You are mine…
February 9, 2025
Scriptures: Isaiah 6:1-8, 1 Corinthians 15:1-11, Luke 5:1-11
So…as I sat down to try and put thoughts into words earlier in the week, I found I was distracted by all the noise and chaos that comes to us in the guise of ‘news’ each evening. I have actually been sorely tempted to avoid and ignore it all together, which in a way seems like poor stewardship of my calling to find a pathway forward for all of us to walk each week. And honestly there are times when I just can’t keep watching or listening and walk away, for it is just far too unsettling.
And somewhere I think there has to be a way to navigate our way through the fear and divisive rhetoric being thrown at us so forcefully and in such volume, but I am honestly not sure what it is. Do we rise up, go, and march on Washington, spending time and capital to make noise, but probably being totally ignored or ineffective these days…or perhaps end up getting our names or at least pictures of ourselves stored away in some database somewhere? Or do we ignore it, stick our heads in the sand, and wait, hoping it will all pass, knowing that ultimately, it probably won’t? Or, do we somehow search our faith and beliefs to gain some sort of guidance or direction as to how we, as followers of our Lord should act, or what we should be saying or doing in these times? Do we dare double down on the very specific commands found in Matthew 25 to continue our every effort to feed, clothe, care for, and release from oppression and abuse all the ‘strangers’ we are told to welcome into our midst…those we already know our Lord loves unconditionally?
I must confess, that as a pastor in these times it is hard to know what to do next. On the one hand I feel that we are truly working and striving to live into our call to be a force for goodness and hope here in our community. All that we have been so surely and decidedly blessed to be able to do, still seems in need of our care and full attention. In fact, it seems that as society sways back and forth between small glimmers of hope and serious bouts of depression, there is an even greater need to keep our shoulder to the wheel.
So…maybe what is needed is both some sort of heavenly assurance…as well as a firm commitment on the part of all of us to hold fast in our little boat that feels as though it is being tossed about in the middle of a rising storm. Maybe the only answer is to remain strong in our commitment to do our best to extend love in all circumstances, and let the future unfold in front of us. To hold on to our calling…and let go of worry or fear. For in truth, we believe that ultimately, no matter the severity of this storm, no matter what may rise and prove resistant to our every effort, our Lord’s will, will be fulfilled…and, that the sun will rise one morning on a day that does know a peace which truly does ‘surpasse all understanding, and truly will always and forever guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus’. But in the meantime…how do we get there, where is the next step?
In my final semester of Seminary I was hard at work writing my Master’s thesis, which as I have shared before was a collection of poems, plays, and letters centered around the basic doctrines and tenets of our faith. One of those was a paper I was assigned on my understanding of the ‘Church’ itself, and its role in our faith. After much silence and listening I decided to write a letter actually addressed to the Church, and to write it as though it had been sent by the Lord to each one of us. And I would like to share that slightly modified letter with you, for I think that if we are to find a way forward, we truly do need to seek guidance directly from the Holy Spirit..,.to pray together, to listen, and then to walk boldly and without fear wherever we feel led as children of a loving God. In that way I will have been true to my own heart, and comfortable that at least we have a starting point from which to step forward together. The letter starts out…Dearest friends, and is dated…Forever Today…
*****
The Church belongs to me. It is mine and no one else’s. I passionately and jealously keep it and care for it, yearning for the day when it will truly turn fully towards me. The gathering of my children within the church to which I have called you all is near to my heart, and I so long for you to learn to live in ways that are truly free and deeply joyful.
You know that you, along with all of my children are called for a reason, called to a specific purpose. Called to be involved in my ongoing work of liberation, and to fully spend yourselves on behalf of all of your brothers and sisters, as well as on behalf of the Garden of Creation into which I first placed you.
In truth, I gave my life willingly as a gift, a brand new starting point for grace to enter in, a new breath of Divine life breathed into your dusty clay. And it is fully my desire to walk and to talk with you each day, to laugh, to cry, and to wonder aloud right there alongside of you. I long to be your present and available companion, always ready to whisper my words of comfort and encouragement into your darkened places of doubt, fear, and despair. The church is mine…and so my friends are all of you.
And speaking of fear, doubt, and despair, I know that you are in a time and place of much confusion and seemingly little light shining anywhere whatsoever. But I assure you that I am here, and that I am asking you to commit to continuing the task of sharing my love and my hope with those who do not yet know me. You will need to be strong and of good courage as you go, for when “faith…develops into hope (it) causes not rest but unrest, not patience but impatience. It does not calm the unquiet heart, but is itself this unquiet heart.”[1] This call of mine upon your heart is a challenge to be sure, but I promise that my Spirit will be with you every step of the way.
Continue to share my love with each other whenever you gather together in faith. Teach and instruct one another in the ways of my love. Insist on preserving the wonder, joy, and living water of Christian fellowship. And in addition, I ask you to reach out even more fully to the larger surrounding community… to the hopeless, the helpless, as well as to all those whose vision and understanding is not yet clear.
For a long time I have been saying that it is my deepest desire to provide for every one of your needs. I only ask that in turn, you share those blessings with those around you in need. (For)…if you remember to “give,…it will be given unto you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”[2] I would not ask you to do my work without giving you the means necessary to accomplish it. My grace truly is sufficient to provide for my work in every place, and into every situation to which I send you.
