The Houses in Which We Live

Lay Sermon by Barbara Liu

Faith Lutheran Church of East Hartford

Sunday, June 10, 2012

2 Corinthians 4:13 - 5:1

Mark 3:20-35

As I was preparing to talk with you today, studying and meditating on the readings set for this Sunday, I was struck by the references to houses in both Second Corinthians and Mark's Gospel.  The Bible authors often make use of metaphors relating ideas and principles to objects that readers can easily envision and situations to which readers can readily relate.  And houses were just as important to the people of Jesus's time as they are to us today.  After all, shelter is a basic human need.

But in our lives today (and perhaps to some degree in Jesus's time—I'm not sure), houses have become more than just shelter. 

It's a commonly-stated idea in this country that owning one's own house is unquestionably good. That's why we feel good when we volunteer with Habitat for Humanity, helping others to build a house they might not otherwise be able to afford. 

To own your own house is a key part of the American dream after all. Whether our version includes a white picket fence or not, owning a house is a sign that we've made it; it's not just a place to live, it's a status symbol.

Some of the key measures of our country's economic security and prosperity have to do with houses. "Housing starts," that is the number of new houses being built, are used to indicate consumer confidence (you don't start building a new house unless you feel secure and confident that you will be able to afford to finish the project, furnish it, and keep it up once it's built).  And the ups and downs of the real estate market are constants in the financial news.

But as anyone who has ever owned a house knows, there are a lot of headaches that come with that dream.  When the roof starts leaking or the furnace starts giving out, we stress over how we are going to pay for those big ticket repairs.  Whenever a big nor'easter comes through, we keep nervously looking out our back windows at that big old tree with the branches hanging over our kitchen, praying it doesn't come crashing down.  And it seems we spend all of our free time cleaning the house or mowing the lawn or raking the leaves or trimming the branches off that tree or…well, you've got the point.

  ****

Now, you may not know this, but Bing and I used to own a house in Tolland.  It was a nice split level ranch on three quarters of an acre.  There was a tree house in the wooded back part of the lot and lots of grass out front and along the side.  When we bought that house we were thrilled that we were able to afford it, and we envisioned our kids playing on that lawn or climbing up to that tree house someday.

Well, the kids never came, and we accepted that.  But then that yard became a burden.  It seemed like we never enjoyed it. The only time we spent in it was to keep it up: raking leaves, mowing it, picking up ridiculous amounts of acorns.  It didn't help that Bing wanted the lawn to look like a golf course; if he'd had somewhat lower standards perhaps it wouldn't have been quite such a burden, but after a few years, we started to realize that having a house wasn't for us, and we found the condo where we live now.  It's great; we love autumn again because we can enjoy the turning leaves without having to spend a weekend or two raking.  We can watch the snow fall without having to worry about shoveling or plowing. 

But even the condo is more trouble than I'd like, what with the hot water heater on its last legs and waiting for the owners' association to pass a plan for the much-needed new roof and siding (which will cost us a big chunk of change), and so I've convinced Bing that our next home a few years down the road is going to be an apartment.  We won't have to worry about any maintenance, and if the owners are slow to make needed repairs, we can just find another apartment when our lease is up and not have to worry about selling the current one first.

After dreaming about my own home for years, after five years in our own house in Tolland, and after eight years in our current condo, I've come to believe that owning a home is not all it's cracked up to be, and that maybe we shouldn't present it as the ultimate goal for one's life (despite the tax benefits).

 When I own a home, I worry and obsess over it too much.  I want it to look perfect, to reflect my personality (or to portray the sophistication I want guests to think I have), and I stress over the upkeep.  In other words, I spend more time and energy thinking about the quality of my house (or condo), than I do in improving the quality of other aspects of my life--like my relationships with my family and friends—or my relationship with God.

And I believe this is at least a part of what The Word we are given today asks us to consider:  that sometimes we put too much emphasis on the physical structures in which we live our lives (whether those structures be our physical bodies, our houses, or our church buildings) and not the core of our lives—our relationships with each other and with God.

