Don’t forget to eat your Wheaties!
July 3, 2022
Scripture: 2 Kings 5:1-14
I find as I get older, that certain things sort of stay with us, tucked away in our memories. And though they may not always be remembered verbatim, the awareness of their somewhat hidden presence pops up once in a while. As a child of the late 50’s and 60’s, when black and white television was fast becoming a voice in the way we understood or at least accepted reality, certain advertisements containing slogans or tunes became fixed in my young mind. Even now sometimes, when in a gathering of similarly aged folks, someone will start and we will rattle off a number of tag lines or dittys. Who doesn’t remember that ‘Winston tastes good…’, or ‘a little dab’ll do ya’? And with our food choices as well, where a striped tiger lovingly growled that something was ‘greaaat’, or someone else muttered, ‘Where’s the beef’? And of course there was the crossover later on with food and fitness, complete with pictures of current sports heroes adorning our cereal boxes, most notably on boxes of ‘Wheaties’. In fact, Wheaties particular tag line seems to have been one of the most iconic and long-lasting reminders that in order to be your best, in order to be able to meet whatever challenge may arise each day, you had to be sure to, ‘eat your Wheaties’!
It was a little thing really, a simple reminder to eat properly in order to be prepared for the day ahead…even now on occasion I hear it, or at least allow my actions to be governed by the notion that we need to do the little simple things in order to be able to put our best foot forward each day. And that little reminder, to do some small thing each morning to give you energy and ‘get up and go’ for the day was, and remains very helpful. At least for me, remembering to ‘eat my Wheaties’ means to stand up, take a step, and resolve to carry on, regardless.
Which in all honesty seems to have become more and more difficult, as the times in which we live seem more and more discordant and less and less friendly with each new news cycle. All of which is a set of feelings I must ever remember to ask forgiveness for, as the overwhelmingly vast majority of humankind has it so much worse than I do, or for most of us for that matter I am sure. But still, within the bounds of what I feel I personally have any sort of control over, life is not all that ‘easy-breezy’.
Perhaps that is because the state of our national consciousness, and the real understanding of what we have all been blessed with seems more and more like it is being pushed into the background of our shared dialog. Pushed to the back of the conversation by louder voices of personal and selfish-concern, strident, divisive politics, the erosion of faith in trusted institutions, radically un-Christ-like far-right Christianity, and what seems like an increasing inability, or perhaps unwillingness to talk, or even less to listen to each other. And all of that makes standing up here and trying to preach a message of hope, or a promise of ‘better days to come’ more and more difficult with each passing week. Even if it is not a ‘loving community’, even just a community of people who are willing to care for one another even though they may not agree on everything, seems less and less common, if even possible anymore. I so long for a return to the day, when one’s community really and truly is a ‘neighborhood of neighbors’.
Our story from 2 Kings is a fascinating look into human nature, perhaps even one in which we may have participated from time to time. Perhaps Naaman also forgot to eat his Wheaties that day! His petty reasons for refusing at first to follow the small, simple instructions he was given threatened to leave him mired forever in his sad and sorry state. He did not see at first that it just might be the small things that, if attended to faithfully, will change the course of his fate.
Surely we have all heard that if we ‘take care of the little things, then the big things will take care of themselves’. And yet so many spend so much time and treasure in pursuit of the biggest and the best. Years ago I wrote a song which contained the line, ‘It’s the little things you do, that make all the difference…’, and that is still one of my deepest held beliefs and guides for living. But that was only half of the actual line in the song. The full line in the song was written as though it was the Lord talking to us, and it said, ‘It’s the little things you do, that make all the difference, if you let my love brighten your day’. Perhaps we need to look less at the big picture for a bit, stop focusing on all of the ‘big things we don’t have’, or ‘can’t fix’, and instead focus simply on how we can continue to bless the lives of those who are right next to us, those we pass by on the street in our own little town, those we work with, or even drive behind on our way to work! Maybe we are forgetting to ‘eat our Wheaties’ often enough as well!
