by Janice Seto
I had quite an interesting agenda ahead that day, June 20, 2007 and somehow was up very early, making my way to the very early breakfast service at 7:15am. Harold, our rector, led the service of Holy Eucharist which contained this reading:
2 Corinthians 9:6-11 The point is this: the one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the one who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that by always having enough of everything, you may share abundantly in every good work. As it is written,
"He scatters abroad, he gives to the poor; his righteousness endures forever."
He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way for your great generosity, which will produce thanksgiving to God through us.
Not long afterwards, I emailed Harold some comments on his sermon, which are outlined, with revisions: This passage from 2 Corinthians affirmed what we do. And your sermon says it is all about focusing on God.
I was thus inspired to looked up the Beatitudes in the NSV in our pews - in Matthew and Luke and just now at the library
At http://bama.ua.edu/~upsa/minister/sermons/2001/sermon021101.html "Both Matthew and Luke are addressing people who are no strangers to rejection, exclusion, and abusive treatment because of their faith. Matthew switches to the more intimate second person and he and Luke are almost in word for word agreement on the last blessing: " Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against your falsely on my account," says Matthew. "Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you and defame you on account of the son of man" says Luke. If we were more faithful in our words and actions we would more often find ourselves at cross purposes with our culture and needing the comfort of this blessing."
So when we go about our daily life living the Good Life, we do draw comments, sometimes supportive, sometimes unjust and unwarranted. Feed back of this sort, especially comments which are neither objective nor impartial nor based on fact, do wound us. As Harold said this morning, that is why we need to pray. We need to remember that we are not the first to be reviled with this kind of response or feedback. And we need to draw strength from the Lord’s reassurances in: “Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you (falsely) because of me.”
Moreover, He gives us comfort in the following: “Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven. Thus they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
Also, I got to thinking about why the sermon affected me quite profoundly. Looking back on the notes I took, what I found helpful was a reminder that We are NOT doing God's Work. Rather God is working through us.
Soooo, if God is the message, then we are the messengers. As to the feedback we get, I have to keep in mind that this might be to relate that the Message is not getting through. In a way, like an old TV, that may be a sign to move the antennae a tad this way. Or adjust. It is the Message that is of greatest importance.
If we reframe feedback that way, I can be on board with the grain of truth I look for in it.
As in today's Eucharist service, trust in God. My friend Liz Best Taylor says when God takes something away, He gives you back double. As we persevere, let us think of how appropriate the following is at the end of service as we are sent forth to Be the Church in the World (as I remember Rev Bob McCrae often saying): "Glory to God whose power, working in us, can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine: Glory to God from generation to generation in the Church, and in Christ Jesus for ever and ever." (Eph. 3:20-21)
Amen to that!