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Peter J.B. Carman
Emmanuel Friedens Church, Schenectady New York
December 3, 2017, the First Sunday of Advent
Reading I Corinthians 1:3-9
I.
As a young cross-country runner a few years back, I figured out by the time I was fifteen that the key to finishing, or doing well, let alone winning, a cross-country race was a combination of different kinds of strength. It took physical conditioning; it took mental preparation. But there was something more.
Physical and mental readiness could get you across the finish line. And yet, once a race started and the starter’s pistol was fired, all the preparation, all the practice somehow was not enough. One had to reach down deep and utterly enter into the race. The transition was from running to flying, and in a sense, there was no way to get ready. And those who won such races, or anything close to it—well, it was more gift than skill, in the end.
I’ve been meditating lately on the subjects of strength and hope, not the strength to run a race, nor the hope of victory in such an event, but rather the kind of strength and hope it takes to persist in faith, live our convictions, in difficult times as much as in good. And I am convinced that just like in a cross-country race, having what it takes to live well, in the long-distance run of our lives, is in the end a gift. Sure, it requires practice, and it is helped by spiritual discipline, but once the starting signal is sounded, the faith it takes to fully engage is also utterly dependent on the gift that comes from God, and the individual gifts each of us has that are expressions of that greater gift. But here’s the thing: we have the gifts it takes.
II.
Paul the apostle was deeply attached to the people who gathered in the name of Jesus in the city of Corinth, as we can hear in his words in today’s scripture reading. “I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that has been given you in Christ Jesus, for in every way you have been enriched in Christ, in speech and knowledge of every kind-- just as the testimony of Christ has been strengthened among you-- so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
You have the gifts you need, he was telling them, each of you one by one, and the whole bunch of you together. You have Christ written all over you! I’m so grateful to have you. You have what it takes to run this race!
All of us need that kind of affirmation. All of us need frequent reminders that we are children of God, beloved and chosen, adopted for a purpose, gifted with grace from God, and with amazing capacities and talents. All of us need it, but not all of us get it, early in life. One of my sons has taught special education and reading and math to teenagers in the heart of Kansas City, Missouri for some years. I recall his sharing with me early on with some dismay that as he got to know the youth in his class better it seemed like quite a number of his students at Kansas City Central High School weren’t given much affirmation anywhere—seemingly not at home, and apparently not previously in school. They were apparently taught to think of themselves not as gifted but as losers and failures from birth. Their whole world had taught them to focus not on their gifts but on their deficits. Ben was dismayed.
Truly I say to you, no long-distance runner who sets out on a course with that kind of conditioning will get far. Internalize the message “I’m a failure” and you will drop out. Any who has run even three miles is aware of their vulnerabilities and weaknesses. And yes, we need to account for our weakness and deficits. The necessary response is to work around them, work through them. But they cannot be the last word. They can’t even be the first word.
The first word has to be affirmation of our gifts. The first word is affirmation that we are the beloved children of somebody. And the last word is that we have what it takes. Through the gift of God’s love, and with the encouragement of some community gathered in Christ’s name, we are beloved, we are who we are made to be, we can and will have the necessary strength.
III.
All of us get tired, sometime in this life. All of us get weary, or feel defeated. No matter how much affirmation we have had before, all of us have some day when the “negative word” is all we can hear. Even churches get weary; even congregations wonder if there is a future left. Particularly in a town that has lost half its population over forty years, and struggles to come back, it is natural to get tired. It is natural to lose our way some days, natural to give up.
I am here to tell you this morning—and the communion table around which we gather is also here to tell you, this morning, that we collectively, and each of you individually, has the strength it takes to run this race, to live our lives with love and power. To be a strong and loving and empowering and prayerful community of faith.
We together—and each of you—each of you, young or old, male female, trans; gay, straight, lesbian, bi; Black, Latin or Northern European; rich, poor or someplace in the middle-- any combination of the above-- each of you is made lovingly by God.
Say your own name… and repeat after me: I am a beloved child of God. Each of you is a beloved child of God. Each of you has been given unique gifts by God, on top of the most amazing gift, the first gift: Love.
Everything is just a bit different if it is seen in the light of a loving creator and parent, a powerful redeemer and savior, an encouraging compelling spirit. Everything is a bit different if we can claim the strength that comes from being
One of my favorite old hymns is that wonderful Black spiritual, “Guide my Feet”. I know you know it, because I’ve made you sing it before. It’s the prayer we each need.
“Guide my feet, while I run this race, guide my feet, while I run this race…for I don’t want to run this race in vain.”
And you remember the next verse, for each of us needs affirmation and support as much as guidance: “Hold my hand, while I run this race…Hold my hand….” And it goes on! “Stand by my while I run this race.” And then “I’m your child, while I run this race…. Search my heart while I run this race…. Guide my feet, while I run this race, For I don’t want to run this race in vain.”
