ACMA Lenten Service
March 14, 2012
Psalm 15, 2 John 1:4-6
I Have Hope
As I stand here before you, students, colleagues, and members of the community, I am sure you are thinking to yourself, “Who is that young girl up there in the t-shirt? Why is Pastor Loren dressed so casually? What in the world was Rev. Lo thinking when she got out of bed this morning?” When do pastors usually look like this, maybe on Saturdays! I assure you I mean no disrespect, all I can say is that I hope as my homily continues this morning you will begin to understand.
Ever since I was a little girl, once I realized I loved something, that was it, I loved it for life! As a little girl I had one doll, Princess, who went everywhere with me. She now has a special resting place in our home. I had one favorite skirt that I wore every Saturday until I wore it out. I’ve had the same best friend since I was seven years old. I know this is beginning to sound like a good Lord of the Rings narrative…one ring to rule them all! But let me give you one more example: I have loved one band since I was 14 that was larger-than-life inspiring to me.
I bet you all, especially my young friends up front here, have musicians that you love; an artist or band that makes you belt out their songs in the shower. Maybe you have a song list that you play over and over again on your iPod. When I was 14, which was actually 14 years ago, not just last week…I listened to the first Hanson album every single day. As I grew up, so did the members of my favorite band, who were in fact the same age as me, and their music evolved too. In 2007, this band of three brothers released an album called The Walk. And they did something really special with it. They decided that instead of just writing songs about great meaning in life, they would do something that had great meaning in life. They decided to go to Africa and learn more about the HIV/AIDS epidemic. They visited villages, schools and hospitals. They met with researchers and played with little children. They sang with a children’s choir there and recorded their voices on this album, The Walk. The Hanson brothers put out their first single from that album which was entitled The Great Divide, which featured the children singing in their native language “I have hope.” 100% of the proceeds from that single went directly to one of the hospitals they visited in Africa.
That ties up their humanitarian efforts into a neat little bow doesn’t it? But that isn’t all that happened. After this trip to Africa the band went on tour and before each and every show across the country they held a walk, in which everyone was encouraged to walk one mile barefoot, to have just the tiniest of experiences of what it is like to live without(www.takethewalk.net) . This trek raised money for AIDS, clean water, and education charities as well as providing shoes for the poor. For every fan that attended these walks, Hanson gave a dollar. And more often than not that dollar was matched by the fans. Hanson teamed up with Toms Shoes. If you don’t know about Toms Shoes as a company, look it up (www.toms.com). For every pair of Toms you buy, another pair goes to a child in need. It’s hard to believe that good can come out of corporate America these days, but it does! To date, over 50,000 miles have been walked for this cause. Because here’s what happened, Hanson fans the world over started organizing their own walks in their own communities! So now, maybe my attire starts to make a little more sense! Every time I put on this t-shirt from The Walk tour and I slip my feet into these Toms, I am reminded that I have the power to make a difference in the world. That Christ has called me to be his hands and feet in the world and that means I can do something.
It is safe to say that not all of the people we put on pedestals in this country deserve to be there. We have to choose our role models wisely. I wouldn’t say Snooki is the best role model, or Chris Brown, or the majority of politicians on Capitol Hill. We have to be careful about who we support/listen to/follow on Twitter/Iike on Facebook. These things are a reflection of our character. I know that these guys that I told you about are faithful; I know that they believe in their Creator. But they don’t have to say it, or write it blatantly in their music… its more about how they live their lives. I admire them so much for living authentically. They are bearing witness to Micah 6:8 with their very souls, S-O-U-L-S and soles S-O-L-E-S. Micah 6:8 tells us that the Lord requires of us to do justice, and love kindness, and walk humbly with our God. In walking with God we are called to walk with our neighbor, to see the spirit of God that dwells in each person. And I believe that this is what our walk with Jesus Christ is all about—living a life worthy of Christ’s glory. Jesus didn’t just sit in the temple to read the Torah or to teach his disciples. He taught in motion, until his very last breath on the cross, he lived his words. How fortunate are we that we can have our ultimate role model in Christ; by God’s grace, we are given the opportunity to try time and time again to be witnesses and disciples of Christ.
One of my favorite passages in the New Testament is the story of the Road to Emmaus. This is one of my favorites because it is only when the disciples lived out the teachings of Jesus by breaking bread with a stranger that their eyes were opened and the recognized Jesus standing before them. We see Jesus’ face most clearly when we engage with other people, sharing God’s kingdom in random acts of kindness, one mercy at a time. The Apostle Paul tells us in his letter to the Galatians: “you were called to freedom brothers and sisters, only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence, but through love become slaves to one another. For the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’”
Jesus’ movement was grass roots to its core. Change doesn’t have to be a monumental thing. Don’t think that because you are one person you can’t create change in the world. My friend David LaMotte says that “you change the world each time you take a breath.” The gesture doesn’t have to be grand, it just has to be from the heart and reflect God’s glory. Jesus does not promise that this will be an easy task. To take up the cross and bear it with him is painful, the burden is heavy. But the reward of our faith is so great. It is true that we don’t deserve the grace we are given, but our lives can be a response of thankfulness to that grace in the way we live. As we continue on this Lenten journey, this pilgrimage, this walk, let us remember that Lent doesn’t have to be a time when we take away something, but maybe it is a time when we take on something! I challenge you today to think of the ways you can be a cause of change in your world. I have hope. Amen.
