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We
were delighted to welcome Heather Valosin as our guest preacher on July 3. Heather
recently finished her Masters in Divinity at Drew University.
Heather's sermon is preceded by a
scripture reading by Julian Wamble, and followed by a song from Godspell sung
by her husband, Eric Valosin. All three are recent graduates of Drew and
have been singing in the Christ Church Choir since January.
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morning. Thank you for allowing me to preach today. My name is Heather and I have been attending this church for the past six months as I finished my Master of Divinity at Drew Theological School. I have been certainly blest by this congregation and Iʼm thankful for your warm welcome and hospitality.
Will you please pray with me the words
of Donnie McClurkin? Let us pray.
“Speak to
our hearts, Holy Spirit, Give us the words that will
bring new life... A message of love to encourage us.” In Jesusʼ name, Amen.”
235 years ago on May 15, 1776, the
Virginia Convention met in Williamsburg to pass a resolution. They decided to
have their delegates in the Continental Congress, and I quote, “propose to that
respectable body to declare the United Colonies free and independent States,
absolved from all allegiance to, or dependence upon, the Crown or Parliament of
Great Britain.” A month later, Richard Henry Lee presented this resolution to
the Continental Congress. John Adams chimed in to second the resolution. On
June 28, Thomas Jefferson presented a declaration of independence to the
Congress. Four days later, it was adopted by the Continental Congress and
approved on July 4th, our Independence Day.[i]
Not only did this decision to declare
independence from Great Britain spark our countryʼs
Revolutionary War, but it also indoctrinated in us the value of independence.
The popularity of familiar phrases such
as “pull yourself up by your own bootstraps” and
“self-made man” describe the value of self-reliance in the US. In 1965, Paul Simonʼs song “I Am a Rock” describes how the
alienation of being a rock and island is painless. We often raise our children
to become independent adults with the goal of moving them out on their own as
capable members of society. The word “dependence” seems to have gained a
negative connotation. Our sick and elderly often struggle to accept their loss
of independence even if it is temporary. Yet is it even possible to be truly
independent?
Even though Paul Simon
wrote, “I touch no one and no one touches me,” thatʼs
simply not possible. We are not capable of
independence, of not needing others. There is very little we can do without the
help of another especially in our contemporary context.
For example, the food in the grocery
store is grown all over the world by hard working farmers who are hopefully
paid a fair wage. It travels to the store by men and women who have chosen to
work as airplane pilots and truck drivers. Then the food is stacked and
displayed by the employees of our local stores. We wouldnʼt
be able to bag our artichokes, broccoli and corn without the hard labor of
dozens if not hundreds of people who enabled us easy access to fresh
vegetables.
The same goes for our clothing,
furniture, transportation and entertainment choices. We truly arenʼt independent individuals at all.
This morning I want to address our
idealization of independence. It can give us a false sense of isolation leaving
us feeling like no one cares about us. Perhaps your life is good because you
exhibit traits of a self-made man having worked tirelessly to gain respect and
a raise but you secretly wonder if anyone would care about you if you werenʼt so successful. Perhaps this is a rough
patch because you are one of the 13.9 million Americans who have lost their
jobs. Maybe an important relationship is on the rocks or you may be struggling
to keep your head above water. Teenagers and young adults, perhaps you are
lonely now that school is out. Or as you grow into your identity, you might be
worried about the consequences of coming out of the closet. It is easy to feel
like no one cares when people donʼt
know how to respond well and donʼt
seem to be helping. No matter who you are, or where you are on lifeʼs journey, I speak with confidence, someone
cares about you.
Our first Scripture reading, Psalm 23,
can illicit strong reactions. It may arouse memories of grief because we are
accustomed to hearing it at hospital bedsides and funerals. However it is
intended to describe the comfort and care that God provides. I didnʼt personally realize this until a pastor
suggested I read the chapter when I was sick in the hospital last year. Having
already interned as a hospital chaplain, I worried about why he wanted me to
read this specific chapter. Hadnʼt
I read it aloud to grieving families after their loved one had died? My fear
was that the pastor was suggesting I was about to die. But I trusted him so I
opened my Bible, cautiously found the text and started reading slowly. Suddenly
I saw more in the passage than the words I had memorized:
The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not
want.
I shall not want. Oh, how many things I
wanted in that moment. I wanted to be healthy, and to be home. I wanted to see
my family and be reassured that everything was okay. But the author says that
the Lord is his shepherd, he shall not want. God provides for us the way a
shepherd cares for a flock. And how is that?
“God makes me lie down in green
pastures; God leads me beside still waters; God restores my soul.”
Just as a shepherd guides sheep to the nourishment
of grass in a green pasture and the refreshment of still water, God cares for
our needs and even offers us rest. We can depend upon God to provide for
our needs. This is not intended to be an excuse for laziness nor
to absolve us from responsibility. However as we pray in the Lord's Prayer, “Give
us this day our daily bread,” we can trust God to be our Great Provider, seeing
and supplying our needs even if the timing doesn't seem ideal from our
perspective. Indeed, God cares for us.
1 Thessalonians 5:18 says, “In
everything, give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning
you.”
A few years ago, I worked at a Christian
camp and was surprised to hear a repeated prayer by a teenager named Gary. Gary
had a difficult home life-- after his mother died when he was a baby, he and
his sister moved in with their grandmother who had become quite ill. The
siblings worried about their grandmother and wondered would care for them if
she died. Yet, every time Gary would pray aloud, his first statement was, “God,
thank you for waking me up this morning.” Despite all the concerns facing this
young teenager, he was grateful to God for another day. Before we even get out
of bed, our first thought can be inspired by Gary, “God, thank you for waking
me up this morning.” We can and should continue throughout our day aware of the
good gifts God has given us and developing a habit of expressing gratitude to
our Lord: thanks for nature's beauty, thanks for trials and triumphs, thanks
for salvation through Jesus Christ, thanks for everything God has done and
everything God will do.
