Sermons from Mission Hills UCC San Diego, California Rev. Dr. David Bahr [email protected] November 21, 2021 “Rooted and Grounded in Love So That” Ephesians 3: 16-21 - NRSV with inclusive adaptations I pray that, according to the riches of God's glory, you may granted strength in your inner being with power through the Spirit, 17 and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love. 18 I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. 20 Now to the One who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, 21 to God be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen. This text is so full of images and long sentences, I want to linger with it a little while longer, to imagine, and soak it in. This whole passage is a prayer. “I pray, that according to the riches of God’s glory…” Right from the beginning, the author invites us to think on a bigger, grander, more amazing scale. “I pray that, according to the riches of God’s glory, you are granted strength in your inner being…” I love that line. We’ve really been tested on that one, haven’t we? During Covid lockdown, months of pandemic separation from family, friends, church – a normal life. Covid required us to explore the depths of our capacity for resilience. One of the things the church did do, even if on Zoom, was remind us that God’s strength helped us, helps us, during our most difficult days, when we feel most overwhelmed by loneliness and isolation. “Strength in our inner being” is what gets us through challenges like chemo appointments. But strength in our inner being is really necessary on days like Friday, when the verdict came in that the man who shot three and killed two people was found not-guilty on all charges. Some people may have heard the news and felt disappointed or sad. Angry. But I ask us to focus on the deep disparity revealed in this moment, not just our despair. Once again, lives are not judged equally. Once again, justice for white and Black is not equal. While some despaired, for others it tore, once again, to the very core of their being. The continued betrayal. I know many are scared to the center of their inner being for the verdict for the murderers of Ahmaud Arbery. Helpless, we can pray, give us strength. In our inner being. Again, the prayer starts, I pray, that according to the riches of God’s glory, you are granted strength in your inner being, it continues, “with power through the Spirit…” The source of our resilience. And “that Christ may dwell in your hearts…” I asked our Lunch and Lectionary group on Thursday if that phrase made sense to them. And almost everyone said yes. One person said, it’s when I get out of my head. Another added, when I stop thinking all the time and let myself feel. That’s when I feel Christ dwell in my heart. We wondered aloud together whether that required us to “invite” Christ into our hearts. That’s a common phrase many of us have heard in church. Often prefaced, “you must” invite Christ into your heart. I like the invitational part, but not the must. And it raises the question, what if I don’t? What if I don’t invite? In fact, what if I actively refuse? Does that mean Christ doesn’t or wouldn’t or won’t dwell in my heart? That question is further confused by the next two words. That Christ may dwell in your hearts “through faith…” But our group all insisted that Christ, or God, or the Spirit – whoever, whatever it is – something holy can be felt, and is felt, regardless of our faith or invitation. It made us ask, did the author Ephesians forget Paul’s own experience? Paul was on his way to Damascus to persecute Christians when “suddenly a light from heaven flashed about him. And he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?’” He didn’t invite Christ into his heart. He didn’t have faith. He was knocked to the ground and went blind by his encounter with Jesus. Many of us have also felt an encounter with God or mystery or holiness or the sacred that knocked us off our feet. It doesn’t require faith. It’s a gift for Christ to dwell in our hearts through faith and, the prayer continues, “as you are being rooted and grounded in love.” Yes, it’s a gift. As you are being… Some translations make a more direct statement: for example, in the Common English Bible, the line is “As a result of having strong roots in love.” Very business-like. But I’m really drawn to the other one. “As you are being rooted and grounded in love.” As you are being… Ongoing, dynamic, deepening… Some might see that as the difference between a person “doing” and a person “being.” But then the prayer really opens up. “I pray that you may have the power to comprehend…” Comprehend. To me, comprehend is much more than trying to understand. To understand something, we take in all the facts and come to a conclusion. OK, now I understand. Or not. To not comprehend means I can’t wrap my head around this. It’s different than understanding, which is a more rational, in your head, way of thinking. I think that’s exactly what this text from Ephesians is trying to communicate. The prayer is that we have the power to “feel” comprehension, “with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth” of love. Love so vast, so completely beyond our limited understanding that the author of Ephesians prays for us to be able to comprehend the incomprehensible. And it keeps going. I pray that you have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, “and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge…” Remember what I said at the very beginning? The author keeps inviting us to think, or perhaps better, to feel on a bigger, grander, more amazing scale. It’s what we prayed in worship last week: To be “free from a vision that is too small and a purpose that is too trivial.” Church folks sometimes think too small. We think about what we don’t have. Or focus on keeping what we have for as long as possible. Such that some churches have stopped living outside of themselves and simply preserve their resources, their shrinking, dwindling resources, for the last few remaining members. A dying church doesn’t give itself away. A healthy church always does and as it gives itself away, it grows. Healthy people too. I read a wonderful article in The Atlantic this week called “‘Self-Care’ Isn’t the Fix for Late-Pandemic Malaise” by Jamil Zaki. Professor at Stanford and author of