The messages that matter the most
Getting people’s attention these days is no small task, especially since countless stimuli are constantly coming our way and demanding a response. If we want others to hear and remember what we say, our message has to be concise and memorable. Even though there were not nearly so many stimuli bombarding people’s lives when Jesus lived on this earth, he, too, needed to communicate in ways that would enable his listeners to remember, and that he did, with great skill and success. He summarized the Ten Commandments into two and the heart of Christianity into what has come to be known as the Sermon on the Mount — three chapters in the Gospel of Matthew that address the way followers of Jesus are called to live. The apostle Paul , although often wordy and challenging to understand, managed to beautifully summarize the marks of a true believer in Romans 12.
It has been said that those of us whose vocation is preaching tend to focus on a handful of messages that we lift up every chance we get. As retirement approaches for me and I reflect on the preaching I have done over the 42 years I have had the privilege of serving St. John’s United Church of Christ in Lansdale, I can affirm the truth of that statement, as can the faithful parishioners who have listened to my sermons week in and week out. This handful of messages represents what I consider to be at the heart of the faith I embrace and long to share with others — life-giving truths that draw us closer to God and to the neighbor we have been called to love and serve.
In a nutshell: 1) Ours is a God who will never abandon or forsake us, no matter what. In fact, there is nothing we can do that would cause God to love us less, or more. 2) We are our sisters’ and brothers’ keepers, called to be in community in good times and in bad. We are called to weep with those who weep and to rejoice with those who rejoice, living in harmony with others as much as it is possible for us to do so. 3) Living in community as people of faith, we learn that being in relationship is almost always far more important than being right. 4) Although God holds us accountable for the way we live and the decisions we make, our God is not primarily a God of judgement who metes out punishment when we make mistakes. Ours is a God of grace, mercy, and forgiveness — a God whose deepest desire is to draw us near, as a hen gathers her chicks under wing. 5) How we say what we say matters. As followers of Christ, we are called to speak the truth in love, to be slow to speak and slow to anger, yet quick to listen and learn.
What messages matter most to you? What is at the heart of the faith you embrace? As we seek to identify what is at the very core of our beliefs, may we also remember that it is not enough to simply name those beliefs. Embodying them in the way we live each day is what makes the words memorable. May we practice what we preach, may we live what we teach, so that others might experience the light and love of God in and through us.