In the musical, Godspell,
the cast sings a line that says, “All good gifts around us are sent from heaven
above.” For all of those who remember Godspell,
let's take a deep sigh of appreciation.
When we identify the good gifts which
God sends, I think we need to be careful. When we publicly announce that God
has blessed us with the gift of a new job, a larger house, a new car, even a
baby, we may be unintentionally insinuating that anyone who lacks these things
are not so favored by God.
This morning, I want to encourage you to
give God thanks in every circumstance, but with an awareness of our neighbors.
“God is great. God is good. And we thank
God for our food. By God's hands we all are fed. Give us Lord our daily bread.”
Unfortunately we are not all being fed
today. Not only in Africa are people starving, but even here in New Jersey,
children are dying because there is no food in their homes. I wish I was
exaggerating but it was actually in the news recently. And I suspect there are
many hungry parents who are quietly giving their portions to their children.
How can we comfortably sit at our dinner
tables bowing our heads to thank God for the food we have while knowing others
are in need?
As the body of Christ, we have the
opportunity to be God's hands in this world. Feeding the
hungry, housing the homeless and listening to the lonely are only a few ways
that we can bless using our blessings of ample or even simply adequate food,
space and time.
A couple weeks ago in Piscataway, a
church musical director retired after thirty years of service. On her final
Sunday, she preached about how she has been blest to bless.
When God supplies for our needs and
especially when we have more than we need, we are blest to bless our neighbors.
God has blessed us so we can bless others. But this isn't simply a dichotomous
“us as the blessed” vs. “others as those in need” relationship. Throughout
life, we also need blessings to be shared with us.
In our second Scripture reading from
Acts, we heard about how three thousand people responded to a sermon by Peter.
“They devoted themselves to the
apostles' teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers...
All who believed were together and had all things in common; they would sell
their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had
need.” (Acts 2: 42, 44).
These early believers learned together,
enjoyed fellowship and meals together, prayed and spent time together, and
shared their belongings with any in need. They depended upon each other. In
fact they were interdependent, they needed each other
for education, fellowship, meals and resources. They cared for each other.
I hope we can become more aware of the
ways others are caring for us and allow ourselves to express gratitude to them.
Many of us prefer to offer help rather than to accept it, but someone has to be
on the receiving end of each help. When you allow someone to help you, you give
them the joy of offering service that you may prefer. Ideally, we can become interdependent
with others-- accepting and offering help on a two-way street so each
person in the relationship feels valued. Whether or not the other person
expresses their appreciation, we should offer sincere thank-yous
instead of being embarrassed or denying help.
Even though it may be ingrained in us
that independence is ideal while dependence demonstrates weakness, independence
is actually impossible. So it's good to recognize our dependence upon
God and upon others because then we are in a place to express appreciation for
the good gifts offered to us.
Perhaps you are thinking, the preacher's
just telling us to mind our manners by saying, “Thank you.” But it's true
because I don't want us to take God's gifts, nor the support of others for
granted. The expression of gratitude can't be underestimated.
Not only is gratitude a Biblical virtue,
but it has been scientifically shown to improve physical and emotional health.
Dr. Michael McCollough and Dr. Robert Emmons
conducted the “Research Project on Gratitude and Thanksgiving” that involved hundreds
of people in three subgroups. One group kept a journal about daily events. One
group kept a daily journal about unpleasant experiences and one group journaled the things they were thankful for. The results of
the study showed that “daily gratitude exercises resulted in higher reported
levels of alertness, enthusiasm, determination, optimism and energy.
Additionally, the gratitude group experienced less depression and stress.” If
you are feeling stressed perhaps about your job, finances or relationships, then expressing gratitude may be a good way to combat your
worries according to this study. The researchers also found that the group that
expressed gratitude “was more likely to help others, exercised more regularly
and made more progress toward personal goals.” [ii]
They also found that “people who feel grateful are more likely to feel loved.”
Last year, my friend Kenny decided to
challenge the American dream by moving into a slum in Calcutta, India for to
live with the poor for three years. As we recently discussed the differences
between the resources and lifestyles in Summit and in Calcutta, Kenny offered
the following reflection:
The challenge of Christianity is “to
find ways to live faithfully in the context and the season we find ourselves
in. But even more than that, I think it's an invitation to accept the love and
blessings of God. To know that we are just sinners in need of mercy, and that God gives us all [good things] as gift. We
can just accept with gratitude. God loves us regardless of how
simple/intense/holy/etc. we are.”
I would add that God loves you
regardless of how successful or unsuccessful you are. If you are gay, lesbian,
bi, transgender, queer or straight, God loves you. Even if you feel isolated
like an island, the Creator of the galaxies and the minuscule atoms loves you.
Developing an attitude of gratitude can make you more likely to feel this
love.
Therefore, acknowledging our dependence
upon God and each other isn't a weakness at all. Our awareness and expression
of gratitude can make us strong in mind and body. And it will surely improve
our relationships. I recently read an article highlighted on Yahoo about
relationship advice. The article recommended remembering to thank your partner
for even the little things- the completion of daily chores, a kind word, the effort put in after a long day. This advice isn't
limited to couples-- we can and should thank our other family members, our
friends, even strangers like the grocery store employee who stacks the fresh
vegetables.
On this Fourth of July weekend, I encourage you
to celebrate your dependence by living consciously aware of all the God's good
gifts and your interdependence with others. Without embarrassment or denial of
our dependence, may you offer gratitude to our Lord above and to each other,
for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Amen.