In the second letter to the Corinthians, Paul is reminding the believers in Corinth, that faith is what sustains us, and that working for God's purposes should be our focus. Now, when he says "if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens" he is speaking metaphorically.  He isn't writing about an actual tent getting blown away in a storm or burned in an accidental fire, but about our physical bodies which are destroyed by age, disease, violence, or our own sin.  He isn't writing about a literal building in heaven that we will go live in, but about the new, clean spiritual body that flows from our baptism and becomes more real each day as we live into God's Kingdom. So he is telling his readers that all their physical sufferings now (perhaps due to the common afflictions of human life, but more especially due to persecution for their faith) are ultimately for their good and God's glory. "Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is renewed day by day," he says. "This slight momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure," not "what can be seen" and is "temporary" but what "cannot be seen" and is "eternal."  And I say, "Amen Paul!" 

In my own case, I probably spend more time before I go to sleep each night stretching my hip so that my bursitis doesn't keep me awake than I do on my knees praying for the spiritual hope that is just as important to my well being as a good night's sleep.  I'm not saying that I shouldn't do those stretches; I really do need that sleep, after all.  But I think that Paul would urge me to pay just as much attention to my spiritual health as my physical health—if not more.

I think there is more that we can and should take from these references to houses in Paul and in the Gospel, however, than just balancing our physical and spiritual health.  As I've said, Paul is talking about our bodies here and not literally about tents or buildings, yet I think we can learn much by taking his metaphor a bit more literally. For many of us today, the destruction, sufferings and afflictions in our lives often have to do with the actual buildings in which we live those lives, like our houses.  We get caught up in dreaming about, planning for and worrying about buildings, instead of dreaming about and planning for and praying about how we can renew our souls and reach out to other souls in need of God's grace.

And in the same way that we as individuals or couples focus too much on the buildings in which we live, I think that when we think about our lives as Christians, especially as members of this congregation of Faith Lutheran, we focus too much on this building which we call our church.

***

In the gospel today, Jesus is responding to his opponents who are using Jesus's acts of exorcism against him.  Basically, they are accusing him of using witchcraft, of being possessed by or aligned with demons. When Jesus says that a house divided against itself cannot stand, he is simply pointing out that his accusers are illogical.  Why would Satan use Jesus against Satan's own purposes?  And when Jesus says that "no one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his property without first tying up the strong man," he is noting that Satan is strong, but that Jesus—as the Son of God working with the Holy Spirit—is the one who can tie Satan up and plunder his house; God is stronger than Satan.  He then says that whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit—that is, whoever says that the strength for good that comes from the Spirit is actually an evil that comes from Satan—can never be forgiven.  We must, in other words, acknowledge the goodness of God and the gifts of the Spirit; when we do not, we commit the ultimate betrayal. 

While I don't think we commit this unforgivable blasphemy when we put so much of our hopes and energy into the physical structures of our lives—after all, they are also gifts from God—I'm afraid that when we focus so much of our thought, time, and energy on them, that we neglect the more important of God's gifts, those that Paul says we should put the most store in--our spiritual health and the ways in which we glorify God.   Paul says that everything—our gifts and our sufferings—is for our sake "so that grace, as it extends to more and more people, may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God."

How often do we focus on how we can use our bodies to glorify God? Is it as often as we worry about our aches and pains? 

How often do we consider how the resources we put into our houses (or how our houses themselves) might be used to increase thanksgiving and glory to God?  Is it as often or as much as we think about our next home improvement project?

How often—when we think about this building—do we think about the many ways in which (and the people for which) it offers spiritual sanctuary?  Is it as often or as much as we worry about the aging boiler, the sagging acoustical tiles in the fellowship hall, or the grass-filled cracks in the parking lot? 

Certainly, there is a lot of pride in this building. Yesterday, as we have for several years, we opened our doors to show off the beautiful windows that this congregation joined together to craft themselves many years ago. 

But since I've been a member of Faith, and especially since I've been on the council, I have heard as much complaint and concern about this building as I have pride.  I hear a lot of complaining, for example, about how run down our fellowship hall is.  Some people talk about the day when we can just blow it up and build a newer, better space.  Yet many wonder and worry about how we'll ever be able to afford to rebuild it when our congregation is aging and pledges don't cover our regular operating expenses. 

