Readings

FIRST LESSON

The first lesson is from the wall in Mother Teresa's home for children in Calcutta

People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered. Forgive them anyway. If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives. Be kind anyway. If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies. Succeed anyway. If you are honest and sincere people may deceive you. Be honest and sincere anyway. What you spend years creating, others could destroy overnight. Create anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous. Be happy anyway. The good you do today, will often be forgotten. Do good anyway. Give the best you have, and it will never be enough. Give your best anyway. In the final analysis, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway.

SECOND LESSON

The second lesson is from Hebrews 12:1-2, 12-17

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely; and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfector of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God.

Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed.

Pursue peace with everyone, and the holiness without which no one will see God. See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springs up and causes trouble, and through it many become defiled. See to it that no one becomes like Esau, an immoral and godless person, who sold his birthright for a single meal. You know that later, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, even though he sought the blessing with tears.

This Week's Sermon

Date: August 15, 2010

Title: The Spirit Zone

Message Delivered By: Joan Higgs

Our first reading today was the code by which Mother Teresa of Calcutta lived. It was her edited version of the original, “The Paradoxical Commandments” written by Dr. Keith Kent. Only Mother Teresa could get by with plagiarizing and actually become more famous than the original author. God loves a creative person!!!

Our scripture reading for this morning give us some rather straight forward advice. In case we didn’t understand the gospels, we get a “cheat sheet” to go by. The unknown writer of this Letter was doing his best to convince the early Christians to stay the course.

At the time this letter was written, probably before 70 AD, there was a considerable movement seeking a return to Judaism. So the writer gave it his best shot. Jesus is put up as the Supreme example of Godly living and the writer exhorts the members of the church to “Holy Living”.

As I quickly reviewed the possible reading for today, I was struck by the thought that we have “A Body Zone Fitness center” to strengthen our bodies. Where is our Spirit Zone Fitness Center to help us gain and sustain spiritual strength? What kind of routine do we set up for ourselves?

Well… I believe the fitness center resides right here within each of us, where the Spirit resides and nourishes. And the routines we set to strengthen our souls consist of prayer and reflections and self-disclosing … of thinking about our failings and making decisions to do better … of practicing humility and asking for help ...

In the first two verses of our reading this morning we hear, “…let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run the race marked out for us … let us run the race marked out for us … and finally, let us fix our eyes on Jesus…
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I do believe that each of us has a path laid out for us, a race marked out, if you will. And I believe that we have to work hard, listen hard and look hard to stay on that marked path. But I also know that when I am on that path, you might say I’m in my groove, where I’m supposed to be and doing what I’m supposed to be doing.

I know that when I am there, I’m peaceful and content and strong. I feel loved and supported and assured; I feel capable and courageous and strong.

Just as the writer of the Letter to the Hebrews gave us encouragement and reminders, Mother Teresa gave us a list of her own … marvelous and simple list of values that includes forgiveness, kindness, success, honesty and sincerity, creativity, happiness, goodness and giving our best.

I will tell you right from the start … I have many more questions than answers.

We need to keep in mind that Mother Teresa points out that how we live our lives is really not between you and the next person; it is between you and the Divine; or me and the Divine. That kind of personalizes it and makes it simple all at once! But … that’s at once a very sobering and humbling thought.

What if we take Mother Teresa’s advice and adopt some values and guiding principles for our lives. For example, if, as spirit-filled people, we say we value forgiveness, what does that mean about the way we live our lives?

Is there any place there for past wrongs to reside and fester? Is there a role for pettiness and vindictiveness in my life? Can I entertain thoughts (or actions) of revenge against someone who may have hurt me? How can I model forgiveness in my life?

Tough questions, perhaps but worth asking ourselves.

And what if we say we value kindness? How does that inform our actions toward others? How can we learn to think “building up” rather than “tearing down”? How does valuing kindness require me to change attitudes about those who are different than I?

Dinner for Schmucks is a poignant story about this very idea where a man involved in a heartless scheme to degrade and humiliate a very odd man turns into astonishing moments of grace and goodness. I highly recommend it as a tool for spiritual searching and growth!

Mother Teresa tells us to value success. Why does success matter to my spiritual strength? And what is success? Does this value mean I’m a big shot in life, at the top of my game? Or does it mean I am faithfully pursuing spiritual improvement, striving for perfection in the enduring matters of Spirit. Does it mean I find my groove in the road and reside from that place authentically, at once as a co-creator and as a child of God?

Look what Mother Teresa accomplished in her life as a result of doing just exactly that.

