We all know that the times "they are a-changin'." There is so much change
all around us that one of the great problems of the '90s is futurephobia:
People are afraid of the changes that are coming -- into our lives, into
our churches, into our communities, into our homes.
The writer of Hebrews testified that there is only one thing that can
fear-proof your life to deal with "changing times:" Perfect Love.
"Perfect love casts out fear" (1 John 4:18). This morning's text offers one
practical little guide and guardrail after another to next-generation
Christians, with the author ticking them off in an almost David Letterman
style we have come to love so well.
1) Let mutual love continue;
2) Do not neglect to offer hospitality to strangers for by doing that some
have entertained angels without know it.
3) Remember those who are in prison or are being tortured;
4) Let marriage be held in honor by all;
5) let the marriage bed be kept undefiled;
6) Keep your lives free from the love of money;
7) Be content with what you have;
8) Remember your leaders, those who spoke the word of God to you
9) Continually offer a sacrifice of praise to God
10) Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have
To put this into the language of the '90s, we need a parallel list of
practical advice on how to find the still point of a turning world. What
follows is a list of 10 simple things as suggested by our text, 10 simple
things you can do to live faithfully, not fearfully as we look forward to
the future. Here are 10 small things you can incorporate into your normal
routine that can help your faith create a future that outstrips your fears.
10. Be hospitable to the "strange" and "stranger" in your life. Break your
daily routine in some small way. Use as your motto Isaiah 42:16 -- "Along
unfamiliar paths I will guide them." Try some new food each week. Take a
new route to work. Try a new book of the Bible each week. Read each week
from a book of the Bible that is unfamiliar to you. (What's the difference
between Zechariah and Zephaniah, anyway?)
9. Take off your shoes the first chance you get. Remember what God told
Moses? "Take off your shoes," God instructed Moses. "The place on which you
are standing is holy ground" (Exodus 3:5).
[Take off your shoes and then ask the congregation to spend the rest of the
sermon with their shoes off.]
A study reported a few years ago in USA Today revealed that those
individuals who habitually kick off their shoes under the dining table or
their desk or their pew tend to live three years longer than the average
American.
Now will you kick off your shoes this morning? In the Benedictine Monastic
Order, the monks take off their shoes constantly -- for meals, for prayer,
for conversation, for reading -- i.e., whenever shoes are not an absolute
necessity, they go barefooted.
"But," you might ask, "what if I step on something sharp? What if I cut
myself and bleed?" That's a real possibility, of course. Whenever you say,
"Yes" to life in its fullness, you invite vast pleasure and deep pain.
But even with the pain, wouldn't you rather lie on your deathbed knowing
you have really lived? Even with the pain, going barefoot with your body,
heart and soul beats ... keeping everything cooped up and secure.
Feet that are bound for too long begin to stink. Souls that are bound up
and cooped up for too long begin to stink as well. Let some fresh air into
your soul. Go barefoot.
8. Meditate for 15 minutes every day. According to the American Institute
on Stress, 75 to 90 percent of all visits to primary-care physicians are
for stress-related complaints.
Lie back wherever you are, close your eyes, and listen to music or to the
sound of your breath.
7. Do one "wild" thing a day. A favorite children's author has written a
poem called "Wild Thing."
I went for a walk in the sun without wearing my sunscreen.
I went out of town without making a reservation.
I placed my mouth directly upon a public drinking fountain, and took a sip.
I didn't bother flossing my teeth before bedtime.
I pumped my own gasoline at a self-service station.
I ate the deviled egg instead of the cauliflower with low-fat yogurt dip.
I bought, without reading Consumer Reports, a new dryer.
I left my checking account unreconciled.
I know that the consequences could be dire,
But sometimes a woman simply has to run wild.
(Judith Viorst, Forever Fifty and Other Negotiations [Thorndike, Maine:
Thorndike Press, 1989], 21-22.)
Or if "wildness" is too "wild" for your taste, take a break and do
something "silly." For example, visit some gorillas on the Internet and
admire their paintings: http://www.gorilla.org/Art/ ).
6. Say "No" sometimes. I heard recently about a committee meeting where
Georgina, after confessing to being burned-out in her own life, volunteered
to take on some more duties. After the meeting was over, Georgina's friend
Leah said to her, "Georgina, I have a mantra for you." And in a low voice
she chanted, "Nooooooooooo."
"Omm?" Georgina said.
"No! Nooooooooo,'" Leah chanted again in a big, round."
Then the two of them began chanting it together in unison: "Noooooooo."
Then in harmony, "Nooooooooooo."
How many of you here this morning need to learn this chant and sing it to
each other often? Let's try it this morning:
Chant "Noooooooo" in unison.
