Higher faster stronger
July 29, 2012 Cathy Hamilton Scripture Ephesians 3: 14 – 21
What are we supposed to do now?
We notice the differences and they irritate us
And we never know what is going to be different.
Before, if there was a cobweb, (and there would never have been) we’d know who to talk to.
Before, they noticed how we left things, and put them back. Now we have to notice where they leave things, and put
them back, and we’re not used to it.
Before, if the minister was away, at least everything else was the same.
When things change, we get uncomfortable.
When we’re uncomfortable, we get irritable
When its hot, we get irritable
We thought that when the building was sold we’d feel better, but we feel irritable. We never imagined it would be
this hard. What are we supposed to do now?
When we feel uncomfortable, irritable, anxious, many of us try to take back control Be stronger, more efficient, more
organized. Dig deep into our own resources.
The Olympic motto comes to mind: Higher, faster stronger.
But sometimes higher, faster, stronger, just makes things worse. Whip off an e-mail, make a quick phone call, speak
more assertively. Often all of that just makes things worse.
The writer of the biblical letter offers another route: Have faith that God works in us and others in times of need.
When we are irritable and anxious is when we really need God. And it is in times of need that God works best in us,
if we let go.
The writer says: don’t let my present trouble get you down, instead, he says, My response is to get down on my knees
before God.
We don’t do that much, get down on our knees. It is a humble position. At least, I don’t do that very much. It is hard
to be higher, faster stronger from your knees.
When I write a sermon, I begin by praying about you, then, I read the assigned scriptures. Then I write down how it
makes me feel, because mostly I think, and I have to work at identifying my feelings.
So, feeling the discomfort, the irritation, the anxiety that had accompanied our week together, I read the scriptures and
wrote:
o I feel loved, blessed by the Power of God who works in us and others by the Spirit to create the body of Christ
o I feel grateful for God acting in my life
o I feel like kneeling in prayer- which I never do
o These biblical words have become my own words- that you may be strengthened in your inner soul, that
Christ may dwell in your hearts and that you may be rooted in love. That you may be filled with the fullness
of God
But that only came after a week long battle with God. I’d been trying to do it higher faster, stronger all by myself.
Listen to the prayer we heard from Ephesians, (worded somewhat differently)
For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth takes its name.
I pray that, according to the riches of his glory, he may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being with
power through his Spirit,
That you may be strengthened in your inner being.
How can this congregation, feeling lost and empty, be strengthened in its inner being?
What is the inner being of this congregation? Here are three ideas:
o Care of others- care of each other. Our inner being is what links us together. When someone is in pain our
inner being as a congregation can be strengthened when we talk and listen, give lifts, pray for each other.
We can strengthen our inner being by caring for each other.
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Celebrating the gift of today. Our inner being is the attitude we bring to life. We can laugh, weep, really live
each day with children, grandchildren, painting, joke telling, gardening… We can strengthen our inner being
by living in joy.
o Pray- Our inner being is our relationship with God. Some of our kids have been asking about our faith and
we need God’s help for words. When they say, I believe in something, but “Not that god of your church” we
need to know what we believe. We can strengthen our inner being through prayer
So being strengthened in our inner being is found in caring for one another, in really living each day to its fullest and
in prayer so that we can speak with confidence about our God.
The letter goes on: I pray that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in
love.
As you are being rooted and grounded in Love. It is so easy to be rooted and grounded in fear and in self
preservation. Imagine being rooted and grounded in love, being loved and giving love, seeing love in everything we
do.
The second part of the letter is about knowledge: I pray that you may 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,
so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
What parts of our mind need strengthening? Well it turns out that love surpasses knowledge.
Well this week, as I struggled to write an intellectual sermon, I was continually diverted from my task. As I forced
myself to read about conflict in Palestine and Israel, I was called back into community with all of you, into the love of
Christ what surpasses knowledge.
This week God brought Ross home to Doreen, after a long struggle. Love.
This week Joan experienced the love of the congregation as best she can, as you visited and prayed for her.
This week, as I visited Bill and found Ken Robinson- Oh we only know each other from church, Ken smiled. Love
God was calling us into community.
This week we confess our joy at Nel’s return to health to allow a visit to the states with her Boston driver.
This week rejoiced that we can be family for Paola and Edwin and Sarah as we celebrate their pregnancy.
This week those who doodled prayers on the balcony found a time of intimacy with God, a God who fills them with
all the fullness of God.
This week, as I was struggling to be higher, faster, stronger, God invaded our lives with an assurance that there is a
future for this community.
Alain has already shared with us that this congregation saved his life. That life saving activity has nothing to do with
a building, and everything to do with being strengthened in our inner being, and being filled with the fullness of God.
Bert has told his story too, about when he was down, this congregation gave him a way to be useful, a way to be
needed, and we have benefited from his skills. Our inner being was strengthened and we were grounded in love as we
worked on that together
Nel confided recently that when she had been sick before, this congregation made a big difference.
And that’s just the tip of it. What needs strengthening in our mind is the ability to trust the love that is already
circulating among us. This love is utterly massive and awesome beyond any kind of human imagination. This love
is mighty and powerful. It changes lives. It saves lives.
And none of that is lost in the sale of a building. Maybe, even, because we feel irritable and lost, we need God more.
Maybe even, we are strengthened in our time of need.
And when that happens, like this week, when we trust that God is in the midst of us, working in us and others by the
Spirit, the body of Christ is strengthened.
As the writer concludes: that power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or
imagine,
If we trust that God is active in this time of irritation, in this time of loss, in this time of difficulty, when we feel
powerless and confused, then we cannot even imagine what God will accomplish.
So I pray… that you may rise from these seats: Higher faster stronger. Higher in awe of our powerful God, Faster to
love, and stronger in faith. I pray that you are more firmly grounded in love and more deeply filled by the fullness of
God who answers prayers. To God be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever.
Amen.
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