If we say we value honesty and sincerity, does that mean we must always live with integrity? Does that mean our concern for others must come from a deep place within and not from superficial social graces? Does it mean honesty and sincerity would sustain me to make the honorable and right choices through difficult decision points on my journey? What about just the every day choices I make for that matter?

If we value creativity, does that mean we are all master artisans? Or does that mean that we use every tool we have been given to weave a beautiful fabric of our lives, big enough to shelter those who need cover or respite from life’s difficulties … that we paint with such colors of diversity that we create a spot on the mural for all God’s people on one earth … a mural devoid of such attitudes of racism or any of our treasured “isms”?

Does it mean we work hard every day to create a space where others can flourish, do their best and participate as co-creators in our world? Is this not precisely what Mother Teresa did with her life?

Despite unimaginable need and suffering, she put her head down and went about creating amazing places and works of mercy and ministry.

Mother Teresa tells us to value happiness. Does this mean our Spirits are larger and more capable of love and goodness when we are happy? Does this mean if we are not happy, perhaps we need to get our roadmap out to see if we have made a wrong turn along the way?

Perhaps if we don’t value happiness it is because we have not yet been able to embrace the loving and healing spirit of the Divine. Perhaps we know we are on a foreign path and just don’t have the courage to go back and try again.

Lastly, Mother Teresa reminds us to value giving our best. Does this mean we don’t have to be perfect? Does it mean that we keep leaning toward the prize? Does it mean that even when it is hard, we endeavor to do what we know is right … what supports goodness and love … what supports human dignity and wholeness? Does it mean we have a hundred little conversations with ourselves every day when we know we have strayed from our best intentions …or when we are thinking about doing so? (Sometimes it feels so good to land that one zinger or get that little bit of revenge!)

You see, I wouldn’t presume to tell any one of you what these values Mother Teresa modeled means to you. Each one of us must consider the questions and define what they mean for ourselves in this moment of our lives, at this stage in our journey.

This is work we must do for ourselves … So I am giving you a little exercise sheet you might find useful. On one side are “The Paradoxical Commandments” as modified by Mother Teresa. On the other are the values Mother Teresa urges us to consider and some space to write down some things you decide you need to work on.

For example, if I take my sheet and decide I need to better to embrace honesty and sincerity, I might say: If I value honesty and sincerity, then I cannot talk in negative ways about others with whom I share space in this world.

If I value honesty and sincerity, then I cannot start or perpetuate gossip. (Maybe that’s easier when you retire ...)

At any rate, both of these are really hurtful actions. When we fail here, it really does hurt. It hurts us and it hurts the other person. If I value honesty and sincerity, then I commit to treat others with respect and honor. If I value honesty and sincerity, then I have to take ownership of my failings and think about ways I can live better-guided by honesty and sincerity.

It is these kinds of conversations with ourselves I suggest we all do about the values I presented today. We all know those we do pretty well in and those we need to work on … so there’s no time like now to start. I encourage each of us to take a serious, prayerful and thoughtful look at one or two of these values and make a commitment to do better.

Wow! If we could get good at modeling all of these values, can you imagine how different this place (this church) would look? Our homes and families would look? How about our workplaces and social spaces?

The second step I encourage is this: take that information, those hopes and dreams and commitments for your journey and engage in a short period of silence and reflection daily … doesn’t have to be more than 5 minutes.

I am a morning person so I like to sit quietly in the morning and review how I did the previous day to (shall we say) find opportunities for improvement in how I have measured up …

To think about the things I’m not very proud of from the prior day and make a quick resolve to handle such a circumstance better today. If you’re a night person, you might find this a good evening ritual.

I admitted starting out that I didn’t have too many answers this morning … mostly questions, but there are a few things I do know. I know that (according to my high school physics teacher) every action has a reaction. And I know that these actions and reactions engulf me as much as the intended target.

I know that the negativity and absence of love I send out comes back to me in bigger and bigger circles … like throwing a stone in the pond … it’s a law of nature. And I’m certain that I am surrounded and buoyed up by the circles created by affirmation and loving kindness I put out there as well. And that’s a Law of Spirit.

Finally, I KNOW, no matter whether you think Jesus was a teacher and a prophet (Did you know that prophet simply means truth-teller) … or if you believe Jesus is fully Divine, I know that the one thing he taught was to always LOVE. And that seems like pretty good advice for our hurting world.

So it really comes down to a very simple choice (notice I didn’t say easy). Just simple … it’s a yes on one hand; a no on the other hand.

We get to fill our world with love or hate, with kindness or harshness, with forgiveness or wrath. I can choose to send love or hate into the world. Dozens, if not hundreds of times a day, I get to make these choices. A healing ripple on one hand or a hurting ripple on the other. It’s the choices we make for the life we’re living. Choose Love!