This week, my brother-in-law Ed from California was in NY on business and had a chance to stop by for lunch. We chatted about lots of things, but at one point the ‘big question’ came up as we reflected on our state of current national discord and unrest, and he looked at me and asked, ‘what’s it all about David, how do you deal with all of this’? I thought for a moment and replied, ‘In the end, it truly is all about relationships…about how well we acknowledge one another and find ways to care for each other. The truest reflection of our Triune God who is already in relationship, is our willing embodiment of unconditional love for each other’.
And I truly believe that to be the case. We may not be able all at once, and all on our own to change the course of world events, or lessen the powerful streams of greed and ill-intent that are coursing throughout our society…but we can make the life we live, in the place we live, a little more loving and a little more caring.
Little things? Yes, little things. And truthfully, in terms of this, it is just those ‘little things’ that are one of the greatest burdens of ministry, as well as one of the greatest blessings. Sometimes it feels like I hear, or am told, just too much! But then I realize that as a result, I am able to see and to hear about all that truly living in and caring for community brings to bear. I feel so fortunate to be able to see the lines of connection between the little bits and pieces of ministry we all are taking part in, and the plans and purposes of the Holy Spirit. I honestly feel that I am often blessed to see the hand of God that is guiding our decisions and actions. And, that by being sure to take in my daily portion of ‘Wheaties’, I can see that what we are all about is truly making a difference in the lives of those we are called to care for. Those little things we do, those simple caring and loving gestures are in truth quite fulfilling, and I can assure you, a critical part of God’s work here among us as well.
Grants and gifts received, other churches and congregations reaching out to us, the recent call of the Spirit that is encouraging some of us to get serious about exploring and beginning to use our many and varied gifts and talents for the good of all, partnerships within our community that are enabling the vision of the Council to become a reality…all of these are not just once in a while events or happenings, but are becoming more and more frequent each and every week. I feel so blessed to be given genuine spiritual encouragement every week directly from the Spirit. Which by itself alone makes me to know that dwelling in fear or disappointment, even if only for a minute is simply not justified.
My friends and partners in all that our Lord is doing here among us, I truly believe that if we keep on doing the little things in front of us, then we will daily become true gifts for our community. For in truth, life ‘in Christ’, is like a beautiful mosaic, every bit and piece representing a particular offering of a gift or talent…perhaps a smile or a kind word, or the willingness to reach out in love, or a silent prayer lifted up, or perhaps most importantly, a step taken in faith by any one of you. For every one of us has a part to play in the unfolding mystery of the love of our God in action in our time, in this place, and for this community. Each one of us is like a small shiny piece of brightly colored glass or tile, inserted by the Holy Spirit into an absolutely stunning mosaic that so beautifully reflects the love of our Lord to all who look on us…truly as beautiful and glorious as any of the finest stained glass windows in the most amazing cathedrals in all the world.
The love we have and the love we share, the life we have and share together is a good work and holy work. And it is comprised simply of continuing to live out the Spirit’s call upon us as the church of our Lord of love and doing those small, seemingly insignificant things that are right there before us
Real honest to goodness life lived out in fullness, is almost always lived out through the little things we do for another, through those small offerings that are the lifeblood and sustainer of human relationships. Big things may happen now and again, someone may win the lottery or have a stroke of great luck that sets them up with all they ever dreamed of…that happens, but it happens so very rarely and should never be seen or construed as the ‘end goal of life’ or even ‘the measure of the one’ who was so spectacularly blessed. The real, constant and accessible blessings of life are best found in those small acts of love and caring that give us daily purpose, daily strength, and a reason to keep on going.
So, when you wake up in the morning and look out upon the day that is in front of you, remember to give thanks for another chance to watch for, and to see the hand of our Lord at work…
…and as you eat your Wheaties…as you take care of those little things before you, remember that in fact it is the little things we do for and with one another within the embrace of community in common purpose, that makes it all worthwhile…
…amen