the book, get this title, “The War for Kindness.” He said, If years could be assigned a dominant feeling, for example in 1929, despair, for 2008, hope, then the dominant word for 2021 might be exhaustion. Others have suggested the word languishing. Professor Zaki said we might need a little more self-care. But, adds that “self-care alone won’t fulfill people’s psychological needs as we rebound from the pandemic. We must reclaim connection and meaning. That comes from caring for one another, not just from caring for ourselves.” He said, people are psychologicaly intertwined, such that helping others is a kindness to ourselves and watching over ourselves supports others. His point is that, despite our exhaustion, to truly emerge from the pandemic, we need more than self-care. Maybe the folks in these pews don’t have to be convinced to help others. I suspect one of our concerns is burnout – a big concern for activists. Did you know that the Black Panthers were big proponents of yoga and mindfulness? Did you know they sponsored programs on preventative medicine, nutrition, and exercise? Activists said, “self-care, especially by Black women, is a radical act. It denies the oppression of those who would seek to reduce them.” It’s a brilliant insight. Self-care denies the power of those who seek to oppress. Angela Davis said, If you want to change the world, you have to learn to take care of yourself. Back to the prayer in Ephesians. I pray that you have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, (you know, bigger, grander, more amazing,) “so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” So that you may be filled. Period? Amen? Is that it? So that we’re filled with the fullness of God? Shouldn’t there be a second “So that?” So that we can serve others. That’s the fullness of God in my mind. A full circle. Helping others is kindness to ourselves and watching over ourselves supports others. Finally, the prayer in Ephesians ends: “Now to the One who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine…” This keeps building, getting larger and more grandiose, expanding both outward and inward at the same time. The prayer is like fireworks at the beginning: As we are being rooted and grounded in love (awe), the power at work within us (awe) accomplishing abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine (awe). But like the end of a fireworks show when so many fireworks are going off at once, you don’t know where to look. The breadth and length and height and depth. With all the saints. The love of Christ that surpasses knowledge. Filled with the fullness of God. The riches of God’s glory. And then silence. As we are being rooted and grounded in love. To accomplish abundantly far more than we can ask or imagine. Got the idea? Now I want you to imagine that scale here. Not for a bigger building. Not for more members. Not for a better reputation. None of those things that the world defines as success that churches and pastors can get caught up in. No, I want you to imagine for Mission Hills and to imagine for yourself what this prayer for the Ephesians means. To think higher and deeper, longer and wider, about that which we could accomplish, not on our own, but with the power of the Spirit. Not for ourselves but for others in a way that comes back to help ourselves and we start again. To recognize, the deeper the roots, the greater the fruit. Think of the grand scale that members had 50 years ago when you envisioned a community preschool. What does Mission Hills need now? Think of the grand scale 50 years ago when that 13-story high-rise apartment tower was built for Section 8 seniors. Can you imagine thinking like that today? Not to replicate that, but could we feel on a scale that is beyond our comprehension, far more than we can ask or imagine, worthy of that feeling of the fullness of God. Maybe in addition to the roots a church needs, like personnel ministry and a property ministry and so forth, we need a ministry for dreamers and envisioners and imaginers. But let me be clear, this isn’t what someone else should do. This is not about others. This is about you. As you are being rooted and grounded in love, what are we called to accomplish beyond your imagination? Do you have some ideas? In a minute I’m going to ask. Just a month now as your pastor, I can feel that kind of confidence building… I can hear dreams being whispered. I can see it coming, what if we… That’s why I’m excited about our first little step beyond what we are doing now with a reimagined staff position for a Director of Ministry with Children and Families. If you didn’t already read about it or hear about it, we had been looking to hire a new Director of Christian Education. Their responsibilities would have been primarily for kids who come to church, to Sunday School, and primarily for children whose families are already here. In that model, if you miss church to go to soccer, you miss out. But can you envision a vibrant ministry that also includes families at home and in their lives beyond the church, that recognizes the complexity and tangled schedules of modern family life? And what about families and children who would never think of coming to church? If we want to build a world that is open, inclusive, just, and compassionate, by what methods do we help shape the lives of kids in our neighborhood? How can we give of ourselves for them? Or what about seeing the whole church as an intergenerational family that eats and plays and learns together? We’re just starting this journey of thinking at least a little bit bigger. And a little bit grander. A little more amazing. It’s a start. The deeper we are being rooted and grounded in love, the farther our horizons can expand. And it starts today with your commitments. Not the size of your pledge, but maybe the first step to make one. Well, maybe the size too, maybe you get caught up in the vision and can’t help yourself, but that’s between you and God. Not you and me. But, bottom line, I hope you begin to think, to feel, in terms of this magnanimous prayer: Now to the One, who by the power [already] at work within us, is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, to God be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever (but that’s still not enough) and ever. Amen
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