#preachingwithoutapulpit

Last week I had the joy and privilege to attend the Christians Engaged in Faith Formation conference in Nashville, TN.  This conference is hosted by an association of primarily professional United Methodist Christian Educators.  It gathered together people whose experience in Christian education spanned since before I was born to college students discerning their call to ministry.  Some people traveled from the UK while others were Nashville natives. Many worked in local churches while others write for publishing houses or in non-profits.  Some are generalists others work with elders or youth or children.  It truly was a great cloud of witnesses with a deep well of knowledge;  sitting at the feet of the masters, learning, listening, sharing stories.

At one of our worship services we sung the old hymn “Blest Be the Tie That Binds” set to a new tune.  These old words came to life, were given new meaning, and spoke truth into our gathering space, all because the notes behind them changed.  The message never changed, but a new delivery made the message easier to hear.  

Surrounded by fellow educators, I was struck by this hymn. We all come from different ministry contexts, yet our call to ministry is the same.  We are Christ bearers, we share the good news, we help you to interpret the love of God in your life.  Our methods differ, our platforms of communication keep evolving, but the message of God’s love is eternal.  At the end of the day, we were all connected and a part of the community of saints.

“Blest be the tie that binds our hearts in Christian love; the fellowship of kindred minds is like to that above.” This is what the church has to offer, this community and sense of connection to something bigger and greater.  I reflected on this while sitting in the airport waiting to board my plane.  I was surrounded by people, and yet I was alone and disconnected in the midst of the crowd.  This is the reality of the world in which we live, we appear to be in community and yet too often we are disconnected.  

This is why we need the church.  We need to connect to the people of God!  Our faith is magnified by community.  God’s grace grows in the fertile soil of church connection.  We need church to help us see where God is in this world and in our lives.  

We need you in the church.  We need you to come home and share your stories of encounters with the Holy on the mountains, in your baby’s smile, in the peaceful passing of a loved one.  We need you to point to these glimpses of grace and help us to connect to the movements of the Spirit outside our community.  

We need the church and the church needs you.  Come and teach us new tunes to the same Gospel words.  Come and learn a new way to sing when your old song looses its meaning.  Blest be the tie that binds, and may each of you be blessed with the love of Christ this day and every day.

Grace and Peace,

‘Mind your manners, someday you could have dinner with the President’.  That was the lesson that my grandma used to teach when I was a little girl.  We had to keep our elbows off the table, say please and thank you, and we never ever talked with our mouths full.  We had to learn these things because someday we might have dinner at the White House with the President and his family (because Chelsea and I were going to swap stories about our crazy curly hair). 

Growing up Bill Clinton was in the White House and even in the midst of his trials and tribulations the White House and the Presidency was something to be honored.  My grandma was a not a fan of his politics nor the choices he made, but she still respected the office as his authority as president.  We looked up to him, she taught us the President was special.

I don’t know, maybe its because I was only a kid at the time, maybe I don’t remember it well, but it seemed to me, even in the midst of disagreement people could still find respect for the authority of the presidency.  Sure we joked about it, we argued about it, we might even be disappointed in the man and the office but we still practiced our manners because someday we could have dinner with him and that would be something special.

With this presidential race, I can’t help but wonder what my grandma would say.  Would she still be teaching me to sit up straight and put my fork down while I chewed my food 50 times before swallowing? Would she still teach me that the office is worthy of our respect?  Would she hope that her grandkids could show off their manners  at a nice dinner with today’s candidates? 

It seems to me that the lessons we need to learn now are so much deeper than which direction to pass the food.  We need to learn that people have intrinsic value. We need to be reminded that God has created each and every one of us and we are all loved.  We need to teach that no person ever deserves to be harassed, talked down to, or be dehumanized by words and actions.  

You matter! You are of great worth! You should not be called horrible and offensive names, no one deserves that.  No one deserves to have unwanted advances on their body.  No one deserves to be persecuted because of their religious beliefs.

This is not normal.  This is not acceptable.     

So what would my grandma teach today?  Would she even bother to train us for dinner at with the president? Would she rather we spent our time caring for those who have been devalued during this race and sharing with them the grace of God?  

At the end of the day, I can’t help but think about the lessons my grandma taught me and the respect for the office that she instilled in me.  I have to wonder what type of person my grandma was teaching me to have dinner with because that is who I’ll be voting for in November.  

As I sit here trying to prepare an Advent booklet for families I cannot take my eyes off the news coming from Ferguson, MO.  My newsfeed is filled with stories of protests, riots, tear gas, profound quotes, hurt and confusion.  How can this be?  How can the words of Martin Luther King Jr still be so profound, so relevant, so needed?  How can we be fighting the same fight?  Why is it that we as a people have yet to learn that all lives matter?  When will we start treating each and every person as though their life is of sacred worth?    Sunday begins a new church year.  The season of Advent begins and we participate in the holy angst, the holy preparation, the holy stillness of a people waiting for the Christ Child to enter into our reality and turning everything on its head.  We light candles in the dark cold winter- candles that bring not only light and warmth but Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love.  Every year we do this because every year we need these things to breakthrough into our reality.

Every year we participate in the holy act of waiting.  We take the time to slow down and light the candles.  We participate in a moment of silence, peace, and stillness as we watch the candle burn and we reflect on the Advent litany.  What if this year we do it a little different?  What if this year instead of just resting in the light of the candles and signing the joyful hymns once the Christ candle is lit, why don't we do a little more?  Instead of waiting for this Christmas to somehow be different than all the others, what if this Christmas we do something to make it different?  

We make a lot of noise after our season of waiting and preparing.  We fill the radio with songs, we participate in family gatherings filled with love and laughter (and drama and old feuds).  One week after the Christ Candle is lit we shoot off fireworks and celebrate the new calendar year.  We loudly proclaim our new resolutions of how this time things will be different.  

Michael Brown's family spoke into the chaos "Let's not just make noise, let's make a difference." 

This Advent Season, lets prayerfully discern how we can make a difference.  As the Church, as communities, as individuals, as people created in the image of God who have been called to be holy as the Lord our God is holy- let us discern together how we can reflect the Christ Child's light into this dark cold winter.  Let us discern how we can pray with our feet.  How can we live into the Kingdom of God here and now?