Sermon

Check out this sermon that I heard my one day at home after CTD. I thought it was appropriate to conversations I'd been having with Wesley people earlier in the week.

St. Stephen's Episcopal Church

Embracing Powers Higher Than Ourselves

Embracing Powers Higher Than Ourselves

I look forward to this year more than any previous. Certainly, I am excited about graduation from college and all that that entails, but there is more held within this calendar year than whatever I have in my planner. And believe me, I have that planner with all the pockets, and sticky notes attached to it. Yes, I’m that girl. Apparently there was a sermon about not putting too much on your plate in college, and I slept through it. Furthermore, I must have missed the sermon that told me not to worry about things so much that you have ulcers, not to stay up until 3 am playing board games when you have a test the next day, and DEFINITELY not to go to Panama City Beach and back that same night the day before having your FIRST final ever in college. In retrospect, I probably should have slept less and listened more. As a graduating senior in college, I have been for AT LEAST three years trying to figure out who I am, not only as a person but as a person moving towards perfection in Christ.

Yes, for this calendar year I have planned a trip to Washington, DC.. a trip to New York City.. and a trip to Juarez, Mexico. Within these trips, in New York City I will visit potential grad schools that may shape me theologically in the coming years, as well as learn more about the health care crisis at forums in Washington, DC. I will even help build homes in Juarez, Mexico. OH, and how could I forget, I will probably spend entirely too much money on clothing in New York City as I’ve heard they have more than just a GAP and Target, try to stay alive in Washington DC, and avoid anything water based in Mexico. Yes, I believe these excursions will be life changing and full of experience that will season my faith with a deeper understanding of how people work, and how I work. Yes, I believe that through these experiences and all others I will learn how to better serve God and do the work of the Church. But, I see a bigger picture unfolding just the same.

As Christians we consistently ask, or should consistently ask, “how am I to do something that revolutionizes society through faith?” I believe we can accomplish this through embracing powers higher than ourselves. I believe we can accomplish this through attitudes seasoned with humility (and equally with reason) that touch and transform the conversations we have, the people we love, and the world we inhabit. To have an attitude seasoned with humility and reason we must cling to community, ever holding fast to those to the left and right of us, in front of us and behind us. Throwing aside differences and likenesses, we must realize how important we are to one other. We must be unafraid to love, and to love without prejudice, so that we may embody humility, and with that, leave an indelible mark on the world around us. After all, we are called to be Jesus in the world today, are we not?

Of course, with everything said on the topic of faith I say this -- easier said than done. And that is why we have the Church. That is why you have your community. That is why you can look around the room and see others listening, reading, marking, learning, and inwardly digesting beside you. We have the Church so that when what is said is easy, and what is being done is lacking, we have the encouragement to push through and have lives worthy of our calling. In this, we have lives that move towards perfection in such a way that leaves a trail, allowing others to revolutionize the world we have loved ourselves.

So, what advice do I give you? Listen. Sleep through nothing. With the people around you, the potential exists for change that is beyond what you can imagine, so listen to what they have to say. In community, we are given the opportunity to view the world through a new perspective, a bright new lens that could easily change the world we know through acts of compassion and humility. This brings me to my next piece of advice. LOVE. Love in such a way that is beautifully unafraid. Setting aside differences, live out the first and second commandments – Love God and Love People. If God is love, what reason could there possibly be to not do so? In listening to community and loving all that breathes, the work of the Church is being done. In doing these things, we are able to find our identity in the light of the great I AM.

What it means to be a Christian AND a teenager

If you were to pick up a dictionary and needed to define the word success...here are a couple definitions you might find:

1. a favorable result.
2. the attainment of wealth, favor, eminence, or power.

That's what success is, but what does it really mean to be successful?

One might say that a successful person is someone that sets a lot of goals and continually achieves them.

If a person is considered successful, that person is probably at the top of their career.

Right now, one person that comes to my mind is a name that we have all heard a lot lately...Michael Phelps. Most of us would consider Michael Phelps a success. He has worked very, very hard to become one of the best athletes of our time. He is an incredible swimmer, and I doubt anyone would deny that he is a successful competitor.

At this point in your lives, you probably haven't narrowed down exactly what you want to do or be "when you grow up". However, if you land at the top of your career and you are rich and look totally fabulous...will you be successful?

According to BARNA research online:

• 51% of Christians and 54% of non-Christians believe that money is the main symbol of success in life.
• 19% of Christians and 20% of non-Christians feel that you can tell how successful someone is by what they own.

