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Foundry United Summer in the City
2009 Outstanding Preacher
Series Rev. Ginger Gaines-Cirelli |
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“The Choice Is…God’s?” Sunday, July 26, 2009 |
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Philippians 4:1-13 Matthew 22:1-14
Rev. Gaines-Cirelli |
It has been said that
life is the sum of all your choices.
In one sense, this is undeniably true.
And this is the cause of no small amount of consternation in those
moments of life when we are faced with decisions on which our entire future
seems to hang in the balance. Should I
stay or should I go—in this job or this relationship or this city? Do I say yes or do I say no? At this particular crossroads, which path
will I choose to travel? The answers
we make to these and so many other questions determine where we go, who we
travel with, what we spend our time, energy, money on and all the rest. Our choices give shape to the narrative of
our lives. It would be a mistake—and
frankly irresponsible—for me to suggest however, that the contours of our
lives are carved out of our choices alone.
Who we are and who we are becoming, our personalities and loves, our
passions and our desires, even the choices with which we are faced at any
given moment evolve within the rich and complicated reality of family and
time and place and genetics and circumstance.
The stories of our lives inevitably involve other characters—lovers,
villains, friends—and all this within the frustrating context of a world in
which all of life is vulnerable and uncertain and limited. Things happen—to us and around us—things
that affect our lives in ways that we have no choice about the matter. Disease, violence, abuse, crumbling
markets, hurricane, flood, death. So much of life is spent
sorting out how to live in the midst of the tragedy and comedy that is unavoidably
part of human life. How will we choose
to respond—not only to the discreet choices that are before us but to the
confounding realities of life in our world?
Over the past year or so I have been in the midst of one of those seasons
of life when the decisions to be made feel heavy and fraught with consequence—not
just for the short-term, but for the long haul. I tell you, it’s easy in the midst of such
a maelstrom—for me anyway—to just feel stuck and afraid. What is the right decision? What will bring stability and happiness to
me and my family? Where will I find
the fulfillment—that sense of wholeness—that I long for? What will I lose if I go this way instead
of that? Then add on top of all that
the fact that the world seems to be careening toward crisis economically and
politically and in other ways of which I’m sure I’m not even aware. And Paul says “Rejoice in the
Lord always!” “Do not worry about
anything.” “I can do all things
through Christ who strengthens me.”
What is “the secret” that Paul has learned that allows him to rejoice
in having plenty and being in need? As I pondered this last
question, I couldn’t help but call to mind that self-help, Oprah-endorsed,
publishing phenomenon entitled “The Secret.”
The basic premise of the book is that "You are the most powerful
magnet in the universe . . . so as you think a thought, you are also
attracting like thoughts to you."
The author presents the law of attraction as the ultimate shortcut to
success and the American dream. Anyone who wants it badly enough can be a
millionaire, the president, even an American Idol…all you have to do is
"put in your order with the universe." Ask. Believe. Receive.
That's the mantra.[i] It seems this way of thinking—which, by the
way is marketed as a ground-breaking new discovery but is, in fact, very,
very old—is the ultimate confirmation of the idea that our lives are the sum
of all our choices. The primary choice we have to make according to this text
is what we want. Then we just have to
think about that choice, that desire—just put it out into the universe—and
we’ll attract the reality that we desire.
