Matthew 5:14-16
Here is a selected list from the apostle Paul of some of the things Christians get themselves trapped in: jealousy, covetousness, enmities, strife, quarrels, dissensions, factions, revilers, silly talk, malice, slander, haughtiness, envy, deceit, craftiness, heartlessness, ruthlessness.
If I went to a doctor with a similarly long list of symptoms, because that is what these are,I might be surprised to discover there was a single cause, and in this case, I think it’s a similarly simple diagnosis.
Listen to these quotes and see if you can identify the answer:
“If God declares that all is well, ten thousand devils may declare it to be ill, but we laugh them all to scorn. … It is not that you may be distressed, but that you may be delighted that he bids you believe in the crucified Savior and live.”—Charles Haddon Spurgeon
“The brave who focus on all things good and all things beautiful and all things true, even in the small, who give thanks for it and discover joy even in the here and now, they are the change agents who bring fullest Light to all the world.” —Ann Voskamp
“Jesus is the greatest teacher of happiness the world ever knew. Take Him into your heart, into your mind, and you will sing a song of joy always.” —Dr. Norman Vincent Peale
“Joy is the serious business of heaven.” —C.S. Lewis
These quotes all distill down to one simple requirement—trust in the Lord.
For God has the victory; God has promised all things will be well; … that the world and everyone in it will be redeemed, reconciled, and restored; and we will have perfect peace through Him who loved us.
We Christians can at times be overly serious, self-righteous, judgmental, argumentative—thus the apostle Paul’s incredibly long list! As the Catholic Weekly observed:
“Take, for instance, St. Teresa of Avila, the Doctor of the Church who, with all her profundity in reaching the depths of the spiritual life, was also renowned for her one-liners, the most famous of which was, ‘From silly devotions and sour-faced saints, Oh Lord, deliver us.’”
Silly devotions and sour-faced saints—sadly, sometimes that’s what we are! But Ecclesiastes tells us there is a time to rejoice and a time to weep, a time to laugh and a time to mourn. And I am afraid that Christians spend way too much time in one area and not enough in the other. I’ve recently enjoyed turning back to Dr. Norman Vincent Peale. He preached a faith that was positive because it believed in God’s power. I remember in seminary there was an attitude about Norman Vincent Peale that was paternalistic, (and I must admit that I was guilty of the same!), “How quaint that he would preach about the power of positive thinking, if only he truly understood the hardship of life. His approach is overly simplistic, not accounting for the complexities and hardship of life.”
Indeed, life is hard, but why do we Christians sometimes insist on making it harder! I’m not talking about those moments in life when true tragedy strikes; those indeed are times to mourn and to weep. But there are times like quicksand when we become stuck in that mindset, and suddenly we react to everything as if the sky is indeed falling. What does that say about our faith if we are so easily dismayed? Jesus has told us to shine our light, and that light is not dour or sour or despondent or cynical; that light is exuberant, energetic, and hopeful.
Remember what Jesus told us: “My yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” While we have serious work to do, we often forget that ultimately the most important work has already been accomplished. As Norman Vincent Peale remarked, “Do your best and leave the results to God.”
To redirect our thoughts, to redirect our minds, to redirect our dispositions is something like a flower turning toward the sun. As visible light energizes the chloroplast in plant cells, the light of Christ brings us energy, hope, and even delight. And think about how much we have to delight in.
We live in New York City! New York City! Just a few weeks ago, the New York City Marathon brought people from all over the world together simply to cheer with reckless abandon.
The Thanksgiving Day Parade, the Brooklyn Bridge, Broadway, the Metropolitan Opera, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Central Park…according to Wikipedia (and everybody knows Wikipedia is infallible), New York City has 800 languages spoken—the most diverse city in the world.
And how grateful we are that as so many other churches are shrinking, we are full of energy! Brick Church is a fun place to be, whether it’s in the social gatherings in the garden, reconnecting with old friends, and discovering brand new ones, Bible studies, Tuesday Night Dinner Parties, the list goes on. And what about the gift of music? How can we not take delight in that? A couple dozen people who have devoted themselves to the craft of making exquisitely beautiful music, and we get to hear it every Sunday!
We can delight in Brick’s long history, 250 years and more, because it was a light of hope. It brought George Washington sufficient joy after the Revolutionary War to write our first pastor a letter of thanksgiving. You can delight in Brick because we are a place where you can use your gifts, and you make a real difference; whether it’s setting up communion, reading scripture, or balancing the budget, the time that you spend here brings abundant life to yourself and others. It truly does!
We take delight in the children—whether it’s in musical theater classes, their art from Sunday School, racing around on scooters in Watson Hall, or their adorable and irascible nature during baptisms! Jesus challenges us to receive the kingdom like little children because they are more unabashed in being themselves and speaking the truth.
A few years ago, when I gave the children five dollars in the children’s sermon to go and do something with it, here’s what one young man wrote back:
“… I have decided to give my $5 to the Covid-19 Research Fund at Mt. Sinai Hospital. I chose this organization because I like research funds, and I got my Covid-19 vaccine there. My prayer is that God helps Covid end soon because Covid is really annoying and dangerous.”
In Chapel last week with the children, we talked about the widow from our scripture, the one who put in a mere two copper coins in the midst of everyone else giving much. I told them that Jesus said she gave more than everyone else combined, and I asked the children why He might’ve said that, and one child said, “Because she had no money." At four years old, this child understood the message of Jesus and the power of generosity.
Brick Church exists to do its very best to live the true message of Jesus. In an age in which extreme voices try to pull us to and fro, we seek to be centered on Christ and model ourselves after His life: centered on the worship of God, centered on the community of loving fellowship, centered on compassionate care for those who struggle the most, centered on trying our best to help make this world on earth as it is in heaven.
To be as powerful a beacon as we possibly can…think right now of our church as a lighthouse, and the amount of wattage that it can put out is dependent upon how many coins you put into it. Those are your pledges, and the more you give, the more we can give hope, life, and light to others, which in the end helps all of us not to be people trapped in the mud—set free ourselves to know the peace of God that passes all understanding. Amen.
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