What Really Matters?

The title of my upcoming sermon for Sunday is "What really matters?" I find it an appropriate title because it is the Sunday of annual congregational meetings. And in truth, regardless of what a budget does or does not say, regardless of what the annual reports tell us about who we have been and who we hope to be, What Really Matters? I'll be preaching from I Corinthians 7:29-31 which says (in the NRSV):

29I mean, brothers and sisters, the appointed time has grown short; from now on, let even those who have wives be as though they had none, 30and those who mourn as though they were not mourning, and those who rejoice as though they were not rejoicing, and those who buy as though they had no possessions, 31and those who deal with the world as though they had no dealings with it. For the present form of this world is passing away.

Paul has been writing about how important it is to focus on God, but that frequently sex and taking care of your spouse can deter your focus upon God. It doesn't preach really well in this day and age. ;o) However, the bigger issue is that Paul is urging Christians to focus all of their attention upon God. In verses 29-31 he sums it up by reminding us that the time we have on this earth is so very short and as such, we should live as though the only thing that mattered was God. If you are mourning, don't let that stand in the way of what matters. If you are overjoyed, don't let that stand in the way of what matters. If you have money to spend, live as though you didn't. Think only about what is important . . . what is lasting . . . what is real.

The message I'm preparing is especially real for me today. In the past hour I've been extremely irritated by gossip that is spreading like wildfire in the church about something that truly does not matter. And yet rumors abound and only one person has faced the situation head on and realized that the rumors are simply rumors. Everyone else is getting upset over nothing. And I am reminded that in the big picture, it truly does not matter. If life on earth is truly as short a period in infinity as it seems to be, why am I wasting precious energy on being angry about the pettiness around me? What really matters?

Given the fact that I spent a lot of my eary adult years in Nashville, I came to find that country music wasn't quite as bad as I had always been led to believe. In fact, occasionally the lyrics will hit a home run. Tim McGraw sang a song that has stuck with me since I first heard it. The lyrics are right in line with the scripture for today, albeit a bit more "country!"

He said I was in my early forties with a lot of life before me when a moment came that stopped me on a dime. And I spent most of the next days, looking at the x-rays, talking bout the options and talking bout sweet time. I asked him when it sank in that this might really be the real end? How does it hit you when you get that kinda news? Man, what'd you do? And he said, "I went sky diving! I went Rocky Mountain climbing! I went 2.7 seconds on a bull named Fumanchu! And I loved deeper and I spoke sweeter and I gave forgiveness I'd been denying." And he said, "Someday I hope you get the chance to live like you were dying."

On Tuesday, one of my kid's friend's father was diagnosed with cancer. At that point all of the worry about who would get the kids to school, what to have for lunch, when the church meeting would meet, who was wearing what at the game, how clean the house was, what was said or done wrong in the last few days, ALL OF THAT suddenly didn't matter. All that mattered was the realization that life is so very short and we are given but a brief window to allow God's will to be done through us. We have but a brief window to connect our stories to God's stories. We have a brief window to live in harmony with one another, to resist petty divisions and opportunities to be angry and anxious. We have only now.

So the budget this year says the same thing it did last year. There are no differences. Why? Because we didn't meet last year's budget. And truth be told, if we don't meet this year's budget, our reserves will be gone leaving only pennies in the bank. So what do we do? Do we pull back some more, delaying the inevitable? or do we live like this is the very work we have been called to do by God Almighty? Do we live as if every day left is left only for the purpose of loving and serving God? I hope we opt for the second. This year I hope we take the chance to live like we were dying. Amen.

Fire Extinguishers

Why is it that when things are going so well, someone has to rain on the parade? My congregation is really growing right now. People are joining on a weekly basis and are excited about serving God in a loving church where it is obvious God is present by the actions of church members. In the past two years we've lost 13 members to death and have gained 27 new members. And we're still growing. Sure, there are those who have moved away but there are others who are coming in as friends. Life is a part of this church. Growth is a part of this church. So why is it, when there seems to be a fire sent by the Holy Spirit that is pushing people to look beyond themselves and reach out to their neighbors, that there is always a fire extinguisher? I had a meeting tonight to talk about how to invest some "extra" money that had come into the church and rather than celebrate, my fire extinguishers just wanted to focus on the fact that the church isn't growing fast enough and we might just need that money to get by. Have they not heard the vision I've been articulating over the past year? That we are choosing to live, even in times of difficulty? That we are not going to focus on our scarcity but rather on how we can be most generous with what we have? Why was it, when I suggested perhaps no matter how much money we had we would always feel that we needed more, that my fire extinguishers preferred to focus on what we still don't have? Are we lacking in anything? No. So why is it that we can't let go of some of what we have to give to others? Isn't that what it is all about? If nothing else, I think I may have lit a fire under them, giving them something to think about. I think I just needed to blog about this so I could decide not to let the fire extinguishers completely put the blaze out. They may not "get it," but fortunately, they're not the only ones in the church.