Emmanuel Friedens Church, Schenectady New York
December 3, 2017, the First Sunday of Advent
Reading I Corinthians 1:3-9
I.
As a young cross-country runner a few years back, I figured out by the time I was fifteen that the key to finishing, or doing well, let alone winning, a cross-country race was a combination of different kinds of strength. It took physical conditioning; it took mental preparation. But there was something more.
Physical and mental readiness could get you across the finish line. And yet, once a race started and the starter’s pistol was fired, all the preparation, all the practice somehow was not enough. One had to reach down deep and utterly enter into the race. The transition was from running to flying, and in a sense, there was no way to get ready. And those who won such races, or anything close to it—well, it was more gift than skill, in the end.
I’ve been meditating lately on the subjects of strength and hope, not the strength to run a race, nor the hope of victory in such an event, but rather the kind of strength and hope it takes to persist in faith, live our convictions, in difficult times as much as in good. And I am convinced that just like in a cross-country race, having what it takes to live well, in the long-distance run of our lives, is in the end a gift. Sure, it requires practice, and it is helped by spiritual discipline, but once the starting signal is sounded, the faith it takes to fully engage is also utterly dependent on the gift that comes from God, and the individual gifts each of us has that are expressions of that greater gift. But here’s the thing: we have the gifts it takes.
II.
Paul the apostle was deeply attached to the people who gathered in the name of Jesus in the city of Corinth, as we can hear in his words in today’s scripture reading. “I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that has been given you in Christ Jesus, for in every way you have been enriched in Christ, in speech and knowledge of every kind-- just as the testimony of Christ has been strengthened among you-- so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
You have the gifts you need, he was telling them, each of you one by one, and the whole bunch of you together. You have Christ written all over you! I’m so grateful to have you. You have what it takes to run this race!
All of us need that kind of affirmation. All of us need frequent reminders that we are children of God, beloved and chosen, adopted for a purpose, gifted with grace from God, and with amazing capacities and talents. All of us need it, but not all of us get it, early in life. One of my sons has taught special education and reading and math to teenagers in the heart of Kansas City, Missouri for some years. I recall his sharing with me early on with some dismay that as he got to know the youth in his class better it seemed like quite a number of his students at Kansas City Central High School weren’t given much affirmation anywhere—seemingly not at home, and apparently not previously in school. They were apparently taught to think of themselves not as gifted but as losers and failures from birth. Their whole world had taught them to focus not on their gifts but on their deficits. Ben was dismayed.
Truly I say to you, no long-distance runner who sets out on a course with that kind of conditioning will get far. Internalize the message “I’m a failure” and you will drop out. Any who has run even three miles is aware of their vulnerabilities and weaknesses. And yes, we need to account for our weakness and deficits. The necessary response is to work around them, work through them. But they cannot be the last word. They can’t even be the first word.
The first word has to be affirmation of our gifts. The first word is affirmation that we are the beloved children of somebody. And the last word is that we have what it takes. Through the gift of God’s love, and with the encouragement of some community gathered in Christ’s name, we are beloved, we are who we are made to be, we can and will have the necessary strength.
III.
All of us get tired, sometime in this life. All of us get weary, or feel defeated. No matter how much affirmation we have had before, all of us have some day when the “negative word” is all we can hear. Even churches get weary; even congregations wonder if there is a future left. Particularly in a town that has lost half its population over forty years, and struggles to come back, it is natural to get tired. It is natural to lose our way some days, natural to give up.
I am here to tell you this morning—and the communion table around which we gather is also here to tell you, this morning, that we collectively, and each of you individually, has the strength it takes to run this race, to live our lives with love and power. To be a strong and loving and empowering and prayerful community of faith.
We together—and each of you—each of you, young or old, male female, trans; gay, straight, lesbian, bi; Black, Latin or Northern European; rich, poor or someplace in the middle-- any combination of the above-- each of you is made lovingly by God.
Say your own name… and repeat after me: I am a beloved child of God. Each of you is a beloved child of God. Each of you has been given unique gifts by God, on top of the most amazing gift, the first gift: Love.
Everything is just a bit different if it is seen in the light of a loving creator and parent, a powerful redeemer and savior, an encouraging compelling spirit. Everything is a bit different if we can claim the strength that comes from being
One of my favorite old hymns is that wonderful Black spiritual, “Guide my Feet”. I know you know it, because I’ve made you sing it before. It’s the prayer we each need.
“Guide my feet, while I run this race, guide my feet, while I run this race…for I don’t want to run this race in vain.”
And you remember the next verse, for each of us needs affirmation and support as much as guidance: “Hold my hand, while I run this race…Hold my hand….” And it goes on! “Stand by my while I run this race.” And then “I’m your child, while I run this race…. Search my heart while I run this race…. Guide my feet, while I run this race, For I don’t want to run this race in vain.”