First Presbyterian Church – Willmar
September 9, 2012
Sermon
“Chosen, Blessed”
Last week we gave an overview to what Henri Nouwen refers to as a “eucharistic life,” a Christian life lived in gratitude to the Lord. Nouwen takes the four points of our own eucharistic liturgy, descriptive of the life and sacrifice of Jesus, and tries to show how such a model can shape our lives as Christians: taken, blessed, broken, given.
You are God’s beloved, and you have been taken by God, chosen by God, to bring the message of the Gospel to the world through the way in which you live your life. It all starts with the recognition and acceptance of the fact that you are God’s beloved. You are!
When we have acknowledged that we are God’s chosen and beloved children, we have received God’s blessing. And then we are called to share that blessing with the world, starting with one another.
Presbyterians may not be very good at blessings. We have been blessed by God. We have been called by God, God’s beloved children. But as scripture constantly reminds us, we need each other, we need the congregation, the assembly of God’s beloved people chosen – called together – by God to raise up each other. You have the power to bless one another. You have the power to bless me.
When we bless one another, we reaffirm to each other the fact that you are God’s beloved. Nouwen puts it this way: “The blessings that we give to each other are expressions of the blessing that rests on us from all eternity. It is the deepest affirmation of our true self. It is not enough to be chosen. We also need an on-going blessing that allows us to hear in an ever-new way that we belong to a loving God who will never leave us alone, but will remind us always that we are guided by love on every step of our lives. [Life of the Beloved, p. 59]”
We need each other.
Listen to the conversations that happen around us every day. Listen to the commentators on the news. Listen in on the conversations at some committee meetings or come to a Presbytery meeting. We complain to one another so very much. We look for someone to blame for something. We feel that we have been victimized by some unseen people or power. We are much more ready to hear that we are cursed than that we are blessed.
I say again, you are God’s beloved children, chosen and blessed by God. Yet so many messages that we hear or see every day deny our blessedness. It’s not in Satan’s best interests that we claim our blessedness. It’s not in the best interests of the “powers and principalities” of this world that we claim our blessedness. When we are able to acknowledge and accept our blessedness every thing about the way we view one another and the rest of the world will change. The way we treat one another will change. The way we understand who we are will change.
But even before we can bless one another, we must claim our blessedness. The very first step is when you acknowledge and accept that fact that you are God’s beloved child. The very first step is when you realize that you have been chosen to share God’s love for all the world.
If you want to accept your blessedness, then it will help if you have a good relationship rooted in regular and persistent communications with the Lord. That is, it will help if you develop a habit of prayer.
So many of us seem to worry about what to say when we pray. As Paul assures us in Romans 8: “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray, and God’s Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit.”
When you pray, start by listening, and let the Spirit lead you as you try to find the words to say. This world is full of noise. Listening is hard for us. Allowing silence to surround us is even harder. Watch ….. [15 seconds of silence]. That was only 15 seconds.
When you first fell in love, you probably wanted to spend as much time as possible with your beloved alone, focused on one another. So it is when we pray. We need to shut out the distractions of the world – the noise – and dare to listen for God’s word within our hearts.
As you listen faithfully for God’s word and start to speak the words that the Spirit puts into your heart, you will recognize that God is telling you that God loves you.
But even if you find it too difficult to give God some time alone and in silence, then perhaps you should try being more attentive to life itself. In the rush of everyday life, we overlook the blessings that are placed in front of us.
Some Presbyterians get worried about me when I talk about the need for intentionality in our faith and in our prayer lives. The life of faith doesn’t just happen. It takes work. Prayer doesn’t just happen. It takes commitment and discipline. It takes a decision. And acknowledging and accepting our belovedness so that we live as God’s chosen and beloved children takes an intentional awareness on our part. We can’t alter the fact that God loves us. God loves you! We can, however, refuse to recognize and accept it and end up living our lives in the darkness of this world.
Try this. Tonight set aside just 5 minutes and reflect on what went on today. Think about the moments in which you thought that just maybe you could feel God’s presence surrounding you. Maybe a moment in church. Maybe a moment with a family member or a friend. Maybe something that happens at the community meal tonight. Maybe just looking at this gorgeous fall day. Take a few moments and reflect on whether or not God was trying to assure you of your blessedness.
Then shift gears for another moment. Reflect on whether there were any moments when some thought or action went through you or happened to you and clearly God’s grace was not part of that moment. Maybe you got angry about something. Maybe you were jealous of someone or something. Maybe you judged someone as being not only different but less than you. Paul says God’s law is written on our hearts. We know when we are pushing God away and acting in ways that the world sometimes encourages. Be honest with yourself.
Then pray. Turn your heart to God and ask God to draw you nearer to God through those things that you know brought God’s presence closer to you. Ask God to lead you into those paths in which your blessedness, your chosenness are revealed to you. Thank God for blessing you and pray that the Spirit will allow you to hold onto that blessedness even though it will change your life.
Do that every day for a week. You may find that you want to spend more than 5 minutes. You may find that you want to continue beyond the week. You will find that as you recognize – not find, but recognize – those moments of God’s presence in your life that you will need more time just to say thank you to the Lord.
You are God’s beloved. You are chosen. You are blessed. It starts with our awareness of that love in our lives. When we have reached that point then we are ready to face the brokenness of the world and the brokenness of our selves and begin to turn that very brokenness into a grateful offering to God.
Amen.
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