enough to preach to poor people, and humble enough to walk with the despised. Do not weigh us down with property or accumulated funds. Save your church from vain display or lavish comforts, so that we may travel light and move through the world showing your generous love made known in Jesus.
I cannot take credit for this prayer. I adapted it from this Worship Book. But I intend to pray it as often as possible. I've been talking a lot about the Bible lately. I know, you're surprised. Recently I've been focusing particularly on the parts where Jesus told people to sell everything and follow him.
The most famous time is when the Rich Young Man asks Jesus what he must do to have eternal life. You can read the story for yourself if you aren't familiar with it. *Spoiler Alert* Jesus tells him to sell everything he has and follow Jesus. Jesus also tells two parables with the same basic idea: someone finds something valuable and gives up everything else for that one thing. When I've talked to people about these passages lately, the general consensus around the table is that too many people today are held captive by their possessions. Often times we worship our money or material wealth when, in fact, we should put God first. The sin of the Rich Young Man, the argument goes, wasn't that he had so many possessions but that he wasn't willing to give them up. I have to say I find this interpretation very comforting, especially because I have many possessions myself. If I read the passage this way, I can keep everything I have just so long as I'm not too attached it all. The question that keeps coming up in my mind is whether that was really what Jesus meant. What I am looking for is wiggle room. I don't consider myself super well off and have certainly struggled with money in the past. So it would be really great if Jesus wasn't talking to me when he said to sell everything. When Jesus speaks to the Rich Young Man about his wealth, he's speaking to that one man in that one instance, right? Jesus couldn't possibly mean that everyone who believes in him has to give up their worldly possessions, right? I mean, that would be crazy. Really. Yet, Jesus says to one man, "You must be born again" and many people think he meant that for everyone. So why is this so different? As difficult as it is to hear, I have to think Jesus actually meant what he said. I just can't wiggle my way out of this one. Jesus makes me really uncomfortable with this passage because I know how much I struggle with this very issue in my life. Jesus makes people uncomfortable in the Gospels again and again. He is shocking and controversial, offensive and unequivocal. And that's why I follow him. I pray God will release me from my love of material things, and have mercy on me when I am consumed by them. "What do you most deeply believe about God?" The Rev. Dr. Frank Thomas asked me that question today. Actually, he asked the whole class of the preaching workshop I attended. The theme was the role of celebration in preaching. He knows a thing or two about celebration preaching: Today, he taught that all cultures throughout history have traditions of celebration. Our task as preachers is to proclaim the Good News in the midst of suffering using the celebration language of the people. We have to know the cultural context of the people we preach to.
We also have to know ourselves. If you preach from your deepest core beliefs about God, you won't have to write in the margins of your sermon "get loud here." You will be so tied to the meaning and message that you will speak with passion. You'll automatically get loud where you need to be loud and speak in a whisper at just the right moment. If you ever do not know what to preach on, if you are lost or doubting, if you are in a personal crisis and don't know what message of Good News could possibly apply to this situation, Dr. Frank Thomas has a suggestion for where your sermon will come from. "What do you most deeply believe about God? Preach that!" I say, Amen. I love my neighborhood. Tree-lined streets with brownstones and historic buildings are all within walking distance to stores, restaurants and the Capitol.
We also live within walking distance of the church. Not only do I have a short commute, but we also invite people over after church, like the young adult group that comes over a few times a year. I love having people over. But inevitably with the busy-ness of Sunday morning, the house is not as tidy as I would like by the time the group opens the door. I don't intend to invite people into a messy house. It just ends up that way sometimes. Life happens, the weekend is busy and, well, there are just so many hours in the day. Honestly, it's more about what I'm comfortable with than it is about how much stuff is lying around. I want people to think I have it together - and a spotless, clutter-free abode is a sign of that. The problem is if people think you are too perfect and polished, they aren't as comfortable opening up to you. Luckily, no one is afraid to open up to me. If they see that pastors have the same struggles and time-management issues as everyone else, that means pastors are real people. Inviting people into my home is a sign that I am willing to journey alongside these people no matter what shape my life is in, and to give them the opportunity to accept me and my messy house. Maybe then they will know that they don't have to have their lives completely together before they have a relationship with God. Ignoring the dust bunnies isn't laziness; it's ministry. The ministry for peace, based at the Peace Pagoda in Grafton, NY, has been going for 20 years. While the community is based in Buddhism, they energetically seek interfaith partners in their activism for peace. As a direct result of this outreach, I was honored to offer prayers for peace as part of the celebration this past Saturday. Here is a summary of my comments. I come to you today representing the Christian community that stands for peace. There is a watered-down version of my religion, popular in American culture today, that supports American values more than following Jesus. This cultural version has inoculated us to the heart of the true message Jesus brought, and that is a message of peace. Jesus said, "Blessed are the Peacemakers, for they will be called children of God." (Matthew 5:9) And when he was about to die, he said, "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives." (John 14:27) I am humbled to be here on this joyous occasion, to join with all gathered here who have worked for peace for so long. In this sacred place, we lift our voices together as a testament to the peace we long and hope for on this earth. Let us pray, God of all people, we join our hearts in thankfulness at the testimony of your people here who have been working for peace in this world. You have given us a vision of a day when swords are beaten into plowshares, and weapons are left to rust in the fields because we have forgotten why we picked them up in the first place. We hold on to this vision and believe you can bring it about. Make the warring nations of this world cease. Humble all leaders who are bloated with pride and power. Bring your reign of peace over your whole earth. In your name we pray, Amen. Why is the woman in this picture so serious? Does she have something against smiling? You may have run across this article floating around social media that chronicles a young woman's experience being told to smile by a creepy stranger. She has missed her train and runs past a man who touches her and says, "You’d be even prettier if you smiled." The author's reflections are pretty disturbing. Many women are told to smile, me included. Usually it's in a less creepy way than the author's experience. Sometimes, it's an upstanding-looking man waiting in line near me or passing me on the street. Sometimes, it's as innocent sounding as, "Aw come on, it can't be that bad!" As if to imply that my regular expression-less face must mean I'm having a bad day. Why can't I just have a day? Neither good or bad. Just a day. It may appear that these men are just trying to make conversation or impress their buddies. But under the surface is the message that women are not allowed the full range of emotion. Instead, women are supposed to be pleased and look pleasant. All the time. These comments are also racialized. As a white woman, I experience different assumptions than women of color. I should be "sweet" or "charming" and if I do assert myself, than I'm a "tough cookie" or at worst an angry feminist. The situation for women of color is very different, and I won't attempt to speak on their behalf. You can see for yourself. You may be thinking, "Sure, these extreme forms of harassment are awful. But, that's not really the same as one harmless comment about a smile." It's not the same degree. But it is the same mentality in a different form. Listen to these women. And know I'm not alone. |
Frances Wattman Rosenau
Pastor, friend, sister, mom, servant of the living God Archives
September 2015
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