A homily about rollercoasters and God’s call on your life, with a slight nod to a favorite Stevie Wonder/Red Hot Chili Peppers song.  

I *love* roller-coasters. For as long as I can remember the highlight of many a summer excursion was heading to a local amusement park and getting on the biggest, baddest, tallest, fastest, craziest, zaniest of roller coasters I could find.

Whether it was signing up for a youth group trip, or bugging a friend, girlfriend, or spouse, I’d go with just about any partner-in-crime willing to trek along for the ride. And I still do.

In line waiting your turn there’s this built-in anticipation of watching others yell, scream, and raise their hands in the air, and being reminded that your turn is coming up next.

The ride itself, of course, is where the real thrills are. Slowly inclining to the top, then stopping for a moment at the precipice, and then hurdling down a steep slope with increasing velocity, well, that’s about as good as it ever gets for this particular guy.

After the ride is complete, with blood pumping and with sweat glands draining, you then get to compare experiences with anyone willing to listen. Can you believe that drop? My glasses almost fell off! Boy was that ride rickety! Do you want to go on it again? Or instead try something new! The burst of endorphins from a good roller coaster ride is a thrill that few life experiences can top.

Vacation
Last week our family went on vacation to Orlando. While there you could easily guess where we spent some time…DisneyWorld, of course! I found myself getting pumped up for the rides all over again, thinking YES, here we go! Even better, my wife also loves roller coasters; she’s a catch, I’m telling you. And to both our delights our two children love them too.

Even better, for this Disney trip our four-year-old son is now tall enough to get on most of the coasters, so he had lots of firsts. For each new ride we’d describe what was coming up as best we’re able, and watch as he, and we, got energized to experience the upcoming thrills.

Then, near the end of the day, something funny happened. While in the Magic Kingdom I noticed after riding Splash Mountain that, after all that pent-up excitement of the previous roller coasters, that this one, for some reason, didn’t seem to hit me the way it used to. I’ve been on that ride at least a half dozen times over the past fifteen years, hmm.

Maybe that’s it.

Maybe the excitement is waning.

Maybe my sense of thrill is starting to go.

And that’d be a major bummer.

But then I noticed, a little more closely my young son, and how he experienced that same ride. His hair was all windblown, his arms still in the air, still screaming from excitement, his face awash in a warm, glowing expression. “THAT WAS THE BEST RIDE EVER!!!” he exclaimed.

And I knew it to be true.

“Which one are we going on next?” he asks. I was thrilled to see him so excited.

I also knew, in that moment, that something within me had changed.

I had gone from seeking personal satisfaction – roller coasters still thrill me – to instead finding joy in encouraging, partnering and sharing in these thrills with our two children.

I took this new mindset with me for the rest of our family vacation – we hit Epcot and Legoland later in the week – and have to say it really was thrilling to watch our kids enjoy the amusement parks as much as they did.

Calling
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But it has everything to do to with our calling, the spiritual gifts we’ve been given, and what we do with those gifts.

We all have different God-given gifts; where you find passion, purpose and joy is as unique as your fingerprint.

Ephesians 4 outlines several of the gifts God gives; to some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors, some teachers. I’d extend this a little farther, pulling from 1 Corinthians 13, and add that some are gifted with wisdom, some with faith, some with the gift of philanthropy.

And when we use those gifts, the result can be nothing less than thrilling.

As we age tho sometimes the excitement we get from using these gifts can wane.

Preparing for this sermon as wasn’t as exhilarating as when I prepared my first message four years ago.

Going to rock concerts these days, personally, doesn’t bring as much excitement as it did when first experiencing them as a teenager.

Riding the Splash Mountain rollercoaster last week wasn’t the same high it was when I first rode it 15 years ago. And yes, I think a sense of adventure could be considered a spiritual gift. ?

Keep On And
To quote the Stevie Wonder song, Higher Ground, which was also excellently covered by the Red Hot Chili Peppers –

Teachers, keep on teaching.
Preachers, keep on preaching.
Believers, keep on believing.
For it won’t be too long – oh no.

But then, take it a step further. Next, instill your passions in the generations that follow.

Teachers, keep on teaching. But don’t forget to experience the thrill of watching your students make that first big connection.

Preachers, keep on preaching. But don’t forget to look for other, future preachers. Help, encourage, and instill, in them, the same passions that drive you.

Believers, keep on believing. But don’t stop there. Be also evangelizers. Share your faith, and the joy it brings you, with everyone you know.

