.motion movement.

                  


(Apparently videos are my new thing... Though I'm not apologizing because I'm finding that media is an effective/important method of communication...And music has become more and more sacred as I have discovered good music/poetry/Scripture...)


So I have posted this song before. I don't recall the context, but nonetheless, it's worth revisiting (over... and over...) The lyrics can be found here if you want to read along.


This song is/can be about a lot of things. But for me it is about two: physical movement and social movement(s). The last line of the first stanza and the chorus say this:


Each individual reach out, speak to teach the invisible how to be invincible
Motion, movement
Architects, blueprints
Showing, grooving
Teachers, students
Reaching for truth in a self-revolution
The roof is on fire, what's your solution?

Like I said, physical and social. As a student at Pacific School of Religion, I am constantly learning about ways in which to uplift and transform the lives of the marginalized, the invisible (as the Blue Scholars say). And I'm learning, even more, that in "reaching for truth in a self-revolution," my solution is in transforming and being transformed through relationship. In my evangelism class this week we have had lots of conversation regarding how to do evangelism by doing justice, loving kindness and walking humbly with God (Micah 6:8). Perhaps evangelism and justice are one in the same for it is in acts of justice, mercy and love that we usher people into the Kin-dom of God, the reign of God on earth as it is in Heaven. Here's the deal...

This justice is not about getting butts in the seats.

This justice is not about converting or saving souls. 

This justice is not about church growth. 

This justice is not about doing kind things that make you feel good. 

This justice is not about condemning or shaming. 

Nope.

This justice is about showing love through relationships and story-telling. 
This justice is about ourselves-in-relation, as Carter Heyward would say. 
This justice is about doing love in public, as Cornel West would have it. 
This justice is about making the invisible invincible through the love of God in Jesus Christ. 
This justice is about forging strangers into neighbors. 


This justice is about the roof being on fire because this justice is needed this very minute. 


People are in dire straits, struggling to see love in their life. Their families have abandoned them. They have abandoned their families for fear of abuse and danger. People have lost hope because every last thing has gone wrong. People are looking for something to bring light and renewed energy into their life. I am not one of those Christians that believes Jesus is the only way to live your life. But I believe he brings me into fullness and has transformed my life. This is why sharing stories is so important. It is my hope that in telling my story and building relationships from the bottom up, transformation can happen. Maybe it isn't about Jesus' life, death, and resurrection for someone else. 


But I will tell that/my story/ies all day long.


Sometimes being a witness to a testimony is enough. 
Sometimes seeing a friendly face is enough. 
Sometimes being shown the love of God in a random act of kindness is enough. 


Whatever it is, it is in those moments that the invisible (spiritually/ physically/ mentally /emotionally/ sexually/ economically/ etc.) can be made invincible. It is in the power of the love of God to transform lives through our supportive, nurturing, sustained relationships. 


Sometimes we're the motion, sometimes the movement. 
Sometimes as architects we build, other times just the blueprint.
Sometimes it's our job to show, other times it's our job to show up and just groove. 
Sometimes we're the teachers, but mostly, I think we're the students. 


No matter what/who/where we are, we know Whose we are. And because of that relationship, we will always find ourselves reaching for (T)ruth(s). 

The roof is on fire, 
what's YOUR solution?

.MLK+.

I didn't get enough MLK on MLK day, did you?

Probably not, so here's some more words from the Prophet himself as spoken by DJ Jay Smooth.

