Sermon:  "Daily Faith"
Date:   August 28, 2011
Minister:  The Rev. Susan Bjork

Lesson: Romans 12:9-21

 

Gracious God, thank you for the gift of this new day and for this community of people who gather here for worship.  May our living, loving, and serving both within and beyond this church reveal your goodness as we seek to reflect your love.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

I don’t know if Dave will ever let me choose another movie for us to watch.  Earlier this week, we watched Revolutionary Road.  If you haven’t seen it, it is a pretty bleak look at the 1950’s suburban life of a tragically loveless couple who clearly struggle with both mental illness and boredom and seem to be unable to find much real meaning or hope in this life.  It was a fairly well done film, starring Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio, but is one of the more depressing portrayals of somber lives lived in quiet despair that I’ve ever seen. 

Kathy Bates is in it too, by the way, so at least the plentiful opportunities for Titanic jokes got us through it.

Nevertheless, the film left me feeling icky and I think this is why: I wanted to feel bad for this couple, and I certainly did to some extent, but I was also a little annoyed by their immaturity and self-centeredness.  Mostly, I saw a privileged upper middle class white couple who fantasized about a life they wanted, but couldn’t have, and didn’t really seem to want to even try to seek healing and wholeness for themselves and their family in any kind of healthy and realistic way.  Their whole existence seemed apathetic, dissatisfied, devoid of any real creativity or passion for something deeper and certainly seemed to lack any real concern for others.

Now perhaps I’m being too harsh and judgmental of Kate and Leo’s characters, but as I’ve thought about it more, I wonder if that icky feeling is what the film makers wanted me to feel (at least in part).

In today’s gospel lesson from Matthew (which we didn’t hear this morning) Jesus says something along these lines to his disciples: “If any of you want to really become my followers, deny yourselves.  Instead, take up your cross and follow me.  For those of you who want to save your life will end up losing it, but those of you who are willing to risk losing your life for my sake will end up finding true life” (that is a bit of a paraphrase, of course).

Now, I don’t know about you, but this is one of those passages I’ve found to be somewhat difficult to relate to.  After all, we as Christians in 21st Century America do not face the same kind of threat of political persecution, violence, and death that Jesus, his disciples, and some early Christians faced. 

So what does “taking up our cross” really mean for us who, let’s face it, are pretty privileged in a lot of ways: we who have social and political agency, financial means, and choices about how we spend our time, talents, and money.

Perhaps it has something to do with that icky feeling I mentioned earlier…

I think at least part of Jesus’ point in making that statement is this: be wary of the sin of self-absorption.  And that is something that humanity has struggled with since the dawn of time and continues to struggle with today.  We need only flip on the TV or surf the internet for two seconds to see that we live in a culture that often tends to support self-absorption (after all, Kim Kardashian’s wedding which cost somewhere in the realm of 10-20 Million Dollars made headline news this week).

But to complicate things even further for those of us who strive to walk the walk and live a life of daily faith, we must also be wary of the opposite pole (or maybe just the flip side of the coin) which is the sin of total self-destruction. 

I personally don’t believe that we do anyone any good or give glory to God by denying ourselves to the point of becoming a martyr by thinking and acting as if we alone can do everything for everyone.  That simply leads to burn out rather than discipleship.  And as a few of my friends pointed out on facebook this week, perhaps this martyr mentality may simply be thinly veiled self-absorption and arrogance. 

Nevertheless, I suspect that this tendency is just as challenging a temptation for many of us.  I know it is for me.

So, how do we strike a balance and live a life of daily faith which is life-giving for us personally as well as for our local and global neighbors and at the same time takes seriously Jesus’ pretty radical and sometimes uncomfortable call to discipleship and service to others?

If anyone has this totally figured out, please let me know because I don’t!

But I do think Paul puts forth some key arguments in this twelfth chapter of his letter to the early Roman church.  We might call this passage “Christian Ethics for the Community of Faith.”  I see it as a list of twenty-something spiritual practices (depending on how you count) for daily faith as it is lived out in the context of community.

And one of the over-arching themes is this: ours is not solely an individualistic faith.  Sure, personal spirituality, a relationship with God, is a very important part of our faith tradition, but I don’t believe that Christianity can truly be practiced in isolation from one another.  And I don’t think Paul did either; his ministry was clearly characterized by building up communities of faith.  Paul recognized that we need each other in order to walk the walk.

