The Sacred Yes 11-25-12 Rev. Donna Twardowski

First Reading: Psalm 46:4-10 There’s a river whose streams gladden the city of God, the holy dwelling of the Most High. God is in its midst, it will never fall—God will help it at daybreak. Though nations are in turmoil and empires crumble, God’s voice resounds and it melts the earth. Come, see what the Creator has done—God makes the earth bounteous! God has put an end to war, from one end of the earth to the other, breaking bows, splintering spears, and setting chariots on fire. “Be Still, and know that I am God!” I will be exalted among the nations; I will be exalted upon the earth.” Contemporary Reading: from LETTERS FROM THE INFINITE as revealed to Rev. Deborah L. Johnson “When you say Yes, my children say Yes to me, say Yes to us, say Yes to our Oneness. If only you would start from this point. When you say Yes there does not have to be a particular something that you are agreeing with. The agreement when you say Yes is to our Oneness….your understanding that, in the acknowledgment and acceptance of that Oneness, all plans come together for your Good. Yes is your understanding that despite all appearances, despite all the facts and seeming circumstances, I am alive and well and working in all of them AND have a way of transforming all of them into something that is for the benefit of all. The Yes is the starting point. The Yes is the underlying basis through which all facts are interpreted.” Gospel: Matthew 5:14-16 Jesus said, “You are the light of the world. You don’t build a city on a hill, then try to hide it do you? You don’t light a lamp, then put it under a bushel basket, do you? No, you set it on a stand where it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, your light must shine before others so that they may see your good acts and give praise to your Abba God in heaven.” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ While I have been here preaching before, this time I get to see you during the week after the sermon, to hopefully hear how you may have reflected on the words which you heard. I am optimistic that will be a positive event!  I am blessed to be speaking to you today, the first of many occasions as we share our future together. Will you pray with me…Holy God, it is through You all things are possible, all things unfold in the midst of time, and all things are in the fulfillment of your plan for us. During unforeseen times, let us remember You are the creator of the plan and as we live into this plan, may Your will be done. So, may the words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, God, for you are our Rock, our Redeemer and our Resource, Amen. While the title of this sermon is “the sacred yes,” I’d like to begin by telling you a story of the life of someone who followed a path that was the alternative to the sacred yes. As an adult, she went to Bible study because in the religious tradition in which she grew up, the Bible was not taught. It was a book that was read from on Sunday mornings, and only the priest was allowed to touch the “Holy Pages.” The attraction and the desire to know more about these writings that influenced the actions of so many people in the world, across so many centuries, came from her deep desire and calling. That began one day in her young life, at 8 years old, while sitting in the church pew. She observed the “special relationship” the altar servers and priest seemed to have with God. She was never told she too, could have that same relationship. In fact, in that time and place she was told just the opposite; and it must have been true since she was humiliated every Sunday as she had to wear a hat and at times the silly doily on her head when she entered the church! (Thank you St. Paul) She could serve God as a nun. It appeared God and the priests had an intensely close relationship. If there was a place to be close to God, that is where she wanted to be. And while many a year had passed, and her relationship with God had taken many shapes and directions, the unwavering element was her faith in the God who created her being. The God who created the entire physical world, and who kept her gratefully moving forward. Trying to fulfill what she thought was a call and being told she was unworthy to answer it, life pushed her in all different directions and occupations. First a Master’s Degree in Education, since being a teacher seemed to be an acceptable job for a woman at the time. Then return to school to a career as an Occupational Therapist, certainly one could fulfill God’s calling by taking care of those who are hurting and suffering through rehabilitation. Then a college professor, teaching hundreds of students how to care for those in need. Surely God, this will satisfy your call. Back to the Bible Study, while having a phone conversation with a person in that Bible study group, I recall saying, “I just want to know what God wants me to do. What is my life’s purpose?” My friend Bob replied, (though he does not remember this) “the answer is really in John 6:29.” Which reads, ‘This is the work of God: to believe in the one whom God has sent.’ (Inclusive Bible, 2007) Well, I wasn’t prepared for such a direct answer! (I was used to hemming and hawing, processing and philosophizing as lesbians and academics do so well.) I remember sitting in my office at Ithaca College contemplating this Scripture over and over and trying to put it into context for my life. Then it came to me, well, duh, Donna it means just say YES to the call. But still I took no action on it until Marilyn figuratively “kicked me in the butt”, when she asked, “Are you going to do something about this or just keep talking about it?” I finally said YES and acted on it, and began the journey through seminary and into the life as clergy. YES is the answer to the call, the answer to the small voice which was relentless, which I tried to ignore, a call to which I felt I was not worthy.…. Fast forward about 15 years… It was about four years ago, as Marilyn and I were setting up and settling in after our move to Florida from central NY, that I went into Rev. Lisa’s office at Trinity and said, “I just graduated from seminary, and I am here to help in whatever way you can use me.” Rev. Lisa is a very demonstrative person and said, “THANK YOU JESUS! You are an answer to prayer!” So this October, when I was visiting friends at the Villages, I called Rev. Carol to see if I could stop by to see the new property and the renovations that were taking place here. Remember, I told you that Open Circle has always been close to my heart, so I kept up with what was happening here. Rev. Carol gave me a tour of the campus and we began talking about all that was going on and how she had spoken to the board about an administrative position. Our conversation continued and I began to see a look in her eye that indicated something clearly was formulating inside her. A while later, she then asked me how soon I could start work. When I got back to her a few days later, she said, not quite as demonstratively as Rev. Lisa, I was an answer to her prayers! I am sensing a theme here….which is incredibly humbling. A theme from using the simple word YES. I gave Rev. Carol a ‘sacred’ yes. There was no other choice. As I, as a person of faith was still, and prayed; and as I was available for a conversation with God, it was incredibly clear this opportunity was presented as a gift to me. YES was the sacred answer. Each of you can invite the sacred yes to be a part of your life as well. I think that requires three ways of being in the world. Be You. Be Still. and Be Available. Be YOU. In our reading for today, Jesus says, “You are the light of the world….let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your God in heaven.” We all have light within us. You have light within you. That light is the essence of God’s image. Your light shines bright all the time, whether you choose to share it or not. Sometimes we go around trying to pick and choose who deserves the sacred brightness of ourselves. How is it that we are the one to determine how the light gets used? In many ways, some of us have not figured out that we have a light or that we DESERVE a light. I am here to tell you, You have the light of God within you, and you need to shine that brightness upon yourself and those you encounter. Learn to be the brilliance that you are. You may need to start to acknowledge a 2 watt night light at first, and as you let that light shine and as it is reflected back to you in thoughts, words or deeds, the brilliance of your life will blind you! No longer will you be trying to figure out whether or not you should share your light. Your light will be unleashed energy that knows no bounds. Be you and Say Yes to this oneness with the light of God and for heaven’s sake, let your light out from under your personal bushel basket! Be still. My favorite Psalm is Psalm 46:10.. Be still and know I am God. It is my refuge when I get nervous, unsettled, or frustrated. “Be Still” as my favorite meditation as part of the Sign Chi Do meditation series which I will be offering in the future. I don’t think it is a coincidence that still is a part of both the reading and meditative experiences. Being still allows us to listen and hear what is next for us to shine our light on and say Yes to. As you are still, you may hear something that nudges or calls to you; it may start as a whisper, as it did for me in a pew 50 years ago. These days finding somewhere quiet and void of noise, cell phones, or drama is difficult. If you find a place to listen, you may hear something calling or beckoning you in the silence. Or, you may choose to ignore the whisper like it will go away; sometimes, instead it appears to get louder. Some people say they cannot hear God’s voice. Perhaps it is because you are unwilling to hear God. Or you think you are unworthy to hear God? What are you afraid of? You are a child of God, created in God’s image. You do not need to protect yourself from this listening for God. To me, the important question is, if you don’t say yes to God’s request, who or what are you saying yes to? For nearly 40 years I was wandering