I haven't posted a sermon in quite a while. I used to post them quite regularly when I was serving the Holston Georgia Parish. Somehow, going from serving three churches to one hasn't slowed down like I thought it might. That is simply an observation. It isn't a complaint. I stay occupied, yet in a good and healthy way. I do wish for more writing time though. Now, how odd is that?!?! I write a sermon EVERY week...... or rather a sermon writes me. Smiling here. :)
I will post the sermon transcript, as is my normal procedure. I will remind readers that the transcript is not always exactly what comes out in the sermon once it is given. I will also post the audio links and a link to the video on YouTube, for anyone who desires to watch it. You can watch other sermons there too.
I mention hiking in this sermon, so I will post some of the hiking pictures that I refer to in this sermon as well, at the very bottom of the post.
May there be something here that encourages you along your journey,
Rev. Deb
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“Steadfast Endurance”
1 Peter 2:19-25 (CEB)
May 3, 2020 (4th Sunday of Easter)
St. Elmo UMC (FB Live)
1 Peter 2:19-25 (CEB)
19 Now, it is commendable
if, because of one’s understanding of God, someone should endure pain through
suffering unjustly. 20 But what praise comes from enduring
patiently when you have sinned and are beaten for it? But if you endure
steadfastly when you’ve done good and suffer for it, this is commendable before
God. 21 You were called to this
kind of endurance, because Christ suffered on your behalf. He left you an
example so that you might follow in his footsteps. 22 He committed no sin, nor did he ever speak
in ways meant to deceive. 23 When
he was insulted, he did not reply with insults. When he suffered, he did not
threaten revenge. Instead, he entrusted himself to the one who judges justly. 24 He carried in his own body on the cross
the sins we committed. He did this so that we might live in righteousness,
having nothing to do with sin. By his wounds you were healed. 25 Though you were like straying sheep, you
have now returned to the shepherd and guardian of your lives.
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THIS IS THE WORD OF GOD FOR THE PEOPLE OF
GOD.
THANKS
BE TO GOD.
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Today is the 4th Sunday of Easter. Throughout this Easter season, the messages
have been those of throwing off all your fears, living hope, loving deeply, and
now endurance.
Steadfast endurance.
Today’s title comes from verses 20 and 21: “...But
if you endure steadfastly when you’ve done good and suffer for it, this is
commendable before God. 21 You
were called to this kind of endurance, because Christ suffered on your behalf.”
Steadfast endurance. What does that even mean?
Both words in
the Greek have the same prefix, “hypo”.
But their suffixes are different.
Even so, the two words are similar in meaning. Here are the meanings that they share: to
bear under, to bear up under. Other
aspects of each include: support, sustain, to endure patiently, continue
firmly, hold out, remain constant, persevere.
At this point, some of you
may be saying that it’s time to get off the roller coaster. Stop the ride. I’m done.
Let me off. Well, let me be
honest. I’ve had that thought too. I’ve wanted to get in my little red escape
and ESCAPE, yet where can I go. Heck,
Psalm 139 reminds me “where can I flee from your Spirit?” And there aren’t many places allowing
vacation rentals, so it’s not like I could just head off somewhere.
So, I’m left to think about
steadfast endurance through the suffering and pain. I’m left to think about getting through this
stuff to the other side.
This week’s passage helps us
work through how we might deal with suffering and with pain. We all have suffering and pain in our lives,
don’t we?! If we’re honest with
ourselves, the answer is yes. And, with
these days of pandemic and rebuilding from the tornados, along with businesses
trying to survive, there is much suffering and pain.
Each week I think I finished with going through the
crucible to get the message out because each week the message reads me, works
on me, and works through me in order to find its way out of me into the open
space to be received. The Holy Spirit
won’t simply allow me to speak a word.
I’m living each word. On one
hand, that is a very good thing. I want
to be able to walk with, to live authentically, to be genuine. On the other hand, it can get a little “old”
… or even humorous. I guess I’m the one
to blame, in the sense that I choose the titles… “Living Hope”, “Love Each
Other Deeply” and this week? “Steadfast
Endurance” So, what things do I go
through each week? A letting go, an
emptying of me, so that I can be filled up with whatever message the Holy
Spirit has.
7:25 a.m. morning prayer on Thursday, April 30th….
“May the God of Creation meet us all where we are today and bring us through
this day, helping us grow as disciples, allowing us to heal in the broken
places, bringing comfort to the pain and grief.
May we offer help, hope, and healing to others from that which we have
and from that which we have experienced.”
Little did I know that later that morning I would
feel the brokenness once again myself, the emptiness. It wasn’t a bad feeling, just a feeling of
being. In fact, I’ve come to realize
that “brokenness” is part of who I am.
It’s the place I meet God, in that suffering and pain. As God brings healing, it’s through the put
together brokenness that the light can shine.
That’s why I really like stained glass so much. As I observed the different pieces of stained
glass in my office this week, I wrote this:
“All the different pieces and colors. Broken. Some
small. Some even cracked. Colored. Clear. Opaque. Woven into and around
each other. Held together because of the
fire that melted the metal. Each piece has meaning. Each color has meaning. Just
as the brokenness in these objects will never go away, so it is with me. Though pieces are put together, I am still
the product of broken smaller pieces, put together by an Artistic Designer who
designed me uniquely. To allow the light
to shine through the brokenness, to allow myself to be, to allow the Creator to
do the necessary ebb and flow work of refinement…keeps me in a humbled
state. An open state. A broken state.”
