Sermon by The Very Rev Chirs Yaw, 11/19/2023, Matthew 25:14-30
Centering Prayer: Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, May your will be done, through me.
A man went to see his Rabbi.
He said, I'm Jewish, My wife is Catholic but we're not religious.
Now we have a baby.
And we want to raise our child to be spiritual and not religious.
We want the values of religion - but not the baggage.
And I was wondering if you might boil down the essence of these religions to their core -
You know, the ideas -and not the boring rituals and traditions...
So the Rabbi went to work - and stripped down the faith -
In fact, he stripped down faith into 3 words:
Gratitude, Obligation, and Delight.
Do you like the acronym?
I know you're thinking about it: it's G.O.D...
GOD - Gratitude, Obligation, Delight - i It's applicable to Jews and Christians - in fact it's what Jesus is getting to in today's Gospel.
And that's the title of this morning's message -
Gratitude, Obligation, Delight - GOD -
I will take a guess that this is what has drawn many of us here this morning : We are pondering GOD.
Maybe you have been wrestling with a pressing problem: your finances - family relationships - medical troubles - the jitteriness of current events
Maybe you're at a place where you're not seeing GOD like you used to - and your faith needs a jump start!
Maybe your heart is pure and you're saying, 'God, fill me up with your presence so I can do more of your will!'
No matter where we are the answer lies in GOD:
Turn toward God
Reach for God
Marinate in God
As you and I contemplate G.O.D. - we find the answers to what ails us -
As we like to say in our welcome each Sunday morning:
Wherever you are on your spiritual journey - God is here to see you through.
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My lovely cat is not a big tipper: He ha JJs yet to say 'thank you' - much less leave a tip - after finishing his meal
My cat has not expressed any gratefulness over the recent success of the Detroit Lions - even though they are of distant relation...
Nor has my cat ever walked away from the picture window, after one of Mother Nature's exquisite sunrises over the trees outside our home and - sighed in thanksgiving.
Animals just don't do that.
Gratitude is what we boys and girls own.
It is a core response to being human.
Gratitude motivates us to do all kinds of things -
Gratitude leads to generosity- we want to share what we have -
Gratitude leads to hope - good things have happened to us, maybe they can happen to others -
Gratitude leads to love - we want to give joy because we've received joy-
Gratitude leads us to God as we search for the source of these amazing things, experiences, and relationships that have brought us such satisfaction.
Connecting with gratitude means connecting with God.
Not to connecting with gratitude means not connecting with God.
As English poet Thomas Traherne famously said:
"To have blessings and to prize them is to be in heaven,
to have blessings and not to prize them as to be in hell. "
If you are looking to turn to God
To reach to God
To marinate in God
Live more deeply into your human impulse to give thanks.
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Yes, it's just in time for Thanksgiving -
A reminder about a Harvard Medical School study-
Group one was asked to write about something every day for which they were grateful.
Group two was asked to write about something every day that irritated them.
They did this for 10 weeks.
Guess what?
Those who marinated in gratefulness were more optimistic and felt better about their lives.
Surprisingly, they also exercised more and had fewer doctor's visits - than those who focused on aggravation.
It's such a temptation to focus on the negative!
To let a bad report, a snide comment, a missed opportunity, get us down!
God is here to remind us that focusing on the good things we have, on being grateful, is God's medicine for whatever ales us!
'To you, I lift up my eyes!' says the Psalmist - That's where our help comes from!'
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The parents of a college student received an email from their daughter one day.
She wrote,
"Dear Mom and Dad -
That fire that demolished my apartment was finally put out!
But don't worry I'm staying at my fiancé’s house, who I met last week online,
as we await the birth of our daughter.
Everybody's okay, just wanted you to know.
Signed, Catherine
PS There was no fire, I'm still in my apartment, I don't have a boyfriend, and I'm not pregnant, but I did get an f on my chemistry test, now it's not that bad after all is it?"
If you're like me - on at the bottom of my Gratitude List are things I'm thankful that I DON'T have -
Like a gutted apartment-
A terminal disease-
A parent who is estranged
There's a Jewish tradition that says Jews should say 'thank you' 100 times per day.
Why?
Generosity is at the heart of who you are - and who God is -
And if we want to connect to God - be generous!