in the wilderness of life, ignoring the voice of God. When I said YES, life unfolded in an amazing plan. When you do say yes, without knowing how, or why, or what the plan is, or whether the plan will unfold, trust that it will. When you say Yes, and acknowledge this Oneness that God is asking to you join, all plans come together to make the yes possible. Certainly that is how it all unfolded for me to standing here today and to be able to say yes to be here at Open Circle. Be You, Be Still and… Be Available. Be Available to say Yes. Christ asks us to be disciples. That means looking forward. When you hold onto things that have happened in the past as many of us do, they take up space, they take up energy and they take up your light. When the same dramas, sagas and situations repeat themselves, you use precious spiritual, emotional and physical energy and space in your life. What is it that really has your attention? My question to you is, are you here to be a disciple or here to be discontent? What is it that you are running toward? OR What are you running away from? What is your intention? Are your intentions outwardly focused to replay past hurts or are you available to yourself to do your own spiritual work…to go into places and spaces where you have been hiding from God? Christ asks, “Are you available to me to do my work in the world?” If you answer YES and you pay attention, it becomes clear how effortlessly and easily everything works out without having to control it all. [Like finding a place to live in the Villages]. When you are available to the Spirit, there is a new vitality in your life; you feel more alive, and with this aliveness comes love. You are in love with life and become more available to God to say YES. Maybe you have heard the voice and didn’t know what to do with it…be you…be still and listen to what you are called to do with your life at home, at work, at church and to what ministry is the voice of God calling you. Maybe it is being a greeter or usher at church. Maybe tending to the campus through the ministry of nurturing God’s plants and property is what is calling to you. God generously provided that space for Open Circle to continue its ministry of justice and truth. Be available to say Yes to the oneness with God and your path will be shown to you. Maybe your YES will allow YOU to be the answer to somebody’s prayers! Most of all, as the Gospel of Matthew tell us, may your Yes mean and be the Yes God wants to hear. May it be so. Amen.

With All Your Passion 11-18-12

With All Your Passion 11-18-12 God, we thank you that when we turn to you, you are always there—lead us to know that we can be ever in your presence—ever in the peace that comes from knowing we are right where we belong. Let us move and live and have our being in you. Amen It occurred to me when I began to write this particular sermon that many of you were not present almost 3 years ago when we met at Genette and Noreen’s house for a “Meet and Greet”. There was no service at that first meeting, but there was a lot of excitement about starting an MCC Church even though many did not know exactly what that meant. I told my story that night and so a few of you know the truth about my experience with patience and passion, but most of you do not. So, here goes— I grew up like many of you. My mother became a single parent when I was 10 years old and my sister and I learned to be creative in order to spread the little bit that my mother had a little further. I went regularly to church—it was my whole life. First a Methodist, I later discovered the more exciting Southern Baptist Church down the street. By that time, I was already singing in many churches and my commitment to the both churches meant that most, if not all, of my spare time was spent in church. By the time I was 21, I “felt the call” as we Southern Baptists say. I had a passion for Christ’s church that would not go away. Folks were supportive, but I learned a few years later that most of those who were originally supportive had no idea what I intended to do, and when that became clear they withdrew their support immediately. I taught school for a couple of years and then I went to seminary. When I first arrived at seminary, I learned that the only degree available to women was a degree called an M.R.E. which meant that I could work or direct work in Religious Education. I had no intention of doing only that and I and some other brave women went to the President and advocated for a chance to earn the same degree as the male pastors were earning. We compromised—we had to agree to earn the Religious Education degree along with the more useful M.Div. degree while our male counterparts had only to earn the M.Div. degree. Not to be deterred, I did just that. Now, I also married a man who was becoming a Southern Baptist Pastor as well. For a while this gentle and intelligent man and I tried to co-pastor a church. Even though I had been ordained in Texas by a forward-thinking church, my “call” was rejected in favor of his. Now those of you who know me well have to know that I was