What a year this has been!  We’ve read the entire New Testament!  Isn’t it amazing that, by reading five chapters a week, we can read the entire New Testament Matthew to Revelation in exactly 52 weeks?  I am glad we took this challenge, and I hope you enjoyed re-reading familiar passages as well as perhaps reading some things for the first time.

I have been surprised at how many times the selection of New Testament chapters has lined up well with what’s going on in the life of the church this year.  I was a little worried about reading Revelation in December, but actually, it’s been neat to read prophecy about Jesus coming again while preparing to celebrate his birth.  And today, reading from the last chapter of the last book of the Bible, seems fitting as I celebrate my last day of worshipping and serving with you at Lima Church.  Back in January, when we started our New Testament challenge, I was not thinking at all about the end of my time here.  And normally we don’t move from our appointments mid-year in the United Methodist Church.  But this is an unusual situation!

But just because it’s unusual, even abnormal, and certainly unexpected, does not mean it’s unforeseen by God.  Back in January, I encouraged everyone in the congregation to select a “star word”—a word that would serve as a grounding agent, or a guide, for the year ahead.  You can actually go online and find star word generators—essentially, having a random word chosen for you.  Or you can pray about it, and pay attention, and choose a word that seems to shimmer or feel just right.  Some of the star words our church members chose for 2023 include hope, peace, forgiveness, beginnings, trust, patience, and kindness.  Those are all great words!

The star word I chose for 2023 was longevity.  I had been praying about what word God might have me choose as a grounding and guide word for the year, and one day I happened to see the word longevity mentioned in a devotional.  I knew right away this was to be my star word for 2023.  I chose it because I want to have longevity in my career, and I’ve been thinking about what skills I need to develop so I can be more and more effective every year until I retire.  I also chose it because I want to live a long time, and this year I wanted to sleep better, get more exercise, get a colonoscopy, and basically take better care of my body so it will last me longer!

Longevity.  I’d like to have a long, durable life in ministry, and in general, and I was hoping my star word would help me make good choices along those lines.  But now I think there was another reason God brought that word to my attention.  When we got home from Rwanda, and the harassment we’d be experiencing escalated to death threats, that really got my attention as well.  Phil and I wondered what to do, who to turn to for help, how to take the best care of ourselves, and how to do right by Lima Church.  It’s hard to make good decisions when you’re traumatized!  But months before, I had written the word longevity in the front of my calendar, and put it on my bulletin board, and shared it with my friends.  During a tumultuous time, being reminded of the word longevity brought us peace.  Like the star that guided the three wise men, which we will celebrate next Sunday with Epiphany, our star words guide us through the dark times and into the light.  That God had given me the word longevity back in January, well, that feels like a special gift of reassurance and clarity in a time when things feel unsteady and murky.

I don’t know yet what my star word for 2024 will be, but so far the top contender is “soldier on.”  Do you know that expression, soldier on?  It means to keep going, keep putting one foot in front of the other.  Many years ago a choir I was singing in learned a song, “One step he leads, one step I follow.”  That song was such a comfort to be, because as a product of growing up in the 1980’s, I’ve always felt a lot of pressure to have a five-year plan, a long-term goal, things like that.  Not that those things are wrong.  But I think what God mostly asks from us is to follow one step at a time.  I’m not sure we can ever see five years ahead, and rarely can we even see three or four steps ahead!  But one step?  Each of us can usually figure out one right or good thing to do next.  One step God leads, one step I follow.  Soldier on.  Step by step, doing the next right thing, that is what faithfulness looks like most of the time.

One thing I hope you will remember about my time as pastor here is how every month we had a verse we tried to memorize.  And how just about every month I would say, “I really like this one!”  It’s true—I really like those monthly memory verses!  But my favorite is Galatians 6:9.  “So let us not grow weary in doing what is right, for we shall reap at harvest time, if we do not give up!”  How blessed we are to have Rev. Jim Ritchie worshipping with us at Lima, and often writing us songs to help us memorize our verses.  He knew how much I love this verse, and when he set it to music, he called the name of the tune, “Dorry”.  What an honor.  Let us not grow wearing in doing what is right.  Soldier on.  Step by step, doing the next right and good thing.  Even when that next thing is hard.

The last two months have been a whirlwind, trying to figure out how to best respond to the harassment and threats.  Our three simple rules—do no harm, do good, and stay in love with God, have been a useful guide.  Wanting to do the best thing for my family and the best thing for Lima, we consulted with the conference, state police, and district attorney’s office for advice.  The wisest course of action seems to be leaving mid-year, which is not easy for us or for the church.  We’ve been very busy, trying to soldier on, to keep putting one foot in front of the other, and do the next right and good thing.

