Looking Ahead to October 20, 2024 -- 22nd Sunday After Pentecost Proper 24B

The Scripture Readings this week are:

• Psalm 92:1-4
• Psalm 91

Did some playing with ChatGPT

The Sermon title is Thanks for Being There

Early Thoughts: When have you felt alone and isolated? What was that like? Did you feel vulnerable, unprotected, at risk?

One of the things I truly appreciate about the Psalms is that they invite me to explore, settle it, maybe even wallow in the reality of life with God. One of the other things that I appreciate about these ancient poems is that they can bring me comfort, they can remind me that God is there, they can tell me that God is looking out for me.

I could have chosen many different Psalm readings for that purpose.

Psalm 91 is, for me, a very comforting piece. Like many others I know the stomach churning that comes with feeling alone, isolated and vulnerable. Maybe that is why I have always been so drawn to the fact that A New Creed begins and ends with the affirmation that we are not alone.

This is our month of Thanktober, our Month Of Thanks, a time when I want us all to stop and reflect on why we are thankful.

More ChatGPT Playing

One of the reasons that I am thankful is that I am not alone, that it is not only my wits and strength that are going to protect me.

And that is a good thing.
--Gord

Looking Ahead to October 13, 2024 -- Thanksgiving Sunday

The Scripture Readings this week are:

• Joel 2:21-27
• Matthew 6:25-33
  

The Sermon title is Share Thanks, Not Worries

Source

Early Thoughts: There are a number of lists of failed church signs/announcements circulating around the internet (and have been for decades, well before social media took over the world). One of those failed messages is shown in the picture. It could be a great statement about faith helping us deal/cope with worry--or it could be a much more negative comment.

Some of us are natural-born worriers.  Worry is a default reaction for some of us -- we are always wondering what could/will go wrong or how this could end badly. For others worry is a reality of life because no matter how they do the math there just isn't 'enough'.

Quite often I read this passage from Matthew with at least half my mind saying that Jesus is not being reasonable or realistic. Then again I am one of those natural worriers. Still, telling people not to worry about where their next meal will come form but to live on trust seems a bit utopian to me. Maybe I am being a bit too literal, a bit too all or none in my thinking?

What happens when we dwell on our worries and anxieties? Does it, as Jesus reasonably asks, "add a single hour to the span of your life"? One could (and many have) in fact argue that dwelling on our worries and anxieties and fears can shorten our lives, while simultaneously robbing us of happiness.

What might happen if we dwell on the reasons we have to be thankful? What happens if we choose to highlight the ways God has been with us, bringing hope instead of despair, abundance where we only saw scarcity, renewal where we only see destruction, life instead of death? It might not add a single hour to the span of our lives, or it might by lowering our blood pressure and saving us from cortisol poisoning, but it almost certainly would add happiness to those days. It might also make us easier/more pleasant to be around.

Many years ago Bobby McFerrin urged us all to Don't Worry, Be Happy. A bouncy little song, it lifts my spirits just to listen to it but when you look at the lyrics you see that it has a degree of realism. Unlike Pharrell's song Happy from a decade ago, which is just about being happy all the time, McFerrin's lyrics name several reasons one might have worries that weigh them down. Still he encourages us to put those worries aside, to not let them run our lives.

This, I think is a path to better mental emotional health (or at least part of the path). We need to be honest and realistic about life but then we need to make a choice. We can choose to focus on our worries and anxieties. Or we can choose to focus on the good things and give thanks with a grateful heart.

When I talk about this month being a Month Of Thanks or call it Thanktober I am encouraging us to make the second choice. Joel shares a promise to a people who have had a hard time of it, a promise that God will reverse their fortunes. Jesus tells his followers to live lives based on trust and hope rather than worry and anxiety. Let's all try to share our thanks more than our worries. It will, I believe, make us happier as individuals and as a community. It also appears to be how God would have us live.
--Gord