not going to be able to deal with this for long. Change had to occur. After a stab at the wonderful world of academia, the money finally ran out, and I had come out and left the acceptable world of heterosexual marriage behind. In spite of my continually knocking at God’s door, it became clear to me that I would need to do something else to earn a living. So, for 25 years, in the midst of lots of adventure and drama, I worked in the fields of social work, training, child welfare, and domestic violence while always, or almost always working a second job in a church. My jobs led me to develop a multitude of skills, but I continued to wonder why my answering God’s call was not being acknowledged by God’s people and, it seemed, by God. And, then, in the last half of my life, I found the Metropolitan Community Church. I had come home and I was ready for God to use the passion that I had been given as an ardent adolescent to the fullest expression of God’s grace that was possible. I have, of course, left out the years of struggle, pain, anger and feelings of abandonment not because they are unimportant to the story, but because they can wait for another day. Working first at Joy MCC in Orlando, and then coming to The Villages to begin this church, my life, my “passionate patience” as Paul says, was rewarded with this great gift we call Open Circle. I look back on my life and wonder how I maintained this passionate patience through so many ups and downs and then I realize a great truth, it is not I who maintained this “passionate patience” it is God who kept it alive in me. And today, I have the rare and wonderful gift to live fully from my passion. In my gratitude to God for this great and amazing experience, I got to wondering about why it seems so hard to find people who are living out their passion. It is an old saying, and yet completely true for me—“there is no greater joy than being home”. Finding and living one’s passion is, at once, God’s greatest gift to you and your greatest gift to the world. Motivational speaker, Michael Hyatt, gives us this challenge: “Just think of how the Kingdom of God would explode if we dared to live from our passion!” I want to let that sink in for just a moment. Michael Hyatt isn’t talking to or about preachers. He is talking to everyone—not just me, but to all of us. And, so I want to be clear—passion is not just for preachers or pastors—if it were, not only would we be very lonely, isolated from the very folks we are called to serve, we would also be quite useless in the world. God calls pastors to walk the daily walk among all those who are given a passion for something that will not only change their lives, it will change the world. Let me put that another way. All of you have a passion that, if you allow it to, will change your life, and by doing that, will change the world. There are lots of reasons why we find it hard to discover our passion. Some of them are: • It’s difficult to admit and address our long-held insecurities. So, we’re more comfortable living there than we are in discovering and living our hidden dreams and callings. • Somewhere along the line, we learned that it’s not appropriate to “brag about ourselves:, so we use this as a reason to shut off that still, small voice that says, “with God, we can do anything.” • We look at all the needs in the world and think that we don’t have anything that could possibly help. • Somebody, somewhere, (you gotta love those Puritan ancestors)taught us that it is wrong to spend time on ourselves, thinking about what we want or being introspective. • We’re already so busy that it feels impossible to think about adding anything else, when what we need to think about is why we’re working ourselves to death at all. • Here come those Puritans again, we’ve learned that doing work we don’t like is somehow “good” for us and we believe that our characters are made better with hard, unrewarding work. • The last time we tried doing something we really loved, we experienced rejection and we’re not about to go down that road again. • Our fear of failure is strong. We believe that if we never identify our passion, there will be no need to take action; and, therefore, no need to risk failing. Do any of these reasons sound familiar to you? They do to me. But if we return to both are scripture lessons, we see that there are words relating to passion and living out our passion. Jesus calls us to love God with all our passion and prayer, intelligence and energy. That sounds to me like a call to discover what it is that God is calling you, unique you, to do in this world. Daphne Rose Kingma, author and speaker says this: “The task is to recognize that you are uniquely special, have something to give, some talent no one else shares in quite the same way. This gift needs to blossom so we can appreciate and enjoy the benefits of it and acknowledge you for it. You owe this to yourself and to all of us to honor your gifts, for only when you share your unique joy with the world does the entire world benefit… Don't let shyness rob you and the world of the power and