And so he begins this portion of his letter by simply stating “let love be genuine.”  And arguably what Paul is ultimately illustrating in this passage is what love of God and love of neighbor look like when lived out within the community of faith and out in the broader world. 

And like all good spiritual practices, Paul’s list is not only meaningful and encouraging, but also challenging.

More or less, this is what I think Paul is saying to us:

Let love be genuine…lay down the facade, stop putting up appearances, be real with yourself and those around you, only then can love really be practiced.

Hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good…now, this could be seen as very subjective and potentially dangerous, but arguably it is about focus.  Where do we focus our energy?  What is most important us in our faith community?  What is life-giving and loving?

Love one another with mutual affection…relationships which last and have depth are usually not one-sided and in order to truly give we also have to be willing to receive.

Outdo one another in showing honor…don’t wait for someone else to be respectful and kind before you dare to step out.

Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord…don’t be afraid to be a little enthusiastic.  Share your passion.  Laugh.  Be a little wild!

Rejoice in hope…don’t forget that the church ought to be in the business of articulating hope, living hope, and bearing hope into a hurting world.

Be patient in suffering…this is a hard one; this is one I’m convinced we can’t do alone (though plenty of us try); and being patient, enduring the tough times, doesn’t mean suppressing real and honest feelings of hurt and anxiety and grief.  In fact, honest and healthy articulation of those feelings may be a tool for endurance.

Persevere in prayer…a spiritual practice is not something that is done just once and prayer itself may take many forms, both individually and communally.

Contribute to the needs of the saints…One more time Paul reminds us that we need each other; we’re all in this together!

Extend hospitality to strangers…don’t forget to also look beyond these four walls; you never know who might be looking for a safe, welcoming, inviting, and loving community of faith.

Bless those who persecute you…ah, another hard one…but how quickly we sometimes want to get even, to get back, to get revenge…but does that ever really bring healing?

Rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep…this is the essence of mutual compassion, but it also involves our willingness to be a little vulnerable and open to one another; it requires a little give and take and the creation of a safe space for all.

Live in harmony with one another…remember what Paul just said about the one body having many members with many gifts?  When we all play our part, we can produce beautiful music!

Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly…don’t forget, Paul says, that the church doesn’t exist to simply serve itself; and remember perhaps we’ve all been in a low place at one time or another.

Do not claim to be wiser than you are…remember that God’s wisdom often turns the wisdom of the world on its head.  And besides, no one responds well to a know-it-all.

Do not repay evil for evil; instead, strive for what is noble for all…ah there’s that tough one again; try to keep the big picture your mind…the hurts we cause for one another don’t feel good and need to be dealt with, but we must strive for a higher good.

Live peaceably with all…it’s a tall (and perhaps a bit idealistic) order, but Paul encourages us to do our part to live into God’s reign of peace, beginning with our local community, and then with strangers, and then with our enemies, and finally with all creation.  Paul’s not afraid to issue the church that challenge.

And finally, Never avenge yourselves, instead overcome evil with good…well Paul keeps throwing that one in there, doesn’t he?  Many people have commented on that line about heaping burning coals on your enemies’ heads by offering them mercy, kindness, and forgiveness.  Most scholars actually don’t see this as God’s punishment or wrath, but rather as the natural reaction of remorse that can happen when one receives mercy from one who was an enemy.  We could argue too that to enact vengeance removes the possibility of an experience of grace, so instead, to enact mercy may open the doors to an experience of God’s love, transformation, and reconciliation.

Well, that’s quite a list Paul gives us, isn’t it?  But when it comes down to it each of these spiritual practices of the community of faith are really all about the central gospel message: love God and love your neighbor as yourself.  It is as simple and as complicated as that…to find that right balance; to nourish ourselves spiritually while seeking to serve others…to put on our own oxygen mask first (a good metaphor Carolyn Remley reminded me of this week) so we may breathe deeply and see clearly how to best help our neighbor.

Perhaps this daily practice of faith in both its individual and communal expressions is part of the way to respond to that icky feeling of despair and hopelessness Kate and Leo became trapped in.  After all, if love is to be genuine as Paul hopes it is, we must remember that the love we seek to offer to others is the same love we seek to rekindle within ourselves, which is none other than the love of the God who first loved us.  Amen.