Now I’m all for the power of positive thinking. I have seen a positive attitude help folks
persevere through trying times. But
I’m quite clear that the secret of which Paul speaks is far from anything to
do with this self-made life. Quite the
contrary, the secret of which Paul speaks has everything to do with a
self-lost life—a life given over to the savior who confronted Paul on that
road so long ago. For Paul doesn’t say, “I can do
all things through the power of my own thought and choice and energy and
skill.” Paul says, “I can do all
things through Christ who
strengthens me.” Jesus Christ is the
key, the secret, the locus of peace, rejoicing, fulfillment, and all the
rest. And so the question becomes: what does it mean to make that claim? We can’t get at an answer
without grounding ourselves in the most basic Christian confession that Jesus
of Nazareth was God-in-flesh. The
point is that we are not just talking about an idea or a philosophy. At the heart of our faith—the secret, if
you will, of our faith—is not a concept or a mantra. At the heart of our faith is a person, a person with whom we are
invited to be in relationship. All of
this truly matters because the person with whom we relate is a particular
kind of person who does particular kinds of things. All of this matters because the person of
Jesus Christ opens up for us a reality beyond the present moment, beyond the
present concern, beyond the end of our own nose, that is to say, beyond our
own desires. Jesus lived in the love
of God and embodied the love of God in nurturing, challenging,
life-transforming ways for the sake of the whole world. Jesus gave the whole of his life to God and
other human beings—especially the poor and oppressed, the outcast and
marginalized. Jesus, as the God-human
shows us not only what God is like, but also what it looks like to be fully
human—which is to reflect the fullness of the image of God—which is the image
of perfect love. Therefore, in Jesus
we see what truth looks like, what honor does; we see holy justice and purity
at work in the person of Jesus. Paul
says to think about whatever is true, honorable, just, pure, pleasing,
commendable…(Phil. 4.8). And see the
connection: whatever is true is Jesus. Whatever is honorable is Jesus. Whatever is just is Jesus. Whatever is pure is Jesus. Whatever is pleasing is Jesus. Whatever is commendable is Jesus. Excellence is Jesus. Jesus alone is worthy of praise. Paul exhorts us to “think about these
things.” Because in so doing, we
remember that we are in relationship with Jesus whose self-giving love is
both the meaning and the pattern for our own lives and life of the whole
world. We are reminded of what human
life is supposed to be about, what human life is really for. And insofar as we keep Christ at the center
of our lives, we are less apt to forget that God loves us, that God will
never abandon us nor forsake us, that God, in Jesus, has freed us from the
tyranny of fear and death. That, my friends, is how Paul
can say “I have learned to be content with whatever I have.” (Phil. 4.11) To truly, fully enter into relationship
with Jesus Christ is to know that nothing matters but the love of God in
Christ Jesus. And as we live in the
knowledge and reality of that love, we are strengthened to follow Christ, we
learn what it means to be free, we learn how to trust and how to give, we
learn how to be human, to truly love, to truly live regardless of what life
brings. Our faith doesn’t pretend that
life is easy or uncomplicated or that vulnerability and suffering aren’t part
of the deal. Our faith doesn’t give us
an “easy out” from responsibility. We
do have to make choices in life. The story
we heard from the Gospel confronts us with one rather stark example of how we
tend to choose. In the text, we hear
Matthew continuing to exert his fierce agenda with his fellow Jews. While we may not like the ferocity and even
violence that Matthew uses to make his point, the point is made nevertheless: God has prepared a table for us filled with
all the bounty of rejoicing, the bounty of true life; and there are those who
just blow it off, can’t be bothered, don’t even care. And there are those who come to the party,
but refuse to enter fully into the life of the party by refusing to clothe
themselves with the garment provided.
Held within the larger vision of God’s love for us in Christ Jesus, we
can read this story as a pointed moment within the heartbreak of God. Who here can’t relate to the moment when
you have offered all you have, have put your very heart on the line, and are
rejected, blown off, abandoned? The story we tell is of a God
who loves us so much that even in the face of indifference, forgetfulness,
abandonment, and outright violence God continues to love us and to stay
present with us, sacrificing everything in order to save us from
meaninglessness, selfishness, the paralysis of fear, and the isolation of
self-reliance, the shallowness of self-fashioned gods. Our lives are not the sum of all
our choices, thank God. Our lives are
not dependent upon the power of our positive thinking or on the strength of
our own skills. If that were the case,
then we’d easily end up in despair—for we know well enough the limits of our
own power to make it to the gym or to write that letter or make that phone
call—much less our power to make life different, to make love appear, to make
relationships work, to solve the crises that face the human family. For people of Christian faith, true life is
found not in our choice, but in God’s choice to love us and all the world so
much that God does not abandon the world but rather invites one and all to
share in the feast that is life in Christ Jesus. There is a larger vision, a bigger reality,
a deeper love, a more profound being that holds us and guides us and
strengthens us. And because of that,
no matter what decisions we make or what path we take, we know that God will
be with us on the journey. That means
every journey bears sacred possibility—the possibility to learn and mature
such that we begin to have the same mind and heart that was in Christ Jesus. Regardless of where you are in
your life today, regardless of what decisions you face or what challenges or
joys or questions or vulnerabilities or crises capture your heart and mind be
assured that whatever happens, you are held in the surpassing love of God. God continues to give us everything we
need, grace and nourishment and strength to face every moment with love and
without fear. The choice has been made
on our behalf— God continues to prepare the feast and Jesus Christ is calling
your name to join the celebration. The
only decision left is whether you’ll really accept the invitation. And that choice is yours. www.foundryumc.org |
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