the passion that lies within you. No one can be all that you will be except you yourself.” These kinds of challenges are hard for us to hear, especially those of us who are stuck back in one of the reasons I discussed just a moment ago. Before we close, we must take a look at what Paul is saying—it’s as if he knows exactly our struggle: When we throw open our doors to God, we find God already there. And suddenly we are where we’ve wanted to be—in the “wide open spaces of God’s grace and glory, standing tall and shouting our praise.” But wait, God isn’t done—there we are, shouting God’s praise even when things are not going well. Paul says that we will grow “passionate patience” which makes us strong and committed. When we are always alert to God and the passion for life God gives us, we’ll be unable to hold all the blessings that God puts into our lives and, by using us, in the lives of others. John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist Church says, "When you set yourself on fire, people love to come and see you burn." We could be a people—a fire—who the world would love to see—alive and on fire for God’s justice. We, each in our own way, find first our own passion and then share the fire from our souls with one another. Each day, in each new way, God gives us the beauty of another day. The sun rises and all of God’s world wakes up. May we wake up as well, alive and on fire in God’s plan for all of us, together and apart. Amen

A Small Loaf of Bread 11-11-12

The Reading: 1 Kings 17:8-16 Eventually the brook dried up because of the drought. Then GOD spoke to him: “Get up and go to Zarephath in Sidon and live there. I’ve instructed a woman who lives there, a widow, to feed you.” So he got up and went to Zarephath. As he came to the entrance of the village he met a woman, a widow, gathering firewood. He asked her, “Please, would you bring me a little water in a jug? I need a drink.” As she went to get it, he called out, “And while you’re at it, would you bring me something to eat?” She said, “I swear, as surely as your GOD lives, I don’t have so much as a biscuit. I have a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a bottle; you found me scratching together just enough firewood to make a last meal for my son and me. After we eat it, we’ll die.” Elijah said to her, “Don’t worry about a thing. Go ahead and do what you’ve said. But first make a small biscuit for me and bring it back here. Then go ahead and make a meal from what’s left for you and your son. This is the word of the GOD of Israel: ‘The jar of flour will not run out and the bottle of oil will not become empty before GOD sends rain on the land and ends this drought.’” And she went right off and did it, did just as Elijah asked. And it turned out as he said—daily food for her and her family. The jar of meal didn’t run out and the bottle of oil didn’t become empty: GOD’s promise fulfilled to the letter, exactly as Elijah had delivered it! The Middle Reading-- from"Spirit of Life" By Barbara Hamilton-Holway Spirit of life, in us and around us, here is our chance, once again,to live like we wish the world would live. May we find within ourselves the courage to be who we are. May we know when it is time to listen and when it is time to speak. May we trust ourselves to be the ones to find the words that need to be said or to do what needs to be done. May we trust one another and know there are many ways to go through life. May we know that though we cannot change some of what life gives to us, we can choose how we deal with what we are given. We are coming into our power, and together we can make possible justice and love. We are all connected; we depend upon one another more than we know. We are one body. So be it. Blessed be. The Gospel Reading: Mark 12:38-44 In teaching Jesus said, 'Beware of those scribes who like to walk about in long robes, and to be greeted obsequiously in the market squares, to take the front seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets; these are the ones who swallow the property of widows, while making a show of lengthy prayers. 'The more severe will be the sentence they receive.' Jesus sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the treasury, and many of the rich put in a great deal. A poor widow came and put in two small coins, the equivalent of a penny. Then Jesus called the disciples and said to them, 'I tell you solemnly, this poor widow has put more in than all who have contributed to the treasury; for they have all put in money they had over, but she from the little she had has put in everything she possessed, all she had to live on.' ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A Small Loaf of Bread 11-11-12 Holy and Omnipotent God, we ask for your blessings of insight and understanding. Speak to us through your Word and through the love we have for each other. We praise you for the light of the Holy Spirit in our seeking and in our finding. Amen In today’s readings we look at two very different women in two very different times. There’s nothing that says they need to be women, they could just as easily be men, and in our congregation, if we’re talking about baking, it is twice as likely to be a man. So we are talking about two people. It’s interesting to me that these two passages are paired in the Lectionary, that universal listing of scripture passages for each week, that I sometimes follow. In my study I began with the feeling that these are two very different kinds of people. By the end of my study, I saw the real similarities between them and no longer regarded them as different. Let’s start with the baker. Elijah, who was a major prophet for the Hebrew people, is hungry and thirsty. The water has dried up, there is no food in the land. God sends Elijah to Zarephath in Sidon to live because God has a plan. There is a widow living there who is to feed Elijah. He goes to Zarephath and indeed finds the widow. But this is not a wealthy widow, no, this is a person near death, alone in the world, except for her son. We learn that she is planning to feed herself and her son one last time and then they will lie down to die. What hopelessness this woman brought with her to her encounter with Elijah. More than likely, she could barely walk, so close to starvation. For all we know, her son is already unable to walk, he does not escort his mother on her quest for firewood. Can you feel the heaviness in her heart? I can as I imagine her state of mind—knowing nothing to do other than have a last meal and then die with her son. Nevertheless, for some reason unknown to us, she makes this last trip into town. Along comes Elijah, probably not looking much better. It is hot and dry. We don’t know how Elijah gets to Zarephath, so I imagine him ragged and dirty. He, too, is alone, but he is following faithfully the word he has received from God. Walking along, he finds his destination—there she is, right at the entrance to the city. He asks her for a drink and as she turns to retrieve a drink from an unknown source, he asks her what must have surely sounded like a foolish question: “Would you bring me something to eat?” She does not ridicule his question, she simply tells him of her heartbreak—her truth—that she and her son will soon die. He tells her not to worry—that God has a plan for all three of them. Notice that God’s plan was not just for Elijah, it includes the poor woman and her son as well. Elijah asks her to make him a small loaf of bread and in the making of it, the miracle will happen—the flour and oil will be accessible for this family for all time. And so it is. Imagine what it must have felt like to venture forth one last time, leaving your child behind dependent on you for food. Thinking of it makes it difficult to move our feet, to walk forward, or seek an answer. But something caused her to do it one last time. I do not believe that she knew that she would meet Elijah who would answer her prayers. I do believe that it was the Spirit of creation, the holiness of God, that led this woman to be in just the right place at just the right time. Coincidence? I think not. An openness to allowing God to move us into the place that we are intended to be, sets the events in motion by which we find God’s plan unfolding right before our eyes. Through her willingness to be in tune with the Spirit of God, even if she did not consciously think it at the time, she receives the blessing of food and oil for all time. I can’t imagine that she thought this all out, not in the condition she was in—but God led her to fulfill the components of the prophesy thereby caring for Elijah and eliminating her own hunger as well. We don’t know what she thought—we only know what she did. In our Gospel lesson, we come upon another widow woman. There is no interaction with her in the story. Jesus has just finished the teaching we hear in the beginning of the reading. Warning us against people for whom life is always about them, he notes that they will receive their just reward—and a stern reprimand it will be. Then, he sits down. But he isn’t resting, he’s watching—observing all the people put their money and gifts into the Temple Treasury. He notices that many of the rich people put in a great deal of money. That did not garner Jesus’ attention. Suddenly, this poor woman, comes into the Temple and drops two small coins into the Treasury. Two small coins that equaled no more than our penny—something most of us don’t even stop to pick up they are so insignificant. You can see her, if you look, shuffle in, bedraggled, perhaps? We don’t know much about her except what Jesus tells us about her. Jesus says that she has given her all, but unlike the baking woman in the Old Testament, this widow receives no promise from God, no instructions that will produce food for the rest of her life. No, this woman just gives. We don’t know her experience with giving. We don’t know what she believed or what motivated her to give her last penny, but, give it she did and Jesus noticed. I do not believe that Jesus, in this teaching, is calling us to give our last penny, although this passage has been used repeatedly, throughout all time, to suggest just