Servers, keep on serving, both here, and in the community. But don’t stop there, invite others to serve alongside you. Let them see the life that it brings, both in you, and in those you serve.

Givers, keep on giving. And I mean this, I really do, without your financial gifts this fine congregation would be no more. But be also teachers, sharing with others how God has blessed you, by blessing others, with your monetary gifts. Share your passion for philanthropy, and what can be done, in God’s name, to re-align this world as God intends.

Close
For when we do, the spiritual gifts that thrill us will never wane. Instead they will be deeply rooted for generations to come. This then helps us to become one body, and one Spirit, just as we are called to the one hope of our calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism. One God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.

The realization of being intimately part of that, my friends, never loses its luster. The realization, of actively taking part in Gods call on your life, just may be the most thrilling thing of all.  Amen.

A message on the sixth beatitude.  

A few nights ago, with daughter Hannah away at camp, and wife Kathi out for dinner with a friend, my son and I opted to have what he calls “Daddy and Graham time.”

We did lots of things together that night, but the best moments were spent in the backyard. There’s a small firepit behind our home that I’m embarrassed to say we hadn’t used yet – even after being in Iowa for a year now – and it was high time to break it in.

Fireside Chats
First we gathered the tinder, some kindling, and bigger logs and set them all up in the pit. After getting the fire started we cooked hot dogs over the flames, nibbled on pretzels and peanut butter, and washed it all down with a favorite beverage. Graham, age four, loves his ‘lemolade.’

And if I’d planned a bit better we would have had smores too, it’s hard to beat munching on a sandwich of graham crackers, chocolate bars and marshmallows, while outdoors, watching the sun go down.

The two of us listened to birds chirp, heard grasshoppers sing, and watched as lightening bugs began to light up the night sky. Our home backs up to a forest full of trees, with plenty of greenery, and accented by vibrant flowers in multiple hues. We took the time to appreciate all of it.

Best of all we got to talking about anything Graham wanted to. It was our version of a fireside chat, no topic held back. He told me about the VBS he went to this week, singing a couple songs and sharing a bible story he’d learned. We talked about school starting again, he’s excited to begin using his new Incredibles backpack. And it sounded like he really missed big sister Hannah, and looked forward to her being back home from camp.

When it came time to go inside and start winding down the day I asked if he’d like to watch Ninja Warrior for a bit. “No thanks,” he replied, “screens are boring. Let’s play cars in my room instead.” Yes, I thought to myself, (parenting win!) and we excitedly headed inside to do just that.

After tucking Graham into bed I went back to the fire and reflected on the evening.

We’d eaten, and drank, and played, enjoyed nature, and connected in conversation. Our time spent together was one of those moments I’ll hold on to for a good long while. The experience makes me want to spend an awful lot more evenings fireside outdoors. At least while the weather here in central Iowa is amenable. It was peaceful. It was fun. And it was incredibly simple.

Gardenside Walks
In the beginning it was also incredibly simple. Before distinctions like sickness and health, poverty and wealth, cleanliness and filth, there was, simply, God. A universe, population one, is about as simple as simple gets.

When God got to creating creation complexity first entered into the equation. The heavens were separated from the earth, the waters from the land, and all sorts of life, from microscopic plants to big blue whales weighing a whopping 200 tons, suddenly, with the snap of a cosmic finger, all came to be.

Despite this increased complexity all was as it should be. The master builder had a master plan, and executed that plan masterfully.

To help manage all this newness God created Adam, and then Eve, forming them from the dust of the ground, breathing life into them. But God didn’t create them to sit on their hands and do nothing: God gave them jobs. Their job description, too, was simple. “Till this land, and keep it,” God said. Adam and Eve were the original gardeners, the original park rangers.

Our creation provides humanity identity: we are children of God.

But our vocation provides purpose: we are caretakers of all there is.

It was a pretty cool gig these two had, from what I understand. Their compensation was infinitely high – all their needs were met, they were free to roam the land, and could appreciate and partake in almost all there was.

Their healthcare plan too was unheard of, it had no cost, with no copays. Even more amazing, the plan included a guarantee of no sickness, and a promise of eternal life. Whoa! Try getting *that* from your government or health care provider. ?

Best of all, after work finished up for the day Adam and Eve had the chance to walk in the garden, together, with God, and talk about anything they wanted to. No topic held back. I like to think that during these evening strolls they ate and drank as they walked and talked with God, grabbing some fruit from this tree and some cool water from that creek. I like to think they too enjoyed the chirping of the birds, the singing of the grasshoppers, the lighting of the lightening bugs, and everything else this original paradise contained.