It is important for us to understand that God measures success far differently than the world measures success. God doesn't look at how many magazine covers a person is on, or how much money a person brings home from commercial endorsements. God doesn't care what kind of car a person drives, how big their house is, or even if they own a platinum credit card with no spending limit! All the money, power, and fame in the world don't impress God in the least.

So how does God define success?

God's measure of success is really quite simple: FAITH=SUCCESS. When we look back on our lives, do we see faith (that we have trusted and had confidence in God) in our actions, or do we only see fear and doubt? God loves to see faith in people. God is pleased with faith, and God rewards faith.

God has called each and every person here to a deep, committed relationship with Jesus. The cool thing is, God equips us all with very unique gifts, and each one of us is created in God's image.

Being a success in God's eyes means acknowledging God's presence in our everyday lives. Being a Christian becomes a part of who you are and your own identity in Christ. It's about learning to love others and choosing to serve God in every moment.

You all have a choice. When you're sitting at the lunch table and your friends are all laughing at a crude joke that is either hurtful or demeaning to someone else...you have a choice. You can sit there and play along by laughing, even though you know it's wrong...OR you can choose to stand up for what you know is right and put your faith into practice. When you're out on the football field and your friends are talking about partying and drinking on the weekends....you have an opportunity to make a choice to stand up and tell your friends that you may not agree with what they are doing.

Sometimes it's hard to notice the opportunities before us when we are doing the SAME thing every single day. You have the same classes, the same routine, and it's easy to get into a rut. But part of being successful as a Christian is finding God in the mundane, everyday things, and acknowledging God's presence in that moment. When you get to school and get out of the car...you have a choice. You can take a moment right there where you are and ask God to show you ways to be Christ-like throughout your day...or you can choose to try and do it completely on your own.

I can tell you from my experience that it's always easier when you can trust God and allow God to be at work through you.

I speak to you under the influence of God: Creator, Christ, and Holy Spirit. As I typed that yesterday I was humbled and reminded of how audacious a claim that is to make. That’s something I’ve learned over the course of my three years as a Christian in college. I’ve also learned that that claim should only be made after lots of prayer, thought, reflection, discernment, and listening to the voice of the Spirit.

That being said, I have a question for you. Are any of you familiar with the webpage “I Can Has Cheezburger?” For those of you who aren’t, it is a collection of images of cats in funny positions with captions that are misspelled and often without proper grammar. They are some of the funniest things I’ve seen, and I give a lot of credit to the people who caption the pictures that make me laugh.

This summer I found out that there is a webpage of people who are spending their time translating the Bible into lolcat, the language that the cats speak. Lol at the beginning stands for “laugh out loud.” While some might see this translation as sacrilege or merely silly, having looked through it online I’ve really liked the way that some of the things are phrased. Here is an example, using the Matthew text that Tate just read for us. Before hearing it, you should know that “cheezburgers” are blessings and “Ceiling Cat” is God.

Wen teh Jebus comez in hiz awesumness, n al teh angels wit 'im, he wil sit on 'is couch of teh ceilings awesumness. All teh nashuns will be gatherd before him, an he will separate teh peeps wan frum anothr as sheferd separatez teh sheep frum teh goats. he will put teh sheep on his rite an teh goats on his left. "den teh king will say to dose on his rite, coem, yu hoo haz cheezburgrz from ceiling cat; taek ur kitteh toyz, teh kingdom prepard for yu since teh creashun ov teh urfs. 4 i wuz hungry an u openz canz and not drai fuds, i wuz thirsty an u gaev me some bowlz, i wuz strangr an yu were liek, "o hai," i had dirty furz an yu gaev me licks, i wuz sick an u rap pillz in ham, i scratch bathrum door an yu openz. "den teh riteshus will say, Jebus, when did we c u hungry an gaev yu gushy fud, or thirsty an gaev yu milks? when did we see yu strangr an says "o hai," or durty furz and lick yu?" when did we know yu sick or stuck in bathroom and help yu? "teh king will says, srsly, whatevr yu did teh other kittehs, evn lame kittehs, yu liek did to me.

What I like about the lolcat bible is that it takes phrases that may be quite familiar to us and gives them a different spin that has caught my attention. The verse that has shaped what my college life as a Christian is Micah 6.8, which in lolcat is, “An wut doez teh lord want from yuz? 2 be nais, 2 luv givin 2nd chansez An 2 walk humbly wif ur ceilin cat, srsly.” In the New Revised Standard Version that’s “What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God.”