that. I believe that Jesus is calling us to change our attitudes about giving and believing and living out the Good News in the world. Jesus shuns those who give so that they can be seen and, instead, favors those who give from a pure attitude—caring nothing for praise or personal gain, just giving because he or she wants to give. The widow, according to Jesus, gave her all—but mostly this story is about the way she gave, and, even more importantly, about the way she lived her life. Jesus calls us to be the offering—the offering given in the very same way the New Testament woman gave her all and the Old Testament woman gave of what she thought were the last moments of her life. What does it look like to “be” an offering? I believe that it looks like this: • It is a life of constant prayer—not that we are consciously praying all the time, but that we are open to the moving of God’s Spirit in our lives—knowing full well that when we are in tune with that Creative Divine Spirit, that we will find ourselves, just like the woman who experienced a life-altering encounter with Elijah—we too, will find ourselves in the right place at the right time. But it is God’s right place, right time, not ours. Our attempts to take over and exert control over God’s Spirit to move at our pace, in our time, obscure what God is wanting to share with us. • It is a willingness to give all of whatever we have been given to give. I have found that this is about far more than money—I have found that this is about time, and energy, and the willingness to drop what I think is important and devote the time to God’s call, offering praise along the way. Giving my all also includes giving those things I have never felt that I was worthy before to give—talents that I think are too small, gifts that I question or doubt anyone can use. Pushing myself past my own comfortability to give those things God is calling me to give, instead of those things that I am merely willing to give. That first, still, small voice that says “I could do that”, before it gets stifled by all our intellectualization—that is the voice that shows us how to give our all. That nudge, so easily pushed aside by our fears of inadequacy and incompetence—that nudge is the one we act on when we give our all. • Finally, it means that we do the same for all those around us. We point them to God’s offer of complete acceptance—not just acceptance of sexuality or gender identity, of difference, or background, or belief—but also in complete acceptance of our offer of all our gifts and talents given to us by that same Divine Spirit. As we have been given and called, so we call others to give and be the ones who, alive in the power of God, will be the bridge—our bridge--to God’s peace and justice in the world. So be it. Amen and amen

Giving--Growing in Grace 11-4-12--Consecration Sunday

The Reading— Romans 12: 4-8 For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully. The Gospel Reading: Matthew 13: 31-33 “God’s kingdom is like a pine nut that a farmer plants. It is quite small as seeds go, but in the course of years it grows into a huge pine tree, and eagles build nests in it.” Another story. “God’s kingdom is like yeast that a woman works into the dough for dozens of loaves of barley bread—and waits while the dough rises.” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Giving: Growing in Grace 11-4-12 God of ages past and all time to come, show us the way you have planned for us. Plant our feet in the footprints of those who come before. May your truth be in all that happens here today. Amen It feels as if this Sunday has been a long time coming—particularly for those of us who have monitored the ongoing transformation of the property that we will consecrate later today. And yet, as time goes, it has not been that long. Today is one of those Sundays when church just seems to come together. We celebrate All Saints’ Day on this, the Sunday after the official feast day and we honor all that we are and will become in this special church on this very special day. We celebrate all that has come before, all who have come before, all who make it possible for us to be in this place. We honor the saints in our lives—the founders of MCC Churches all over the world and those individuals in all times and places in our private and communal lives who have taught us what it is to be a child of God. So, it makes sense that we would talk about grace, because, in the end, it’s all about God’s wonderful, matchless grace in our lives, in the lives of those gone before, and in the hopes and dreams of those still to come. And, so here we are on Consecration Sunday, one giant day of consecration and commitment. We’ve spent the last month looking at various aspects of giving, and many of us now look at giving just a little differently. Today is no different, so I start with a story. Many of you will remember the story several years ago about the Women’s College Softball Regional Tournament where the winners appeared to be obvious even before the game was played. Then something strange happened. One young woman, who