But do you know that for others that fellowship hall space is beautiful? For the Living Word and Mount Horeb Baptist congregations, it is beautiful simply because God provided it for them.  While a building consultant from the ELCA told us not to bother putting any money into it, these other congregations have invested in curtains, curtain rods, installed a projector, and more, because it is a space they are proud and happy to worship in.  As Pastor Luis of Mount Horeb told those of us who gathered there last Saturday with members of all the congregations who worship at 1120 Silver Lane, "We asked so many churches to use their space and they all said no, and then I came to Pastor Bill at Faith and you said 'yes.'"  In other words, there was not room at the inn, but what we see as a lowly barn, is the place where Christ is reborn and renewed in their hearts every week.  Why can't we see it through their eyes and have pride not just in these windows, but in the fact that we have the simple gift of space that in Paul's words extends grace "to more and more people" and "may increase thanksgiving to the glory of God"?

Do we, like the Pharisees, question the work of God when it happens in ways we find surprising or somewhat frightening?  Do we hear the loud preaching, the exclamations, and the speaking in tongues, and secretly shake our heads and wonder why they have to be so noisy?  Do we look at the curtains that may not be our taste and think them a waste of money?  Do we see few openings on the calendar for our own special activities and events and think what an inconvenience it is to have all these people using our space all the time? I'll admit, I've occasionally entertained some of these thoughts.  And do we quiet these thoughts by telling ourselves that it may be inconvenient or uncomfortable but that we are being good, charitable Christians, by sharing our space?

Well, yes, we are being good, charitable Christians, but guess what?  It isn't our space.  Certainly members of this congregation helped build and furnish this building--not only with their money but with the hard work and skill of their hands—and we should be proud of that accomplishment. But even though we feel the pride of home ownership, that we've achieved a Christian version of the American dream, we do not own this church. God owns this church, and God built it for us. And God built it for Living Word, and God built it for Mount Horeb Baptist, and God built it for the Indian Christian Fellowship. And God built it for Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, and Overeaters Anonymous, groups that find healing from addiction through reliance on God. 

If we realize this, if we believe this and give thanks for and marvel at the working of the Holy Spirit in all that happens here, then we can realize that what we have here is a building from God, not made with hands.  That though its outer nature might be wasting away, it is being renewed day by day.  And if we stop looking at the other congregations that God has gathered here as renters, or guests, or charitable projects, we will see that the Spirit has brought them here to take part in that renewal. 

Yes, sharing this space means that things get worn out faster, or that we have to communicate our needs to one another so that we don't step on each other's toes or damage each other's prized possessions.  It means that someone will sometimes leave a mess that we will grumble about cleaning up, or that someone will forget to turn down the thermostat before leaving (we are all human here, after all).  But it also means that we have someone else who will share with us the responsibility for this space as well, and that will contribute according to their gifts and abilities to maintain it. 

If we see those who share this space as our equals, if we understand that this building is just as much God's gift to them as it is to us, it could be that in a few years, when we are ready to blow up that hall, destroy that earthly tent, that it is not just this congregation that contributes their vision, their money, and their hard work to a new building from God, but that there are two or three or four congregations working together, the many hands that God has gathered making the work lighter.  Then, we will be able to offer shelter to even more people in the community. And because we will worry less about the building that God has provided, we can use more of our energy to extending God's grace to more and more people, and increasing thanksgiving to the Glory of God.

Or maybe those congregations will move on to invest in other buildings.  Who knows?  Only God.

But whatever happens, I'm pretty sure that God wants us to put as much or more energy into what happens inside this building and what happens inside our hearts, to how we worship here and how our lives worship him in our homes, in our community, and in our work, as we put into thinking about the physical quality of this building.  As long as we remember that the eternal gifts of God matter more than these temporary structures, we will be in God's grace no matter what kind of building we live in.

An mp3 audiorecording of this sermon can be downloaded at this Google docs link.