Ramblings

I had no idea it had been a week since I've posted. Geesh, I've become a slacker! It HAS been a busy week - lots of church members in the hospital and even more people walking into my office needing to talk. To tell you the truth, I can't remember the last time my office time was so full. One day I was meeting with someone who wanted to plan his own funeral (and I really respect those who want to have everything together ahead of time. He is nowhere near death as far as I can see, but it's still a very heavy subject!) While he was there, another person who had visited the church wanted to talk. She's living with her son because she had become homeless as a FL real estate agent. The market is that stale right now. But she also talked a lot about her own faith and what she believed was a call into ministry. I appreciated her openness with me and her trust. Later in the week I spoke with a parent of a very sick child and calmed her fears and worries. Our children's program started and was pure chaos. Then a church member threatened to leave the church if something couldn't be worked out. By the time she and I met the next day, she had calmed down and just wanted to sit and listen for God in her life. Our conversation was peaceful after what had been a really intense anger from her. Problem after problem after problem. But you know what really troubled me was that this woman said to me that she couldn't read me -- that I was closed in some way. And I've been thinking about what it could be . . . why she would feel that. I feel I'm pretty transparent most of the time, but maybe I'm not with my own congregation. There's a part of me that tries to keep my own life separate from the needs and concerns of my congregation. It's one of those 'boundary' things -- as muct as I'm immersed in their lives, I need people outside the church to be my confidants, to be my friends. I'm wondering if perhaps I need to be more transparent with them. Most people open up to me easily (as seen by this week's fullness) but I'm starting to wonder where the line is or where it should be drawn.

I'd appreciate your responses for this Arbuckle Creek dweller. I think I'm going to head into town where the Books A Million is scheduled to open any day now! Peace.

Weddings Gone Wild

Sorry I didn't post yesterday, but I had a wedding rehearsal to attend. The couple is having a Catholic wedding, but the bride is a member of my church so, thanks to a liberal-minded priest, I get to assist officiating. I've been very excited about this for some time -- you see, here in Arbuckle Creek, I just don't have many weddings to officiate. Everyone is either celebrating their 66th wedding anniversary or learning how to live alone as a widow. My church members LOVE my funerals, but they too wish for me more weddings and baptisms. So, finally, I get to help officiate a wedding -- and it's not in my church (granted, we don't really have a facility that is very accomodating for weddings) but at the Catholic church. The only thing I am not able to do in this wedding is the vows, since wedding vows are a sacrament in the Catholic church. Well, last week the priest and I did a walk through of the wedding in the chapel -- learning who would be where and when. We did this because he was not going to be at the rehearsal. Gulp! Now tell me, how is a Presbyterian pastor supposed to guide the wedding party through a Catholic wedding? Let me tell you, it was a mess. Thus today's title: Weddings Gone Wild.

It starts harmlessly as I arrive at the chapel where the Father had walked me through everything, only to discover (thanks to a wonderful secretary) that the wedding was not going to be in the chapel but rather in the much larger church. He had it written down in the church but, for some reason, had it in his mind that it was in the chapel. It's OK, I adjust, and meet the wedding coordinator. Given the assertive personality of my own wedding coordinator, I knew I was home free until she started to speak, in a very quiet voice, pointing to where she would like everyone to be. I offered her a microphone but she turned me down and the wedding party continued to giggle and tee-hee. Finally, I decided to get a bit assertive and started walking people through to where they would be, etc., but I don't know anything about when to bow, genuflect, etc. Everyone kept stating, "Father R. will tell us what to do" and I smiled as if that would be fine except for the fact that Father R. was not there now and we could not rehearse with him. I am deathly afraid of weddings gone wild and although I know that in the end the bride and the groom will be married, I just want everything to run smoothly for them and I'm a bit peaved at the nerve of the priest to just "skip out" on this rehearsal. Granted, it was his mother's 80th birthday, but then shouldn't he reschedule the rehearsal so everyone knows what to do? I don't know, I just can't help but think that I would be so very fired if I pulled soemthing like that. Guess it's a learning experience for me.

Anyway, that's the news from Arbuckle Creek, where all the women drive golf carts, the men are blantant carnivores (EAT MORE BEEF!) and the children watch for alligators in their backyards.