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A famous writer once said that when he wakes up in the morning he struggles between the urge to jump into his hammock with a good book and while away a summer's day - in gratitude for the beauty surrounding him.
OT
To use that God-given energy to go out and help the multitude of people on this earth who are struggling.
A second human trait is obligation.
There's just something about us that sees a wrong and wants to make it right -
That sees pain and wants to offer comfort
That sees hunger and wants to provide food
That sees homelessness and wants to find a bed.
God has programmed us to do GOOD - so that it feels GOOD.
--
You may have heard of this study of Multiple Sclerosis sufferers -
Researchers wanted to know if people suffering from M.S. would get better faster if they were treated by professional counselors - or amateur counselors who were also M.S. sufferers.
Researchers trained those amateurs -
Set up their test and control groups -
And when they were finished, came up with a fascinating conclusion:
Those who showed the most progress with their M.S. were NOT the ones treated by the professionals -
They were NOT the ones treated by the amateurs -
They were the M.S. sufferers who were trained to help others.
One of the big reasons God has made us with an inclination to help others -
Is because in helping others, we are helped.
Who is it in your circle of relationships who need help?
How have you been? Uniquely gifted to render aid to those who are suffering?
Our ability to reach out, inconvenience ourselves, take on the plight of those who are suffering, is actually good for us!
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In our Gospel this morning we meet 3 people who were given gifts.
Two people saw their obligation to do something with them -
To invest, take a risk, go out and do their best with them!
The third person didn't understand his obligation -
He did not know that The Master had expectations -
He was scared, he was timid, he was intimidated.
Friends, that's not how God has made you!
You and I are here to do something new!
We're given gifts to use!
As the old preacher says: God can't steer a parked car!
Quit taking the safe route.
Put yourself out there!
Take the risk!
Step out in faith,
Think about it - at the end of the day - you don't do this alone: God has your back!
Epictetus famously said:
"Now is the time to get serious about living your ideals.
How long can you afford to put off who you really want to be?
Your nobler self cannot wait any longer.
"Put your principles into practice – now.
Stop the excuses and the procrastination.
This is your life!
You aren’t a child anymore.
"The sooner you set yourself to your spiritual program, the happier you will be.
The longer you wait, the more you’ll be vulnerable to mediocrity and feel filled with shame and regret, because you know you are capable of better.
"From this instant on, vow to stop disappointing yourself.
Separate yourself from the mob.
Decide to be extraordinary and do what you need to do – now."
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The blessings of Gratitude and Obligation are, sooner or later, discovered to be the wells of joy you sense you've always had.
There's a statue of the Buddha in Thailand that gets a lot of visitors!
Back in the 1950's the monks from a monastery in Bangkok were asked to move their large clay Buddha to make way for a new highway.
Since the statue weighed almost 3-tons, a giant crane was used to lift the statue.
As they lifted it off its pedestal, a crack appeared.
So the workers immediately set it back down.
Then, to make matters worse, it started to rain.
The monks decided to quit for the day until the rain stopped, then put a huge tarp over the Buddha to protect it from the rain.
During the night, one of the monks decided to check on the Buddha to make sure there was no damage from the rain.
He crawled under the tarp, aimed his flashlight at the crack, and saw a bright gleam deep inside the crack.
So he began to scratch away the clay with his fingernail -
He found more of the shiny substance.
He picked up a stick - and scraped away more.
He found a hammer and chisel and began chipping away through the night -
Until he'd uncovered a 3-ton solid gold statue of the Buddha.
Apparently, hundreds of years ago when foreign enemies were attacking the land -
Confiscating anything of value -
The monks got wind of it -
And they covered their precious statue with clay - to make it appear worthless.
When the army arrived at the monastery, the soldiers left the clay Buddha alone, but killed all the monks.
That secret was kept intact for hundreds of years - until that monk peered through that crack and shined his light.
Discovering - or re-discovering the invaluable worth of generosity and obligation is what you and I are doing this morning!
We are shining the light into that crack and discovering something we've had all along!
Live into your generosity!
Embrace your obligations!
And be filled with joy. Unspeakable!
You and I were meant to shine!
Dust off your talents!
Put them to work!
And stand back as God makes you shine!
Can I get an amen