Gloria: Why U2 is So Important to Me

It was the winter of 1985 and I was spending it in Duluth, Minnesota. Duluth has much to offer, but its winters are as one might expect—cold and snowy. It is also a steep town, built as it is on a bluff on the far west of Lake Superior’s north shore. The local joke in Duluth is that when driving, the right of way belongs to the car coming down the hill sideways. It’s one of those jokes that’s funny because it’s true.

But I grew up in and around Ashland, Wisconsin, just one hour east of Duluth and also on THE great lake, so I wasn’t surprised or overwhelmed by its archetypal winter weather.

But the winters of my youth were not the only help I had in surviving those dark months; I was also listening frequently to U2’s album, The Unforgettable Fire, and something about the spare, haunting music of songs like “A Sort of Homecoming” and “MLK” felt like an apt soundtrack for my walks along the frigid white streets.

I was in Duluth attending graduate school at UMD, and I wasn’t enjoying the experience. The MA program in English was clearly second rate, I wasn’t feeling especially engaged intellectually, and I missed keenly the friends I had left back in my undergraduate town of Stevens Point. Of course, one of those I missed most was a young man with whom I was desperately and unrequitedly in love. While Mike saw me as a close friend, and while he also missed me greatly—a fact made evident by his frequent long letters—he was beginning to accept his sexuality. He could no longer deny that he was gay.

While I knew Mike was gay, and was coming close to accepting it myself, I still felt deeply the loss of his daily presence in my life. The distance between us was just too great, I thought, for my heart to stand much longer. My heart ached; it really did. I now understood the age old clichés. The longing to be with my friend was physical. Not sexual; we’d never had that kind of relationship, and now it was clear we never would, but there was an undeniably tactile element to the way I missed him.

This longing was so real; it was making me rethink some of my beliefs. I had been for several years an avowed atheist. Disenchanted with the Catholic church of my childhood since high school, I had dallied with Protestantism, but most protestants I met were of the Christmas and Easter variety, and therefore uninspiring. The few more devout protestants I met were annoying (read self-righteous and pushy). Eventually, my doubt stewed in the humanism of my college education, and I became an atheist. If anyone asked me about spirit or soul, I would say they didn’t exist. That when we died we simply rotted and our consciousness ceased to exist. When asked about love, I would explain it as the firing of synapses and chemical responses in the body—purely physiological.

But this love, this ache that I felt when I missed Mike, seemed too deep to be explained by physiology. To help me understand it, I started reading, and I happened to pick up C.S. Lewis’s apologetics: Mere Christianity, The Problem of Pain, and The Abolition of Man.

One day--another cold, gray, lonely Sunday--I was reading one of these books and listening to U2 on the headphones. This time I was listening not to The Unforgettable Fire, but to an earlier album, October. As I read, I sat on the hardwood floor of my small studio apartment, my back against the radiator to better absorb its warmth. Lewis’s words began to touch me, to speak to the feelings that betrayed the presence of a soul in my simple body. And then Bono began to sing the opening syllables of “Gloria.” Although I had listened to the song many times before, in this moment I finally truly heard it.

I try to sing this song
I, I try to stand up
But I can't find my feet.
I, I try to speak up
But only in you I'm complete.


Gloria
In te domine
Gloria
Exultate
Gloria
Gloria
Oh, Lord, loosen my lips.


I try to sing this song
I, I try to get in
But I can't find the door
The door is open
You're standing there, you let me in.


Gloria
In te domine
Gloria
Exultate
Oh, Lord, if I had anything, anything at all
I'd give it to you.


Gloria
In te domine
Gloria
Gloria*

The realization came to me in that moment, that what Bono was singing in that song was true for me, too. I had been trying to stand on my own two feet, trying to speak my mind, but I had no feet to stand on and no clear mind from which to speak until I could acknowledge my soul and allow that soul to recognize its savior. I heard Bono’s strident voice exult in the Lord and offer himself to Jesus, and I began to tremble. I felt all at once the presence of God in my life, of Jesus’ pure sacrifice of love for me, and I rejoiced. I felt overwhelmed by pure joy as I bathed in the light of that Love. And at the same time I wept and felt ashamed, because who was I to deserve such a pure gift? I had denied Him. I had sinned against Him. But as surely as I felt my guilt, I still felt His forgiveness and His love. I continued to tremble and weep until, exhausted, I allowed myself to fall into a dreamless sleep.