I haven’t had time to stop and reflect and see what wisdom God has for me in all of this, but one idea keeps coming to mind.  It’s this idea that God lives in our backbones.  When I pray with our pre-schoolers, I encourage them to bow their heads, to touch the chin to their chest, as a way to remember that God lives in our hearts.  And I think God does live in our hearts!  But looking back over my 17 ½ years in ministry, some of my most intense consolations—consolations are the moments when we feel close to God, when we feel most alive or most loving or most grateful—some of my most intense consolations were times when I asserted myself.  When I acted to protect my congregation, or protect someone who is vulnerable, or protect myself.  I am not sure if I will ever get to work with preschoolers again, but if I do, I am going to have to find a way to talk to them about how God lives in our hearts, yes.  But God lives also in our backbones.  When we stand up for ourselves, when we protect the weak and vulnerable in our midst, when we insist on standards of behavior for the good of the order, when we work for justice, we are doing something holy.  We are engaged in divine work on earth.  I am leaving Lima with so many gifts, having learned so much from all of you.  One thing that stands out today is that faith often tugs at our hearts, but it also relies on our guts and our backbones.  Taking one faithful step at a time can take great courage and wisdom.

Unfortunately, courage and wisdom are not always at our fingertips!  So we will need God’s help.  You’ve probably heard of The Serenity Prayer:

 

God grant me the serenity

to accept the things I cannot change;

courage to change the things I can;

and wisdom to know the difference.

 

(Although known most widely in its abbreviated form above,

the entire prayer reads as follows…)

 

Living one day at a time;

Enjoying one moment at a time;

Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;

Taking, as He did, this sinful world

as it is, not as I would have it;

Trusting that He will make all things right

if I surrender to His Will;

That I may be reasonably happy in this life

and supremely happy with Him

Forever in the next.

Amen.

 

There is so much I like about this prayer, because there is so much that is out of our control. So much that is not as we would wish it to be.  But despite all the disappointments and difficulties, there is also so much good in life that I can indeed be “reasonably happy”!  Leaving Lima mid-year is not ideal.  It’s not ideal for me, it’s not ideal for the church—but it’s the best we can do given the circumstances.  I find myself grateful for the time here, I find myself hopeful for the future, I find myself, most of the time, feeling reasonably happy even though I am also very sad.  But I am learning to have peace about the situation, serenity, trusting that God is indeed at work for good, even in ways we cannot yet imagine our anticipate.

The key, I think, is to have backbone and take action on those things that are in our control—and to have flexibility and a loose grip on those things that aren’t.  The word finesse comes to mind, which you know isn’t my strong suit!  But I am working on it.  And I am thankful for the promises of God, who has not left us orphaned, but is indeed with us, and working to bring us to a glorious future.

This week I heard a lecture by a seminary professor who quoted Irenaeus, a Church Father who lived from 130 to 202 AD.  He was a very early voice in Christian history when Gnosticism was a strong force in the religious world.  Gnosticism is an old idea that taught the spirit is far more important than the flesh.  But the early church decided Gnosticism is a heresy.  They declared it a philosophy out of synch with the gospel, because didn’t Jesus put on flesh?  Jesus came to earth as a human and thus dignified and made bones and skin just as holy as hearts and souls.  Irenaeus wrote, “The glory of God is a human fully alive.”  Fully alive is more than just longevity.  It’s not just living a long time, having a durable life.  It’s living with vigor and joy and purpose and impact.  The glory of God is a human fully alive.  Any steps we take to become healthier, to experience more joy, to live with greater purpose and impact—anything we do to promote our own abundant well-being, these choices bring glory to God.

This is a paradox, because it can also bring glory to God when we sacrifice and surrender.  It’s a both/and, not an either/or.  It’s not always easy to know.  We will need God’s help.  I think that’s a great summary of my time at Lima in a nutshell!  So let me leave you with these thoughts:

 

God lives in our hearts—and our backbones.
God calls us to sacrifice our own desires for the greater good—but God also is glorified when we make choices to become more fully alive.
We can have confidence in our ultimate future—but between now and then, the best we can do most of the time is to simply follow step by step.
And, the world we live in is rarely ideal. But we can be reasonably happy, we can trust God is always at work for good, and we know that we are on our way to another world where we will indeed be supremely happy.

 

I look forward to meeting you there!  Amen.