Unfortunately in your time, so many have substituted their actual need with their wants and desires, and the fulfillment of those desires is not always helpful or loving, in fact it is sometimes more often harmful, especially to those who bear the cost of providing for them. In truth, I set forth Creation to be a bountiful provider, capable in its pure and unpolluted form of giving every one of my children a living and healthful daily quantity of provision. I need you to trust that I will always answer you when you ask for your “daily bread”.[3] I call it “daily” because it is meant to be sufficient for that day, not for a week or for a month. I want you to come to me often, to be in close contact in these times of increasing darkness and confusion. Please trust that a loving partnership between me and you is pleasing to me…and will allow you to remain within my purpose for you. In this way, my desire or the “word that goes out from my mouth will not return to me empty, but rather will accomplish what I desire, and achieve the purpose for which I sent it”.[4] Furthermore, the true life of my church is to be found in serving others…truly live for me by living your life for others. And to do that right here, for my church is called to be a visible presence of light and hope in the community in which it is found.
I am calling for you to let go of your fears and “come to me, for you are weary and heavily burdened… and I long to give you real rest, my rest. Take my yoke, my call to love upon your shoulders and learn directly from me, for as you know, I am gentle and humble in heart.”[5] Trust in my vision and in the call I have placed upon your hearts.
Because I have called you…you are mine. It is as simple as that. I have loved you from forever, and I long to hold you close…whether you are broken and hurting, lost, confused, tired, lonely, or struggling to just get by, you are mine and I love you with all that I am. Each one of you is a reflection of my image and is pleasing to me. It may be hard to believe at times, but I tell you truthfully, “in the face of those who have been impoverished, scorned, and oppressed, the divine face appears…(I) may appear in the homeless, the hungry, and the faceless of this world”.[6]
My friends, in your innermost beings you know who you are as compared to who I am, and you know what I have done for you. Because of this you know the extent of the mercy and the grace I have offered to you…and because of that, you know that you must never stand in judgment of another of my children. Share this deep truth with others, tell them that there is no room, no place for judgment of another…for I love everyone with all my heart, without restriction, without condition…just because…I do.
As my son John shared with you, “(I) did not send (my) son Jesus into the world in order to condemn the world, but rather to save the world through Him”[7]. You have told me that you love me, continue to listen for my call and pray that it might become clear in your soul, then work to lead others into my ways of true freedom.
I have given you eyes to see all of those around you who are being pushed to the outer margins of society. Those forced to live on the edges of community life…those with not enough to feed their children, those poor souls who find themselves listed in sinful categories of “illegal” or “alien”…those now struggling even more desperately in the confusion and meanness of the moment. You do well in offering food for their bodies through the pantry…however you must continue to nourish their souls with hope, and commit fully to the hard work of making life better for them. You must do even more for these who live forgotten lives in the dark shadows of your community…you must find new ways to hold them in my light, for the ‘spotlights’ of the world are currently far too fearful. Be not afraid, for as you walk, I will walk with you…and I will provide all the means necessary for you to shine with the light of hope. I will provide a way for you to do all I ask of you, for I have called you to “act justly… and to love mercy… and to walk humbly by my side”.[8]
Do not be rendered silent or mute by fear, for I love you and will never leave you. I have told you, “if the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world”.[9] Remember that you are mine and I will provide for you as you speak and act out to challenge the ways of the world in my name. You belong to me, not to anyone else.
And finally, be content with my plans, with my call to you within your community. Seek to locate your work for me in all of the many little ways I place before you each day…all of the small, seemingly unimportant little opportunities for service to others that just seem to pop up in front of you, even at less-than-convenient times. In those times, remember that it is I my friend who is calling and asking for you to share my love. For, “whatever you do for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you do for me.”[10] Be content, do not look to do more, or to be more, or to be “bigger” than I have asked of you… remember that my son Paul said, “do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith (you have been given)”.[11]
And finally my son, since you know that it is the little things you do that make all the difference to me I will continue to place them in your path, let my love shine brightly upon them. For if you allow me to dwell deep in your heart and mind, you will find you are centered in my love…in that place “where your deepest desire (truly does) meet the world’s greatest need”.[12]
I love you…for you are mine…
Love, Jesus p.s. write back or call soon…
…amen
[1]Chapter Six: It’s My Church – A Love Letter from Jesus
Donald Messer, Contemporary Images of Christian Ministry (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1989) p. 121
[2] Holy Bible, NIV, Luke 6:38(paraphrase)
[3] Ibid. Luke 11:3
[4] Ibid. Isaiah 55:11 (paraphrase)
[5] Ibid. Matthew 11:28-29 (paraphrase)
[6] Donald Messer Contemporary Images of Christian Ministry (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1989) p. 162
[7] Holy Bible, NIV John 3:17 (paraphrase)
[8] Holy Bible, NIV Micah 6:8 (paraphrase)
[9] Ibid. John 15:18-19
[10] Ibid. Matthew 25:40
[11] Ibid. Romans 12:3
[12] Parker J.Palmer, Let Your Life Speak: Listening for the Voice of Vocation (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2000) p. 16 (Palmer is quoting Frederick Buechner)