That was more than twenty-five years ago.  Recently, I’ve become more outspoken and public about my faith, and I’ve gotten heavily involved in a church community that I love: Faith Lutheran in East Hartford, CT.  Before finding my church, I nurtured and maintained my faith in much the way it began: by reading—more Lewis, along with St. Augustine, Anne Lamott, Phillip Yancey and others, as well as the Bible—and listening to the music of U2. And while I now have a church home, I still turn to reading and music to explore my faith. Bono’s lyrics have continued to speak to my experience of Christ, both as I glorify Him and as I struggle with doubt, dread, or despair for this world. They help me articulate the complex all-at-onceness that was my awakening in that Duluth apartment and that continues in my walk to this day.

Gloria
In te domine
Gloria
Gloria

*”Gloria” Music and Lyrics by U2, 1984.

The Quotable Bono

"I come to lowly church halls and lofty cathedrals for what purpose? I search the Scriptures to what end? To check my head? My heart? No, my soul. For me these meditations are like a plumb line dropped by a master builder — to see if the walls are straight or crooked. I check my emotional life with music, my intellectual life with writing, but religion is where I soul-search."  

From the NY Times Op/Ed "It’s 2009. Do You Know Where Your Soul Is?" http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/19/opinion/19bono.html?_r=3

More to come...

Prayers: June 20, 2010

Good morning, Lord. Thank You for this day and for all the days of our lives. As we move into the summer, we are reminded that You bring everything to us in its season and that we need only have faith and trust in Your wisdom and Your love, and we will receive all that we need. We know this especially because You have given us the greatest gift of all. You gave Your beloved only Son to live and die with us so that our sins are forgiven, and to rise again so that we need not fear death.

While we know You provide all, we still boldly ask Your attention to the needs of ourselves, our church, and our world.

We know that you looked at Your creation and called it "good;" help us to be better stewards of that creation so that its goodness continues to glorify you. Especially guide the minds and hands of those working to stop the disastrous gushing of oil in the Gulf of Mexico and those working to clean and repair the ecosystem which has been so horribly damaged. Help them to work quickly and diligently for the good of your creation.

Please guide our leaders--the leaders of the world, the leaders of Your church on earth, the leaders of our communities, and the leaders of this church. Send Your Spirit to guide them, and give them open hearts to listen so that they work toward peace rather than war, build trust rather than suspicion, and always work and govern with justice and equity to the good of all Your people. We ask especially that You continue to support Pastor Bill Petersen as he prepares to join us as our leader, and we thank You for his presence--and that of his wife, Kay--here with us today.

Please continue to offer Your love and support to those who suffer from poverty or injustice. Help us to see them as you do: as beloved and important. Help us to serve them and to work toward a more equitable and just world--Your kingdom come--on earth.

Also, provide Your comfort to those who suffer illness, whether of body or mind. Guide the hearts and minds of those who care for them.

On this Father's Day, we thank You for all the loving fathers in this world, and we ask that You send Your Spirit to guide and support all fathers, that they may raise their children in love and wisdom.

And since our young people are so important and so fully deserve strong role models in our world, we ask that You bring forth from among us effective and energetic leaders for our Youth Ministry.

Again, we know that You provide all we need in its time and in its season, and therefore we praise you. All that we pray we send to You through Your Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Amen.

Belief, Unbelief, and Prayers

I've entitled my blog "Soul Searching" because that's what I am--a soul always searching, doubting, believing, questing to know the truths of God's love and my calling to live a Christian life.

One of my favorite stories in the Bible comes from Mark (9:17-29): a man asks Jesus to cast the spirit out from his son, who has suffered for years from possession.  Jesus tells him (in a somewhat cranky tone, I might add), "'All things can be done for the one who believes.' Immediately the father of the child cried out, 'I believe; help my unbelief!'  Jesus saved the boy.  The cry of that father, "I believe; help my unbelief!" perfectly sums up my own longing.  I do believe, and yet I need help daily to overcome the many ways in which I doubt or do not act on my belief.