And heck, Adam and Eve didn’t even have to worry about clothing; there was none. They were naked, and they were unashamed.

God then gave these first employees the shortest employee manual there ever was. It had just one rule. Eat from whatever tree you’d like, the manual says, with the exception of just one. You heard the rest of how that went down from Genesis 3. We’ve being living in the aftermath of the forbidden fruit ever since.

The Pure of Heart
Today we enter week six of our sermon series on the Beatitudes. The focus of this message is Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

Author Dale Allison, in his book The Sermon on the Mount suggests this beatitude has generated perhaps more discussion than any other. What does it mean to have a pure heart? Biblical writers refer to the heart as where the true self resides, and also the symbolic center of both feeling and thinking. Scripturally speaking the heart is what makes us, well, us. It’s the whole ball of wax.

St. Augustine, who conducted his own beatitudes sermon series way back in the year 393, refers to a pure heart as being a “simple heart”.

A simple heart is single-minded in devotion to God. A simple heart is not divided or conflicted in allegiance. A simple heart doesn’t jostle between trying to please both God and humans. A simple heart is rightly directed. A simple heart is a singular focus on God.

And the blessing from having this simple heart? You will see God.
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My favorite scriptural example of what this looks like is in the first two chapters of Genesis. These two chapters are all we have that describe what life was like before Adam and Eve ate that forbidden fruit. Here we have the first humans, of simple heart, that walked with, talked with, and saw God, in the flesh.

And it represents less than two-tenths of one percent of the entirety of biblical text.

I wish there was more, because what’s there paints a beautiful picture of life on earth before it got messy, complicated, and entirely screwed up by selfish human desires.

The beatitudes have been used at times to encourage a more cloistered lifestyle, where people separate from much of the world, to better focus on the divine. This approach, in a very tangible way, is a call to simplicity. This is the goal of many an order of monks and nuns. Martin Luther himself spent two years in the Augustinian order of monks, and it was deeply formative.

Most of us, however, are not called to a cloistered life of this sort.

(Tho if you are, please do consider selling *all* your belongings and then do consider donating the proceeds to our fine congregation. I’d suggest that you could just make the check out to Pastor Ryan, though that would impede my own aspirations of being pure in heart.  ?)

For the rest of us, we non-cloistered types, there is plenty of wisdom to be gleaned from this beatitude.

Our Allegiances
This beatitude represents, for all of us, a call back to simplicity.

Our world is incredibly complicated, and our allegiances are constantly being compared, tested, and challenged, in all sorts of ways.

Thinking locally…

For public school systems which is better, Gilbert or Ames? I’d guess in this room our allegiances are divided. And for the record both, from what I understand, are amazing.

The Scandinavian Coffee event we do here at Bethesda is a fine tradition that goes back over 60 years. But what about the upcoming Oktoberfest here? I hear that we’ll sell beer! Which do you swear allegiance to, coffee connoisseurs or lovers of beer breweries? And for the record I love both coffee and beer, and the traditions both hail from, and will be attending both.

And talk of politics? Of Republicans and Democrats and Libertarians, oh my? For the record I probably shouldn’t even go there. For the record it’s yet one more way for us to divide.

Our Allegiance
A pure, simple heart is single-minded in devotion to God. A simple heart is not divided or conflicted in allegiance. A simple heart doesn’t jostle between trying to please both God and humans. A simple heart is rightly directed on God.

Personally speaking I needed that reminder, that call back to simplicity, and it happened earlier this week outdoors with my son. Our time was spent eating and drinking, and talking and just being. All while surrounded by and appreciating God’s creation. For the two of us it was fairly novel – we really need a lot more of this kind of time together – and it was wonderful. It was divine.

Jesus modeled what it means to be pure in heart more than anyone who has ever walked this earth. His focus was on the will of his Father, at all times, and he lived that allegiance out on the daily.

Now this message isn’t a full treatment of the creation story, or of original sin.

But the garden of Eden, and the simple perfection it contains, offers an exquisite narrative of how we can live out this simple heart Jesus speaks of.

Close
The original garden is a reminder, that the master builder has a master plan for all that is, including you. You, yes you, are part of that master plan.

The original garden is a job description. We are caretakers of all there is, keepers of the land, tillers of the soil. We are to love the land and its inhabitants, just as God loves this planet and all that it contains.

The original garden is a warning, of what happens when we engage in the tug of war between our will and God’s. Allegiances become divided, simplicity is lost. Life becomes more difficult, more complex.