How do I get through the suffering and pain? How do I press into the steadfast
endurance? I spend time in creation with
the Creator. Everyday, a little bit. And, then larger chunks as/when I can. I take note of the Creator’s beauty in the
flowers, the sky… I listen to the quiet babble of flowing water or the roar of
the stream or waterfall. Being in
creation allows my soul to calm and allows healing.
My endurance strengthens as I allow myself to be, to
be still, to rest in the One who created me and knows me best. It sounds counterintuitive, doesn’t it?! That endurance grows as I let go. But it does.
As I can simply “be”, everything falls into place. Psalm 46:10, therefore, has a huge ongoing
role in my life. “Be still and know that
I am God.”
I’ve considered “endurance” several times this past
week as I’ve been out in creation on different trails. One was Tuesday afternoon when Riley and I
took an afternoon break and we hiked at North Chickamauga Creek Gorge. We went up the Hodgkins Branch Loop
trail. I haven’t attempted that in many
years and not since my hip surgery. To
be able to climb that trail and to see the waterfall is credited to “steadfast
endurance”
On Friday, we parked two cars at different
trail heads and hiked through a 5 mile section of the Cumberland Trail from the
Soddy Daisy segment to the Hotwater Road segment. That’s the most I have hiked in one hike since
my hip replacement. There were ups and
downs, some muddy spots. I kept on
keeping on. Breathing in. Breathing out. In all fairness, that’s fairly easy to do on
a beautiful day when being in creation energizes me, right?!?
What about when I’m worn down, ready to quit, about
to give up? Yeah, I get like that. Monday was a VERY long week for me. I had a list as long as my arm and I got most
of it done. And, then I had our
“Disciple’s Path” class on ZOOM. We
continue to meet. We talk about
spiritual disciplines, we continue what we started in the class. I didn’t have what I needed on Monday night
to facilitate the group. I didn’t think
I had anything left to give, to offer. I
came extremely close to calling it off.
But I decided to show up. What I
realized on Monday was that sometimes endurance is simply showing up. As we show up, as we surrender our being, as
we yield, then the rest just “is”. After
showing up to class on Monday, I was good.
I’ve talked quite a bit about roller coasters,
beginning in Lent. You know when you get
in a roller coaster and the mechanical “click, click, click” guides you up the
hill to begin the ride? It’s like
that. Our role is sometimes simply to
sit back and be, as we continue firmly and remain constant in/on the ride.
What else do we find in today’s passage? Healing.
Verse 24.
“by his wounds you were healed”
Ultimately, it’s ALL about healing. There’s a plaque on my shelf with these words
from a Christy Nockels song: “how high, high wide, O, Lord! No matter where I
am, healing is in your hands. How deep,
how deep is Your love, How strong, how strong is your love; & now by your
grace I stand; healing is in your hands”
This time of steadfast endurance can bring us
healing as we submit and surrender to the love and grace offered us.
Richard Rohr’s writings this past week on liminal
space were spot on for us during this time of being in the in-between time, the
not knowing. As I’ve reflected on
steadfast endurance this week and my challenges throughout this entire pandemic
journey, I found a song that reminded me how to find steadfast endurance.
Do you remember “Come and Find the Quiet Center”
that we would use during our quiet time?
By finding the quiet center, we can make time to listen. Steadfast endurance will flow from that
listening time.
Hear these lyrics from Shirley Murray:
Come
and find the quiet center
in the crowded life we lead,
find the room for hope to enter,
find the frame where we are
freed:
clear
the chaos and the clutter,
clear our eyes, that we can see
all the things that really matter,
be at peace, and simply be.
Silence
is a friend who claims us,
cools the heat and slows the pace,
God it is who speaks and names us,
knows our being, touches base,
making
space within our thinking,
lifting shades to show the sun,
raising courage when we're shrinking,
finding scope for faith begun.
In
the Spirit let us travel,
open to each other's pain,
let our loves and fears unravel,
celebrate the space we gain:
there's
a place for deepest dreaming,
there's a time for heart to care,
in the Spirit's lively scheming
there is always room to spare!
May we continue to be available to one another and
to others in the community as we continue this journey with steadfast
endurance. May the light and love of
Christ shine through our broken places, allowing healing for others. May we be bold enough to be still and listen
so that we can simply show up and allow God to take over. Amen.
Will you pray with me?
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Steadfast Endurance on SoundCloud (audio)
Entire service and "Steadfast Endurance" on YouTube
"Come and Find the Quiet Center"
Richard Rohr's Week of Liminal Space Posts:
Between Two Worlds, 4-26-20
The Presense of Spirit, 4-27-20
Dark Liminality, 4-28-20
The Liminal Paradox, 4-29-20
Reconnecting with the Unconscious, 4-30-20
Seeing Beyond Ourselves, 5-1-20
Liminal Space: Weekly Summary, 5-2-20
Hiking Photos: [photos are mine DD]
Cumberland Trail (from Tuesday, 4-28-20 with the retired guy)
North Chickamauga Gorge segment
Cumberland Trail (from Friday, 5-1-20 with the family)
Mowbray Pike Trailhead to Hotwater Road
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