had never hit a home run in her life, hit one over the fence. It was a grand slam, or so they thought. But this woman was suddenly and inexplicably hurt and fell to the ground. Later she learned it was a torn ACL, at that point all that was clear was that she could not get around the bases. Now the rules of softball are a little more complicated than they look. Her team knew that they could not help her or touch her in any way or the run would not count as a home run. But one young woman on the opposing team, a hitter of more home runs than any other player on the field that day, knew what to do. In an act of complete unselfishness, she and another player picked up the injured player and carried her around the bases so that her homerun would count. It lost them the game, but it made them women their parents, coaches, and friends could be proud of. The story was all over YouTube, and both of the young women who sacrificed their own needs to help this injured player simply said, “she hit a home run, she deserved to see it count.” To this day, I cannot watch the video of these women helping an injured stranger across home plate without tearing up. This story is not singular, but it is an important one that shows us what a simple act can accomplish across the world. In those little seeds of grace, the Reign of God’s Justice is born in our hearts. Those young women did not do what they did to inspire people all over the globe, but they did just that. The number of hits on the various postings of this story is phenomenal. And, to this, Jesus, I believe, would say “Amen, do you get it?” Jesus starts our Gospel lesson this morning with perhaps one of the most famous of all parables. Our contemporary interpretation changes the species of tree, but you recognized it, nevertheless. One little seed, be it pine nut, or mustard seed, grows into a tree large enough for birds to build their nests in. One tiny seed. Now one day this week when I arrived at the Campus, I found Joe, the general contractor, planting grass seed in the place where the little house had stood before we tore it down—not because we paid him to, but because he wanted to contribute to the beauty of the Campus. I told him he was doing great, and he responded that he was planting seed for the future. I told him that the sermon would reflect the same story and he was very excited—it’s been interesting to talk to Joe along the way about what makes this church, well, this church. We are, each of us, quite small seeds, but when watered by God’s grace and formed by God’s unconditional love and acceptance for each of us, a great ministry will continue to grow. Paul reminds us and the Christians at Rome that all of our gifts are different, but are all manifested through the same blessing of grace—the grace of being gifted by God. “Amen, and do we get it?” This day has come with great sacrifice on the part of some and the prayers and time and talent of many. It’s a day when we rejoice, it is also a day that should give us pause. For almost three years, the phrase “when we have space of our own” has pervaded every conversation that we have had about our future ministries and our call to live out God’s justice in this world. My friends, today we have our own space—“amen, and do we get it?” Do we get that with the blessing of God’s grace comes the call to divine responsibility. Why divine responsibility? Because God has both planted and watered the seed, and we are set to harvest it. “Amen, and do we get it?” Do we get that Jesus is calling us to greatness—a greatness that can only be called forth through the sacred grace of our Creator’s love. Do we get that Jesus is calling us to greatness because the world, our world, needs greatness today; more than anything else, the world need those of us who are willing to stand up and be great—to do not just the right thing, but the great thing—to bring the glorious good news that our Creator loves us, each and every one of just as we are divinely created—all as sacred children of God created to bless and be a blessing to each other—“amen, do we get it?” And so we turn to the second short little parable for today. It’s about flour and yeast, mixing and kneading many, many pounds of flour. This woman, so trusts and follows the call of Christ to make a difference in the world that she understands just how much she can do with the right ingredients. The proportion of yeast to flour is small, but each small bit of yeast, just like each small touch of grace, moves through and radically impacts the world for God’s Reign of Justice, Equality and Peace. “Amen, do we get it?” I think we do get it, but the proof will be in what we do with these blessings that we have received. As we walk the land God has given to Open Circle today, and view the beautiful offices and meeting spaces, may we keep our eyes focused on the call to greatness. May our celebration be a glad rejoicing that God has chosen us to inhabit this sacred land, and may we seek to ever and ever in new and deeper ways understand the power of God in us to change the world. Amen and amen.