Now chant "Nooooo" in harmony.
In the words of Montana psychologist Charlotte Kasl, "When you won't play
the role of the one who gives all, or the nice guy, other people might feel
hurt or be angry with you. Remember, whenever we carry others on our backs,
both become cripples. By taking people off your back, you free them to
learn to walk and you will feel lighter, happier, and more able to feel the
breath of spirit. Most of all, as you get more comfortable in saying no,
you can relax, laugh and start saying a true YES"
The kind of NO he is talking about giving are to those who are themselves
unwilling to take responsibility for their own actions. They want you to
say yes because they don't want the responsibility. The issue is "how
often can you say yes to rescue someone else's irresponsibility."
5. Find someone new to "Barnabas" each week. Remember Barnabas? He was an
"encourager." Who can you find to encourage in their journey through life?
The best health insurance out there is relationships. Find someone to
encourage and lift up.
There is an old poem entitled "The Bridge Builder" which is attributed to
Will Allen Dromgoole.. It conveys the essence of what it means "to
Barnabas" someone:
An old man, going a lone highway,
came, at the evening, cold and gray,
to a chasm, vast, and deep and wide, through which was flowing a sullen
tide.
The old man crossed in the twilight dim;
the sullen stream had no fears for him;
but he turned, when safe on the other side,
and built a bridge to span the tide.
"Old man," said a fellow pilgrim, near,
"you are wasting strength with building here;
your journey will end with the ending day;
you never again must pass this way;
you have crossed the chasm, deep and wide;
why build you the bridge at eventide?"
The builder lifted his old gray head;
"Good friend, in the path I have come,"
he said, "there followeth after me today
a youth, whose feet must pass this way.
This chasm, that has been naught to me,
to that fair-haired youth may a pitfall be;
he too, must cross, in the twilight dim;
good friend, I am building the bridge for him."
To Barnabas someone—even a stranger—is to enable that person to be, simply
be.
4. Laugh a lot. The Latin root of the word humor means "fluid," like water.
What keeps us fluid and flexible? The fluids of laughter and humor.
Here are some bumper stickers travelers have seen throughout the world.
"The gene pool could use a little chlorine."
"Forget about World Peace....Visualize Using Your Turn Signal!"
"Ever stop to think, and forget to start again?"
"Change is inevitable, except from a vending machine."
"Out of my mind. Back in five minutes."
Seen on an old, beat-up car: "This is not an abandoned vehicle."
"Sometimes I wake up grumpy; other times I let her sleep."
"Women who seek to be equal to men lack ambition."
"It's as BAD as you think, and they ARE out to get you."
"If you don't like the news, go out and make some."
"Okay, who stopped the payment on my reality check?"
"How Can I Miss You If You Won't Go Away?"
"Warning: Dates in calendar are closer than they appear."
"We have enough youth, how about a fountain of SMART?"
"Be nice to your kids. They'll choose your nursing home."
"Why is 'Abbreviation' such a long word?"
"I'm out of bed and dressed. What more do you want?"
3. Find a way to "Go with God" in everything you do. Kurt Vonnegut, who if
judged by the number of Web sites dedicated to him is one of our most
popular contemporary novelists, has just published what he announces is his
last novel (Timequakes [1997]). Reviewers interviewing him have been
stunned by how he has begun signing off his conversations: "Go with God"
(James Atlas "The Literary Life," New Yorker, October 6, 1997, 43).
"Go with God" by never eating without bowing your head and giving thanks.
Even in restaurants. Even in cars. Bow your head.
"Go with God" by being faithful in going to church. A Duke University study
of people over age 65 found that those who attended religious services at
least once a week were less likely to have high blood levels of
interleukin-6, a protein associated with various age-related diseases and
disabilities.
2. Exercise. Take a walk a day. A half-hour walk can burn about 200
calories. Three times a week and you'll burn enough calories to lose or
avoid gaining 10 pounds a year. I won't bore you with a lot of statistics
but suffice it to say, exercise keeps the life juices flowing.
1. And finally -- the number one thing you can do to add years, not fears
to your life --shift your prayer life from "Please, God" to "Please God."
Take the comma out of those two words when you pray, and transition your
praying from asking God for things to asking God for the pleasure of God's
pleasure.
You want a future without fear? You want to add years, not fears to your
life? These simple exhortations we've been sharing, as well as those of the
Hebrews text, will bring Perfect Love which "casts out fear" into your
life.
A word of caution: You may not be able to do everything at once. These are
steps to take, not a quick fix. But as you begin to be hospitable, take
your shoes off, meditate, do something wild, say no, find someone to
encourage, laugh, go with God, exercise, and please God, you will find,
step by step, a love in your life that casts out the fears and tears.
AMEN