I first encountered this verse at my first trip to the General Board of Church and Society’s seminar program my freshman year. It has become a cornerstone of what being a Christian in college means to me. Charity and justice have to go together. This exposure to another side of Christianity led to a paradigm shift from my old version of faith. It means that in addition to doing acts of charity in Juarez, Mexico or building wheelchair ramps in Greenville I have to work to change systems that are oppressive, and that, I believe links my Micah text, the Psalm Melissa read, and our Gospel tonight. Time and again I have taken a vow, in United Methodist settings to “resist evil, injustice, and oppression in whatever forms they present themselves.” In Episcopal settings I have promised to “strive for justice and peace among all people and respect the dignity of every human being.” All means all.

It’s not enough for me to build a house for the impoverished in Mexico. To build the Kin-dom here and now I have to look at the ways our economy affects others’ and seek to change negative aspects. It’s not enough for me to give food or money to the homeless, I have to be willing to see how national and state governments allocate funds and lobby my congressperson and senators to be more equitable and compassionate. It’s not enough for me to tell lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgendered friends “all are welcome in this place.” In April I went to General Conference and stood in witness with the Reconciling Ministries Network and it’s young adult division, Methodist Students for an All-Inclusive Church to work for the full inclusion of all of societies marginalized into the full life of Christ’s one, holy church.

The way I have come to live out my faith in college is drastically different from the way I lived it in high school. I feel as though I’ve become more knowledgeable about Jesus, what Jesus said, and open to applying that to my life – even when I don’t think it makes sense. Being a Christian in college, I don’t think, is really all that hard, particularly in a culture saturated with “Christianity.” I think, however, that following Christ and Christ’s radical messages of love, forgiveness, and inclusion is hard, not just in college but throughout all of life.

The Gospel of Inclusion

This morning I was flipping through TV stations trying to find something to watch and I stopped on MSNBC ( I was really looking for the Olympics) and Dateline was on. It is the story of Bishop Carlton Pearson. The entire piece is in two videos, please watch.





Over the past year or so, I have had almost the exact same revelation. It wasn't as sudden as Carlton's but we both got to the same conclusion. How could a loving, forgiving God, who always gives you a second chance, eternally punish you. It kills me to see people preaching that Jesus would exclude anyone. Jesus lived on the margins. He was radical and broke the rules. If we could only follow the two commandments Jesus gave us then the world would be a much better place.

Tate Hinkle

Hmmm.

more cat pictures

being CHURCH -- an exercise in embracing powers higher than ourselves.

i look forward to this year more than any previous. certainly, i am excited about graduation and all that that entails, but there is more held within this calendar year than whatever i have written in my planner.

yes, i have planned a trip a washington, dc down.. a trip to new york city.. a trip to juarez mexico. do i believe these will be life changing and full of experience that will season my faith with a deeper understanding of how people work, and how i work? do i believe that through these experiences i will learn how to better serve God and do the work of the Church? yes. but, i see a bigger picture unfolding.

the title of the blog is "being CHURCH." i believe we can accomplish this through embracing powers higher than ourselves. i believe we can accomplish this through attitudes seasoned with humility (and equally with reason) that touch and transform the conversations we have, the people we love, and the world we inhabit. after all, we are called to be Jesus in the world today, are we not?

of course, with everything said on the topic of faith -- easier said than done. and that is why we have the Church. we have the Church so that when what is said is easy, and what is being done is lacking, we have the encouragement to push through and have lives worthy of our calling.

just a thought. :)

Getting Excited

I'm in Chicago and I'm ready to be back in Troy.  I miss people and I miss the Wesley.  I'm ready to be back, and I'm getting excited about next year.  I think that we have a lot of clear divisions of labor that aren't meant to stifle but rather actually play to people's strengths and callings.  

I'm excited about planning CHURCH in committee rather than alone.  I'm looking forward to seeing how we do with the time and location change.  I really want us to explore the SLICE (Sacramental,Liturgical, Indigenous, Connected, and Embodied) model of worship and work together to not just plan worship, but lead the community in implementing that which we plan...even if that means giving up Word and Table IV during Lent, but that's something we'll discuss in a group.  I'm looking forward to some more responsive Great Thanksgivings and musical settings for responses.

I'm looking forward to continue working with Erin on Social Justice stuff.  We've already been planning some via text, and some of it might not be well received.  My excitement for DC is growing, and that's not just because I love the city.  It will be my last seminar with the Wesley...I'll've gone through two US2s at GBCS.  A little anxious about Mexico, but mostly anxious about fundraising for the two.

I need to go to bed.  Looking forward to more stuff from others in the next week.  Abide in peace, and pray for me, a sinner.