.hope embodied.

there were people there of/with
titles/stature/prominence
black/brown/white/beautiful skin color(s)
lower/middle/upper class status(es)
broken/uplifted spirits
people who have come a long way
and people who have not

in most places/spaces/times
people who preach
"the children are our future"
crumble beneath their words
of discrimination towards young people
creating victims of the trauma
of ageism

but today

the most honest parts of the service,
the times that brought people to their knees
were that of the Youth
and the recognition
(by applause and hollering)
of them by the "adults"
(whatever that means)

it always seems to be that
those who are not given
enough (if any) time/love/space,
in any corner of the world,
shine the most.

speaking words beyond his years
preaching truth and hope and light
into the ears of those who know
struggle and pain,

though only heard in a 5 minute speech,
his passion and dedication is beyond compare.

his hope to be a role model
his hope to be the president
his hope for his friends to be better citizens
was/is all a part of his plan for our world

our collective world
in which we/you/i
live/breathe/have being
together,
young and old.

he spoke of King,
of experience had
and experience(s) to come
he spoke of the dreams of his
ancestors
that became reality/ies.

he spoke of faith, as expressed by King.
"faith is taking the first step
even when you don't see the whole
staircase,"
he reminded us
seemingly faithful people

but the faith he preached
wasn't something of the Unseen
but that of/in the Youth.
don't give up on the young people,
he said.
have faith that they too may
change the world.

guide them
love them
hold them
he/i said/say.

for they hold power beyond compare.
for they have wisdom of many years
for they have voices

for they (truly) are our future.

.God Exhaled//Reclaiming the Exhale.

Sermon for Koinonia at FCC, Battle Creek  
1.8.11

When I was working with homeless youth in Los Angeles, I remember one specific instance when I sat down with a client just to check in and see how she was doing. Now, mind you, most of these young adults only get one maybe two meals a day from local drop-in centers, like ours. As we talked, she ate her cup of ramen noodles and small pouch of fruit snacks. When it came to her cheetos, she opened them up, ate a couple, and asked if I wanted them. Knowing her situation and lack of resources, I said, “Oh, no I’m good thanks though. Don’t you want them?” “Oh, Ems, I’ve had enough. I’m full.” “Well, save them for later,” I said.  This young woman who has nothing was offering me some of her food because she knew that she had enough to fill her up for the time being.

How do we know when we’ve had or done enough?  Is it when we’re so full we have to unbutton our pants? I know you’ve been there. Have we done enough shopping when we’ve spent all the money in our wallet? Have you done enough when you’ve checked all the things off your list? Have you become enough when you get to the highest position in your company? Do you keep striving because the world says you need more, even though you may be content where you are?

Please join me in prayer… Gracious God who knows when to stop, may the words of my mouth and the meditations of each of our hearts be acceptable in your sight for you are our rock and our redeemer. Amen.                                                                                                                                     So these questions. These questions are difficult because they require us to do a bit of truth-telling. They help us see more clearly the truths that our bodies hold in the midst of an anxious society. Everyday we ask ourselves these questions of “enough” and sometimes we answer them without even thinking twice. Sure, I’d love a pay raise. Yes, of course I will add that task to my list. Yup, I’ll buy that thing because it will make someone in my life happy. Yes, yes, yes, we say. We are always adding onto our never ending to do list, striving to become something more than who we already are, and end up having more than we really need.  Speaking of truth-telling, let’s think about this a little bit. What do these habits of being, having and doing tell us about our relationship to God? In our text for this morning we read that on the 7^th day God rested. Literally translated that phrase can say, “God exhaled.” God Exhaled. But God didn’t exhale because God was done creating. Did you hear that in the scripture this morning? Verse two tells us that God finished the work that God had done and God rested from all the work. It doesn’t say that God finished creating the world and then stepped back, wiped her hands clean of the project and let it go. God finished the work that God had done and exhaled. In those six days of creation, God had created enough for the time being.                                                                                                                        You see, this question of enough has little to do with you and everything to do with God.

We see God leading by example, right?  We too are meant to discern for ourselves when enough is an okay thing. Because we live in a society where there are all of these outer voices telling us that there is always lots to do, more to be and much to have, we get wrapped up in conforming to these wants, not needs, but wants of the world. But this discernment piece is tricky, right? We don’t have magical answers that will make it easy to figure out when to take a break or when to breathe, or when to stop buying things, right? I don’t think there’s an app for that. It’s just not that easy.  Having, being and doing enough is a matter of faithful and honest discernment. Perhaps a good question to ask as a starting point is “where in my life has ‘not enough’ of one thing impacted ‘enough’ of something else?” For example, have your efforts to move up in your company impacted how much time you spend with family? Where have your endeavors to gather more material things affected your relationship to God? There is a different question in here for each of us, I believe, because this idea of enough is an assessment of values, an assessment of what matters most to us. 

