Ephesians 2.11-16; Ephesians 2.17-22
“When I leave church, I want to feel better than when I came in,” my friend said to me …
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| Melodie Mariposa performing at Westminster, 7.21.24 |
I keep that in mind when I write my sermons and prepare the liturgy … I think of my friends, I think of you …
And, I think of myself …
There are times when my spiritual energies are nil …
the springs of hope and peace run dry …
writer’s block, spiritual block, the doldrums, the down times …
the sun dimmed by heavy clouds …
sadness and weariness overtake my soul …
lousy memories trigger a flood of regret …
momentary setbacks - when things just go plumb wrong … knocked for a loop, knocked off balance … set back on my heels …
Old fears that have been with me my entire life …
Good golly Miss Molly …
St John of the Cross called it “the dark night of the soul” ..
A whole book about it in the 16th Century … for young monks, who were at the top of their game when they entered the monastery … close to God, a deep sense of prayer, lots of joy, peace, happiness … the daily disciplines, the long hours of prayer and work, all of it good … the soul dances light upon the earth …
And, then, one day, it goes south …
candles burn out,
joy takes a hike,
the days become laborious and unrewarding …
prayers are hard, and go nowhere …
the soul drags along, tired and weary …
the young monk becomes discouraged …
where’s the joy, what happened to my happiness, why now is prayer so hard, so unbearable, and these duties, why now so empty of meaning, where’s my energy, my hope, my peace?
At just such a time, the young monk is tempted to leave the monastery …
I’m unfit for this calling, I don’t belong here, I’m too sinful for all of this, I’m not up to it … maybe I was wrong about this, I don’t have what it takes, and what it takes is beyond me.
John of the Cross, tells the young monk: God is preparing a new day for you …
no one can stay on top of the world all the time;
there are times when we need to be in the valley of darkness …
it’s called growing, and growing up, growing out, learning the hard lessons as well as the sweet lessons of life.
John of the Cross tells of a sculptor who throws a tarp over the work-in-progress … to shield the work from prying eyes.
If we watched what God was doing, we’d rush in with our own suggestions … we’d tell God, “Do it this way, do it that way.”
We’d muck it all up with our ideas …
So God does us an enormous favor …
God conceals the critical work of soul-formation … in the critical moments of life.
When the time is right, God pulls back the tarpaulin to reveal something new … a new chapter in our life.
St. John of the Cross understands a lot of things; his counsel and wisdom comforts the guides the soul.
When all is dark, wait …
wait for the revealing …
wait for the light.
Don’t give up, don’t walk away,
don’t doubt the original calling;
don’t be too hard on yourself …
be patient, wait upon the LORD … a new day is coming.
“When I leave church, I want to feel better than when I came in,” said my friend.
We have to be careful …
The church has sometimes helped people feel better about all the wrong things …
In the 19th century, across the southern tier of the nation, minsters were cautioned to never bring up the question of slavery …
“Just preach Christ” … some even stepped into the pulpit to defend the practice:
Enslavement is perfectly fine, the whip is acceptable, treating the enslaved as cattle is all a part of God’s will … God is on our side.
Ministers who raised the question were ousted from their pulpits.
Folks wanted to leave church feeling better about all the wrong things.
In the north, in the midwest, far west, folks went to church to hear the “gospel” …
it’s ok to hate the Indigenous,
take their land, break the treaties,
put their children into specialized schools where their hair is cut,
their indigenous clothing taken away,
punished if they speak their indigenous tongue …
it’s ok; it’s God’s will … and the people leave church feeling better than when they came in.
In Nazi Germany, many churches turned themselves over to German Christianity … Germany First, make Germany great again, Germany over all … large Nazi flags and banners in the sanctuary … the upraised hand, once the sign of blessing, slightly tilted forward, becomes the Nazi salute … Jews deserved to be hated, war is necessary, God is on our side.
They leave church feeling better - about all the wrong things.
I want to leave here feeling better than when I came, and I want the same for you … but we have to be clear, we have to be sure, that what we feel good about is something good, the real deal, the genuine article …
Not the wrong things, but the right things …
And why?
When we feel better about the right things, we change the wrong things … we are the salt of the earth, says Jesus, we are the light of the world.
Here are some things that I find helpful … rooted in Scripture, celebrated in our traditions, confirmed in daily life:
Remember: Joshua orders the trumpets to blow, and the walls tumble down ..
Remember: the Prodigal Son returns home …
Remember: the Lost Sheep is found.
Dear friends:
Be not afraid, though there is plenty in this life to scare the wits out of us.
You are loved, you are forgiven … all the way to eternity.
You will do it … you’ve come through so much already, you’ll come through whatever life throws at you … when you’re down, it’s only for a season … if you can’t see God, God sees you, and God is hard at work.
Remember, you have friends … here they are, sitting with you … you have Moses and the Prophets … you have the Apostle Paul and the Holy Spirit … in the center of it all, you have Christ.
You don’t have all the answers, but you don’t need all the answers …
You have courage, you get up in the morning and face the day … one step at a time is maybe all you can do, but you’ll do it … you’ll face the day, you’ll make it through …
You have faith in Christ … enough to move a few mountains and change the world.
Don’t expect too much of yourself …
But expect enough of yourself to push yourself into new regions of life and work … take a few chances.
In your search for God, you will sometimes find God … and then, remember, God always finds you.
When you’re knocked down, God will lay down beside you … when it’s time to get up and try again, God will be at your side …
You have love in your heart … remember that.
Keep in mind those who love you … they’re not wrong … even when you’re not so lovable, you’re still worthy of love, you always have gifts, you’re a person of importance … you are someone’s link to life.
To leave here, and feel better, than when you got here.
Hallelujah and Amen
