Imprinted with Love

Praise be to You!

Praise the Beloved, O my soul!

I will praise You with all my being;

I will sing joyfully and with thanksgiving

to You, Heart of my heart!

Put not your trust in riches,

in illusionary things that fade away.

For when our day comes to depart this world,

at that very time, we carry

only the love imprinted upon our soul.

Blessed are those whose strength is

in the Beloved, whose trust is in You 

O Divine Lover,

Who gave birth to the universe—

the heavens, earth and sea—

and all that is within them.

You are ever-faithful, bringing 

balance and harmony to earth,

nourishment to body and soul.

You free us from the bonds of fear;

You give insight to those who would see

You lift up the faint-hearted,

giving succor to those who weep.

You watch over those on journey,

sending guides and angels to lead the way;

O, that we might become beacons of light

to those in darkness.

May You, who live forever in our hearts,

loose the fetters of fear that bind us,

that we might praise You always

with free and joyful song!

May it be so!

This is from a wonderful book called “Psalms for Praying; an invitation to Wholeness” written by Nan Merrill. It is taken from our Psalm today, 146. I often use her version of the psalms for meditating and centering. They seem to be cries straight from the heart, even as the psalmist did when he penned his psalms for his day and time.

“Has it ever occurred to you that one hundred pianos all tuned to the same fork are automatically tuned to each other? They are of one accord by being tuned, not to each other, but to another standard to which each one must individually bow. So one hundred worshipers met together, each one looking away to Christ, are in heart nearer to each other than they could possibly be, were they to become 'unity' conscious and turn their eyes away from God to strive for closer fellowship.”  A.W. Tozer

Unity in the church is found in one place, and only one place, worshipping God. Turning our hearts toward the Beloved. What a simple and pure concept. And yet how difficult it seems to be. And I am not excluded from that. Sometimes it is just so hard to focus on the one who has given us all that is, including our own souls. There are far too many shiny and not so shiny objects around us!

Merril writes: Put not your trust in riches, in illusionary things that fade away.

The psalmist wrote: Do not put your trust in princes,  in mortals, in whom there is no help.

The words are different, the sentiment is the same. Be careful in what you trust. Not money, not leaders, not pastors, not creeds, not liturgy. These things are temporary and will one day all be gone. These things are all imperfect. And while God may use each of these things to speak to our hearts, to imprint love on our hearts, without being tuned to the Spirit’s tuning fork, they are nothing. 

Paul wrote: “If I speak in the tongues of humans and of angels but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers and understand all mysteries and all knowledge and if I have all faith so as to remove mountains but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away all my possessions and if I hand over my body so that I may boast[a] but do not have love, I gain nothing.” (1 Cor. 13)

God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them. (1 John 4:16)

In today’s gospel reading (Luke 16, 19-31), Abraham tells the rich man that sending Lazarus to his brothers would not bring them to repentance. ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’  

By the way, I think Jesus is making a point here that WE must hear. For he is risen, he is risen indeed! Are we convinced?

What brings one to repentance? Not just the changing of behavior, one can train an animal to change their behavior (house training), but by changing one's heart or mind. As Paul puts it in Romans 12 , “be transformed by the renewing of the mind, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

I would suggest it is the turning of one's eyes, one's heart, one's trust, one's faith toward the Beloved, toward God. It is only in the midst of love that love is imprinted on our own souls.

What is it we focus on? Money, cars, clothes, sports, politics, the news? Think about it. Is that really what you want imprinted on your heart? The psalmist calls us to fix our praise, our worship, our focus on God, the creator of all. 

Pastor Paul has been talking about baptism and being a baptized child of God in confirmation class. Today (Sunday) we baptized Myles. A baptized child of God.

The water is the physical representation of the love of God. I like to picture it as a big wet sloppy kiss from God saying welcome to the family. 

But let’s think outside the box (or the font) for a moment. In Matthew, Jesus tells his disciples to baptize people in the name of the Father, and the Son , and the Holy Spirit. Immerse them, soak them, wash them in the name of God. How? Teach them all that Jesus has taught. Speak to them always about the God of love. Surround them with the words of Jesus. Baptize them with the love of God, thoroughly soaked in it. 

I believe with all of my heart that unity in the church will be found in only one place. The worship of God. Soaking in God’s presence. Not liturgy, not works, not bank accounts, not creeds, not belief systems, but in turning our hearts fully to the worship of God and God alone. Unity must start with us.

What if the rich man worshiped God and not wealth and comfort and prestige? Let’s find out by trying it out with us, here and now, today. Abraham told the rich man that all the words of law and prophecy have not brought repentance. Repentance comes from the heart not the head. 

May we truly open our hearts to the beloved and allow the love that is God be imprinted upon our hearts.

Praise the Beloved, O my soul!

I will praise You with all my being;

I will sing joyfully and with thanksgiving

to You, Heart of my heart!