And the original garden is a promise, of what our life can be like, in the here, and in the hereafter. For when our hearts are pure, and simple, and focused on God, over and above all else, we are better able to see. It is then when we can see the world not just as it is, but as it should be. And it is then when we can participate, in the divine job of bringing this world closer, into alignment, with this idyllic garden.

Keep your heart simple, my friends, for therein lies the blessing.

Keep your heart simple, my friends, for it is there you will see God. Amen.

About a month ago I went to the local Sportclips for my once-every-six-weeks-or so haircut. Sportsclips uses electronic check-in, so everyone gets their hair cut in order, and you can see your name and estimated wait time on the screen, I kind of like it. They also keep your hair styling preferences in your electronic profile, so no matter who does the cut there’s a record of how you normally like your ‘do’ done. So if you typically get a clipper setting of four to trim your sides that’s what the stylist defaults to.

Knowing Each Other
When I walked in the door to get my haircut last month it was business as usual. I knew the routine; go to the desk and sign yourself in on the tablet. My name and estimated wait-time appeared on the big screen as expected and I sat down to wait. All appeared to be well.

After hearing my name – or at least I thought I heard it – I went over, shook hands with the hair stylist and we got to chatting as she cut my hair.

As we talked of things like kids and local churches, restaurants and schools I noticed at one point that the stylist was trimming my sides shorter than I remembered. But she’s the professional I figured, it’s probably right. Instead of asking about it I opted to continue with idle chatter instead. Besides, it’s a summer haircut and short equals cooler anyways.

But then, as she got to the back of my hair, and looked down at the haircut profile on the slip of paper she appeared a bit confused. She then called over a co-worker for input, and the two of them trimmed and chopped my back 9 until both seemed satisfied. Watching this impromptu haircut tag-team play out piqued my curiosity. Without my morning coffee I mostly yawned and shrugged it off until the cut was complete.

As I went to pay I noticed the name on the computer screen was Steve. “My name is Ryan” I told the stylist, “can you add that name to the screen so I can pay and check out?”

It was then that a look of minor horror swept over the stylist’s expression as she realized and then explained a case of mistaken identity. She thought I was Steve. And she’d given me a haircut based on his profile. She apologized profusely and asked how I liked it, and gotta say, having it a bit shorter does feel kinda nice. I joked that Steve must have better style, and wondered if there’s a Steve out there sporting a Ryan cut that is somewhat less than thrilled with my personal style, or lack of. ?

As I drove away and pondered what had happened, I found myself initially suffering from a case of righteous indignation…how could she not know my name? I mean really, we’d had a 30-minute conversation.

But then I realized the opposite was also true, after being in that same conversation I couldn’t remember her name.

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As much as I pride myself in being able to talk to just about anyone, and finding common bonds in those conversations to chat about, remembering names, for me, takes some time.
Fortunately, or unfortunately, the hairstylist and I are fairly normal.  Studies suggest that in conversations between two strangers people are more than twice as likely to remember details like a person’s job, or hobbies or hometown than they are to retain their first or last name. How very interesting.

Being Known
This experience, of getting someone else’s haircut (feel free to call me Steve for the next few weeks) and not knowing each other’s names is part of the human condition. We all struggle to know and be known when it comes to being in relationship with each other. Sometimes we succeed, and build deep, intimate, sometimes life-long friendships, and what a blessing that is. But too often our attempts at connecting with others fall flat. We fail to remember, fail to hear, fail to absorb and fail to understand not just people’s names but their stories. We fail to get, at a deeper level what makes others tick.

But God? He doesn’t suffer from the limitations of the human condition. Our reading today reminds us how deeply we are known by our Creator.

Our God has known us, by name, from our very beginning. And has mapped out a plan for us better than anything we could devise for ourselves.

Our God knows not just about our hair but knows the very number of hairs on our head. That’s something even the best of hair stylists could only guess at. It’s this level of detail and depth of understanding God has, of us, that far surpasses what we have from our bestest of friends, our closest of pals.

Our God cares for the smallest of things, like sparrows we’re told. And unlike our oft-failing memories, God doesn’t forget them. How much more are we humans, we children of God known, loved and cared for than that?

Even better our God wants to be known by us, and wants to be in relationship with us, at that same deep level. So seek ye first this God that knows us deeply, loves us unconditionally, and desires the best for us eternally. Draw close to your heavenly Father as he seeks to be close to you. And then go out and share this relationship with others, bringing care, connection, and love, as modeled by our Creator, to everyone you know. Amen.