We all know the 10 commandments, and if nothing else, we know that we’re not supposed to murder, lie, cheat, steal, etc. We all hold those to a high degree in our lives. Perhaps that is because the law also has something to say about them, that if we do these things we could end up in jail. But nonetheless, we’re following the rules, for the most part.  Now, y’all know that “Keep the Sabbath Holy” is one of those commandments too, right? Well, then, what happened? Somewhere along the way we lost respect for Sabbath and maybe that’s because the local government has nothing to say about rest. But just as our well-being depends on not murdering someone and going to jail, so too our lives also depend on taking rest.

As our text reads, God not only took a break from creating, but God blessed that day of rest and made it holy. God made it sacred. God made it what? Sacred. The seventh day, when God rests it is the first, the very first sacred thing, before any other part of Creation. God hallowed the seventh day. To hallow something means to greatly respect it. And we talk all the time about how we need to respect others, respect our bodies, respect differences, respect, respect, respect. But when did we forget to respect rest? Just as rest is sacred, so are our bodies.

We talked a couple weeks ago at Awestruck about how we are both fully human and fully divine. We are both things in one body and that is to be upheld with love and compassion and grace. More than anything else, our bodies know what is enough. Thought, most of the time we aren’t paying attention until it’s too late. When we get nervous or anxious about something we oftentimes feel butterflies in our stomachs. We tend to push ourselves to the max until we get sick and collapse from exhaustion. We work so hard and clench our muscles when we are stressed and never find the time to let them relax.

We’ve all heard the phrases “listen to your heart” and “go with your gut.” Well, church, these are no joke. There is nothing more honest than the Truth(s) of our bodies. Ever. Too often we put off our own well-being to be more, rather than taking preventative measures to ensure that we keep our bodies in check. 

Before I moved to Los Angeles last year, I told myself it was going to be a year full of change and growth and self-care management. Knowing that I am going into a field that has an incredibly high burnout rate, I decided this would be a good first step. A preventative measure, if you will. I knew that working 40 hours a week and living in intentional community would drive me to exhaustion. So, while I lived in LA, I began running five times a week and went to church on Sunday mornings. I planned time for myself and rarely shifted my schedule away from that. And now, since I have moved up north to Berkeley, CA and started seminary, I exercise on a regular basis and, as an added bonus, you can find me every Tuesday night at a local spot with a group of seminary students singing karaoke. Yup. I sing karaoke. See, not only are these things intentional rest for me but they have become spiritual practices. They are holy to me. They are sacred. 

In his book, Wayne Muller talks about having enough, being enough and doing enough. At this point in my life, I have somehow, by the grace of God, figured out how best to manage ‘doing enough.’ Due to circumstances and life changes, I know this will change, but for now, I have it figured out. However, having and being enough are completely different stories. For all of us, myself included, I come back to the question: what do our habits tell us about our relationship to God? Are we being faithful consumers? Do our intentions and ambitions come from a place that reflects the love and mercy of God? I have found that when we take a step back to breathe or relax or stop doing whatever we’re doing, that things become infinitely clearer. So how do we faithfully respect the exhale? How do we manage living in a society that always wants more of us?

Take a deep breath in… and let it out…

Let’s start there. Let us start by breathing and discerning and loving God. Let us call to mind the things that hold importance in our lives: the things that matter to us in our relationship to our bodies, in relationship to people, and in relationship to God. Having, being and doing enough is a matter of faithful and honest discernment. By reclaiming the exhale, we respect God. Because when we allow for room to breathe, we allow space for grace. And God’s grace, above all else, is enough. Amen.