Later in that story, Jesus tells the disciples that the kind of healing he did for the possessed boy "can come only through prayer."  And prayer has become one of the ways that I have been trying to "help my unbelief."  My private prayers are simple and straightforward.  I thank God for the gifts in my life, for the ways I have felt His help and support recently, and then I ask God to help others I know who are going through a rough time, and finally I ask for continued help with the strengthening of my faith and my conviction to live a good life.  A typical private prayer might, then, go something like this: "Thank you for the wonderful church service today.  It helped me feel so close to you.  Thank you for the confirmation kids who make me laugh and think harder and love you more.  Please take care of Linda and Elijah who need your healing and support right now.  Please help me not give in so easily to worries and minor obsessions that keep me more distant from you.  Thank you, thank you, thank you!  Amen."

I've been responsible for leading the prayers at my church's second service every Sunday for the past month or so.  Some people have asked me to share some of the prayers I've composed, so I decided that doing so would be an appropriate way to get this blog started. The first few entries, then, (and some of those to follow) are more formal prayers that I've written and read at my Church (Faith Lutheran in East Hartford, CT).  I hope you like them.  Feel free to borrow them anytime.

Prayers: June 13, 2010

Dear Lord, we come to You this morning knowing that You provide all for us, and we raise a prayer of thanks.  Your creation is a gift; it provides all our physical sustenance, delights us with its beauty, and humbles us with its unpredictable power.  Your church is a gift; it provides a deep well from which we are able to nourish our faith, and the fellowship that provides support for our life as Your people.  And Your Love and Grace are the greatest gifts of all; given without our asking or deserving.  For all these gifts we give our thanks and praise.

Although You give so much without our asking or deserving, we are still bold to ask Your help.  Help us to be humble in the face of Your love, to recognize it for the pure gift that it is and not to imagine that there is anything we have done or can do to deserve it other than simply believing in it and accepting it. Help us also to share the Good News of Your Grace and Love so that more people will know its power and be saved through faith.

We ask that You continue to send Your Spirit to guide Your church all over the world and especially our leadership here at Faith.  Help us to always serve You with pure hearts and open minds.  We also ask that You continue to offer support and inspiration to Pastor Bill Petersen as he prepares to join and lead us.

Help the leaders of our world to recognize the example of Your power which You wield with love and justice so that they can act in a way that brings justice and peace to our world, not inequity and war.

We also ask that You continue to offer healing and comfort to those suffering from illness, emotional distress, or infirmity so that they may know that they always rest firmly in the center of Your heart. 

We ask Your help for those laboring to stop the catastrophic gushing of oil in the Gulf of Mexico to work quickly and successfully.  Help, also, those working to clean up and reduce the awful impact of the oil on the creatures and habitat that is being destroyed.  Please provide support and hope to those whose lives and livelihoods have been destroyed.

Even as we ask this, Oh Lord, we know in our hearts that You hear us and provide for us even before we speak, for You know us fully and love us fully.  You gave Your only Son to live among us and suffer with us.  Therefore we ask all of this through that Son, who lives and reigns with You for eternity.

Amen

Prayers: Date Unknown

We thank You for the glory of Your creation: the earth, the animals, plants, and trees. Help us always to remember that  You have made it and called it "good." Also, remind us that we live as part of Your creation and must care for it always to glorify Your work.

We thank You for our families and friends and for this church community. The love and support we receive from these important people in our lives provides for us a small reminder and inkling of the loveYou have for us--a love so great we can barely begin to understand and accept it as displayed through the sacrifice of Your only Son for our sake. We ask that You help us always to remember the love You have for us and for all Your people, and encourage us daily to look on each other with eyes that see the soul that You love in every person we encounter.

We thank You for the blessing of capable bodies and sound minds that allow us to do Your work and know Your will. We ask that You provide comfort and support to those suffering illness and infirmity of body or mind, guiding the hands and hearts of those that care for them.

We thank You for all Your gifts, Lord, and recognize you as the True Source of all we have. 

All this we pray in the name of Your Son, our Lord, Jesus Christ.

Amen.