Proper 8A
Sunday, June 29, 2014
Jeremiah 28:5-9; Psalm 89:10-4,15-18;
Romans 6:12-23; Matthew 10:40-42
When I was a kid, there was a
neighbor lady who always told us kids to stop over for a cookie. But when we got there, it would be: "Oh,
okay, you can come in, but don't touch anything. Don't sit there; sit on the covered furniture
only." I never felt very welcome in her house.
Now, when I go to my Momma's house, I
feel so welcomed. She is often waiting
at the door--almost leaning out---ready to greet me with open arms. Two weeks ago when I arrived pretty late at
my mom's around 10:30 at night, so we could leave on our vacation the next day,
there she was at the door, and before I could even get out of the car, she
said: "Get in here!" She was
ready to greet me--no matter how tired or grumpy or late I was---she welcomed
me just as I was.
And she always makes or buys
something I like to eat---she prepares for my arrival. With arms open wide, she welcomes me.
To welcome is a compound word from
two Old English words: willa---desire and cuma---guest. So to welcome is to desire the arrival of the
guest--to receive gladly into one's presence or companionship
The Greek word used in this passage
is dechomai---to take to one's self; to embrace; to admit
How do we welcome God? Do we embrace God or do we hold God at arm's
length? Are we preparing for God's arrival, with our arms open, leaning forward
in order to receive gladly into our presence the Creator of all things?
Do we even want to welcome God? After
all, God has a way of messing around in our hearts and minds---The Almighty
continually wreaks havoc on our comfortable status quo--challenging us to
transform and change into God's image instead of being content with the image
we have crafted for ourselves. Let's
face it: to welcome God is to make oneself vulnerable; to welcome God is to
risk everything---our practices, our preferences and comforts, and our very way
of life.
First then, we must desire God--the
first word in the compound "welcome."
How does one come about desiring something? Sometimes we begin to yearn for something
because we have seen it in others' lives or in the world around us, and we
recognize something is missing from our own life, and we begin to long for it
for ourselves.
Other times, we have experienced it,
or tasted it, and we want more.
You know, as a priest's kid, I have
always had God in my life. But there is
a difference between allowing God to remain in the background of our life as
white noise versus welcoming God in and granting the divine full access to our
hearts. Today asks us to consider if God
is just white noise in our lives----there, but not allowed to make much of a
difference---or if God is embraced fully and granted reign over our wills, our
hearts, our lives.
Lucky for me, my parents made me go
to church---I know it is not always a popular concept in modern
parenting---making our kids---especially our teens---do something they don't
want to do. I recently read a novel with
a mother and father who told their friends that they were enlightened enough to
realize that they cannot force their own faith onto their children. They want to allow their kids to choose for
themselves.
Thank God my parents were in the
dark, that they knew I must first have a deep grounding in what I was choosing
or walking away from before I could
decide my direction. Thank God they thought that as my formative adults they
might know more than I did at 12, at 15, even at 18. I thank God every day that I didn't have the
option to bow out. Instead, my
"forced" attendance exposed me to regular worship, weekly
Thanksgiving meals with God and God's people.
Because I was required to live into the parish life---I got to know God
in Sunday School, in VBS, at church camp, so that when I finally opened wide my
soul, I saw God in the world around me.
I knew, from an early age and had it affirmed several times throughout
my life, that my church family supported me, loved me, and cared about my well-being. We all have to pick our battles, and I am
incredibly grateful that my parents chose my relationship with God and God's
people as a battle worth fighting.
These relationships created in the
Church that I was "forced" to attend have been the web of grace in my
times of need and fear and trouble. They
have been the certainty in times of doubt and the light in eras of
darkness. Thank God my parents did not
know any better. Their insistence that I
experience God week in and week out at church, year in and year out in the life
of the church---it gave me the taste I needed to want more, to desire God's
presence forever and forevermore in this often broken, but always blessed life
of mine. When I was confirmed, I made
the choice myself to keep coming back to this Body of Christ as my refuge----because I had experienced what
that means----sometimes in vital parishes, sometimes in struggling ones---but
always in the midst of welcoming disciples who loved me as I was and encouraged
me to keep seeking Jesus.
I know it doesn't always work out this
way, that kids who go to church every week sometimes still walk away. Not everyone experiences church life the way
I did. Attendance doesn't equal
transformation. But attendance and
participation does give transformation a fighting chance. It does lay a groundwork for future
revelations-----especially when our faith communities take seriously the
practice of welcoming God----the discipline of living Jesus.
Oh, don't get me wrong. I got bored at church; I complained about
going. I reminded my parents of my busy
schedule, my need for sleep, and my prowess at school and other aspects of my
life---so they should just cut me some slack---but my parents decided that
putting God first and foremost on my calendar was not optional---no matter what
else was going on in my life---and I thank God, and them, for that. Because that denial of my youthful freedom
guided me into encountering the only true freedom there is---a life in Jesus.
Now, let's not get too down on teens,
kids, parents----even us adults are guilty of putting God at the edge of our
life. We are very good at keeping God as white noise instead of embracing God
fully at the center of our lives. After
all, we have so many demands on us---so many expectations---but when we come
down to it---we have the same excuses I gave my parents as a teenager: we're
busy; we're tired; we have commitments elsewhere---look at what I am doing
God---don't you think my parish can do without me for a bit?
Apparently the years and wisdom
gathered between the ages of 15 and 65 do not really provide better excuses for
our shilly-shallying, our unwillingness.
So today, let's take seriously this
question: How do we welcome God?
Like the neighbor lady, Well, I guess you can come in. Don't touch
that! Don't sit there! Or will we welcome like my momma, leaning
forward, preparing, anticipating with joy God's presence and movement in our
lives?(arms open wide) Placing all
that we are, all that we have in the vulnerable position of granting full
access to the Holy Spirit. Putting
ourselves in the posture of welcoming others so we can embrace them---just as
they are, with all of their preferences and gifts and idiosyncrasies----because
we know that when we welcome one of God's people, we welcome the Divine itself.
And we know, our welcome invites
others to taste and see---to experience and know---the God who loves us all
with an unending, life-changing, world-transforming love. Our welcome--as expressed in our Vision
statement---creates the desire to want more, not only in us, but in others--to
experience more---to live more fully into the life of God's Kingdom.
Today we stop, take rest and
nourishment and request God to grant us the desire to turn our lives over to
God's plan. And we ask our Heavenly
Father: what would you have us to do? Whay are our next steps on this Kingdom
road? Whom are we called to embrace right now---at this point in the journey?
We call upon the Holy Spirit to take these pieces and parts of our lives and
use them to build a holy temple---a dwelling place for God---that all may see
and know God's Kingdom and true freedom.
Will God be white noise in the
background of our lives or will we allow God to be the burning pillar who leads
us? Will we welcome God like this(closed arms) or this (arms open wide)?
Come
Holy Spirit, live in us
With
God the Father and the Son,
And
grant us your abundant grace
To
sanctify and make us one.
May
mind and tongue made strong in love,
Your
praise throughout the world proclaim,
And
may that love within our hearts
Set
fire to others with its flame.