Put not your trust in riches,

in illusionary things that fade away.

For when our day comes to depart this world,

at that very time, we carry

only the love imprinted upon our soul.

—Join me in a moment of silent worship—

May You, who live forever in our hearts,

loose the fetters of fear that bind us,

that we might praise You always

with free and joyful song!

May it be so!

My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. (Luke 15: 1-10)

Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. 2 But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”3 Then Jesus told them this parable: 4 “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? 5 And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders 6 and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ 7 I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent. 8 “Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins[a] and loses one. Doesn’t she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? 9 And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’ 10 In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”   (Luke 15: 1-10 NIV)

“My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so.” Thomas Merton This is part of a prayer by Thomas Merton, an American Trappist Monk who died in 1968. I will read more of it after a time of silence at the end of the message. My question to you is, have you ever felt this way? “My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going?” I don’t know what I should do, what I should say, where I should go. I don’t know if I should say yes or no to this or that ministry. Should I speak up or remain silent? What is your Spirit saying to me? I’m just not sure. I honestly think that if we were honest, we have all been here. We seek out God’s will, we listen for God’s Spirit, and we are never quite sure. And sometimes, let’s be real, sometimes we make the wrong choice. It is inevitable. And then what happens? There could be relationship problems. There could be burn out and exhaustion. There could be issues for the church, your family, the company you work for. As the saying goes: ‘Stuff happens’. Ok, that’s not exactly the saying but you get my drift. And suddenly, there we are, lost, feeling alone, afraid, or maybe simply embarrassed and ashamed. Well, here is the good news. God sees you; God loves you; God cares. I was talking with someone this week about our cats. It’s just something cat people do. And she shared a story that had just happened to her and her baby. She has a beautiful black cat. I can’t recall his name. Anyway, he is an indoor cat that never goes outside. In fact he is reluctant to even investigate beyond a door accidentally left opened. She said that as she went about her day last week, she had not seen her cat about. Cat owners ( I use that term owner satirically) know that cats tend to sleep wherever they want and are often out of sight during the day. You would be amazed at the cubby holes they manage to find their way into. Anyway, at some point later in the day, she went out to her garage to do some things and started tidying up the work bench. In search of something she had lost she got down on the floor and was startled to see what appeared to be an animal tucked far back under the bench. Yes, somehow, at sometime, her cat had gone out into the garage and been locked out there. Scared and alone, he hid under the work bench. It was a joyous reunion for both. God sees the frightened creature and sends his owner. God sees the clueless sheep, and sends its shepherd. God sees the needed coin, and sends the widow. Even if that shepherd or that widow or that cat owner doesn’t realize what they are being sent for. And so it is with you. No matter where you find yourself. No matter where the open door has led you. God sees you and sends help. You are that loved! The trick is, of course, to be alert enough to receive that help. In whatever form it may come. You may have heard the story of the man stuck on the roof of his house with the flood waters rising rapidly around him. A boat came by and offered to give him a ride to safety. He turned it down because he knew God would save him. A second boat came by and he refused it for the same reason. And finally a helicopter flew over and he turned them down as well. The man dies and goes to heaven. He asks God why he did not save him. God answered, “I sent you two boats and a helicopter.” God seeks you out. God hears your cries for help. And sometimes the help God sends looks different than what we expect or want. My friend's cat lingered in the shadow of the work bench until he heard her call his name. Being open to listen, being familiar with our Lord’s voice, helps us to find our way out from the shadows, or the rising waters. I am a Spiritual Director. One who helps others listen for that voice in their lives. I sincerely believe that God calls to each of us. Sadly, the church has not always done a good job of teaching us to be quiet enough to listen. There are always too many things that need to be done. At church, at home, at work. Luther said, “I have so much to do that I shall spend the first three hours in prayer.” Prayer is a two way conversation. Listening must be a large part of it. Whether you feel lost or not, God is always searching you out. The Spirit may be reaching out to you through the cashier at the grocery store, a book you are reading, a conversation with a stranger on the street, or a great sermon at church. God uses every means possible to let you know God is there. Yes, even sometimes sends your spouse. Perhaps you know the song: Open our eyes Lord We want to see Jesus, To reach out and touch Him And say that we love Him. Open our ears Lord And help us to listen, Open our eyes Lord We want to see Jesus. Maybe he comes in a boat, or a helicopter, or a dear friend. May we be open to notice and receive. Let’s take a moment together to be silent and listen. My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road though I may know nothing about it. Therefore will I trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.” Gracious God, loving all your family with a mother’s tender care: As you sent the angel to feed Elijah with heavenly bread, assist us in this ministry on which we are sent forth. In your love and care, nourish and strengthen those to whom we bring this sacrament, that through the body and blood of your Son we all may know the comfort of your abiding presence. Amen.