Good morning, when I was asked to give the sermon today I was excited. I was like, I’ve got this. My day job and true craft is entertainer. I teach early Global history at Middletown High School, I bring dead people and ancient things to life everyday. Speaking in front of supportive members of my congregation instead of amazing, but moody 9th graders should be easy right? You aren’t going to ask me to go to the bathroom, make me repeat myself ten times and you may even keep your heads up if I don’t dance and sing like a crazy person.
The problem is biblical content isn’t my specialty. I am so glad that Joe talked about his pulpit preparation last week. He is right, first if you are asked to preach, answer the call, but second expect to read and reflect on the bible and your life more deeply than you might ever have.
Where to start? Being from the 1900’s I immediately went to Google. A few short clicks and I realized that the first Sunday of advent is traditionally on the topic of hope. Hope, something I understand, but just to confirm it…Dictionary.com defines hope as a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen OR a feeling of trust.
Both very manageable definitions in theory, but very difficult to truly practice. How do I break down such a powerful idea? The elders told me to wait for the holy spirit to move me…hmmm…what is the sign? And then I looked above my white board at school and saw the literal sign I decorated my classroom with in August. It says May you think positive, may you speak kind, may you feel loved. That is how I end every class, it is rooted in the hope that I have from my students. I hope that they think positive and believe in themselves, I hope that they speak kind and find goodness in others and most importantly, I hope that they feel loved by someone at home.
I first heard that quote during yoga, at a mini wellness retreat. It spoke to me and has helped me focus on how to put hope into action. It has become a mantra or something that I hope to achieve everyday.
May you think positive -- to me this means to focus on gratitude.
One way to make the idea of gratitude tangible in our daily life is to focus on people around us that are modeling kindness. Mr. Rogers used the phrase, “Look for the helpers, there are always helpers.”
How many people in this room are nurses? Teachers? Emergency response personal? You have chosen to be helpers for a career. What about all of the people in this room that wake up everyday with a goal to start with kindness?
This room is filled with people who embody kindness because they have hope for the world. Kathy Card and the food pantry distributors, Candy Burnett and Elizabeth Orango for keeping us organized, Sue and Mike Conklin tirelessly finding joyful music for us to sing, Kelly Dolson, Jenn Esposito and the Sunday school teachers for constantly creating new ideas for our youth. Joan Addy and Gigi for making sure our cafe is ready for Sunday fellowship. John Goldsmith and Maurice Davoren making sure that our audio is working. Maggie coordinated all of our announcements and bulletins. I could literally go on and on, the session, the deacons, the transitional pastor nominating committee, everyone that has stood up here and taken over a service. We have been without a pastor for around six months, but our pews are still full. Our church focuses on the positive and we are filled with helpers. In fact, let's take a minute and give a round of applause to everyone in the room.
Not only is our church filled with helpers, but our community is too. One of my favorite examples comes from the Minisink Valley varsity swim team. Jacob joined it last year, as a 7th grader. I was so nervous to let him swim with seniors, but I stayed positive and guess what, they are helpers! Jon and I had never heard of a pasta party, but we decided to host one as an opportunity to support the team. The night came and these big goofy boys showed up at our house. They ate a ridiculous amount of pasta, sang karaoke off key, laughed a lot, included Jon and I in conservations and my favorite part was that they helped clean up. Every single young man disposed of the dishes, said please and thank you, they helped put back the moved furniture and took out the trash. Our community is raising helpers.
Our church and our community wouldn’t focus on kindness if we did not have hope for the future, we may have our fears, but at the end of the day we are positive that supporting each other is an important part of life.
The bible talks about helping or giving over 2,000 times, it is considered a recurring theme focusing on being generous and using love as a foundation. The bible verses from today talk about hope, Job states that you are secure and safe because there is hope and Romans explains that joy and peace will be with you if you trust in the power of the Holy Spirit. God wants you to see the good, yes there is bad, but don’t let it outpower the good. Think of how Jesus faced hard times, he looked straight on and did what was right, he focused on the positive because he believed in the power of hope. Jesus was a helper.
Next time you are struggling to find positivity in your life, try looking for the helpers, there are always helpers.
May you speak kind -- to me this means words Have Power
My parents were Christians, but I didn’t go to church until I asked to go in early middle school. We said grace and appreciated God’s goodness, but I was not taught bible verses or prayers, so I specifically remember being in awe the first time I heard the congregation say the Our Father Prayer in unison. How did everyone know that? The words other people said made an impression on me, they had power.
Two words that Jon and I believe have immense power are thank you. I had a student years ago that would come and say thank you to me everyday at the end of class. It blew my mind, such a simple gesture, but it made a big impression on me. I have taught my kids to do the same and several times during parent teacher conferences, the teachers have commented on it. Isn’t a beautiful thing to realize that words do not need to be complex to make a difference.
When Molly was a baby, I struggled to keep her happy. I use “keep her happy” with intention because the words that we use to describe things have power. Jacob’s lung collapsed at birth and he was taken from St. Anthony’s to St. Luke’s in an ambulance, but once he came home, he was a model baby. In fact, he had three cries and I could tell the difference, tired, hungry and needing to be changed. When Molly was born, she was perfectly healthy, I got to hold her immediately and to say that I was in love would have been an understatement. So when I was not able to comfort her, I became frustrated. Before long I found myself calling her difficult, whiney and constantly in need. I had used the power of internal dialogue to turn my beautiful miracle into something hard to deal with, I had to make a conscious change. I thought deeply about who I wanted my daughter to be and reworded my inner thoughts. Instead of whiney, she was passionate. Instead of being loud, she became charismatic. Instead of constantly in need, she was determined. It took a few weeks, but I did it, I used the power of words to make myself a better mom.
Think about the story of Pentacost and the speaking in tongues, would God have had that happen if he didn’t see the power of communication and words? Whatever you tell yourself is what you believe about yourself. Speaking kind definitely can be interpreted as keeping negative comments to yourself, but it can also be realizing that words have power. When you use positive words, kindness becomes a way of life.
May you feel loved– to me this means believing that you matter.
Feeling loved and caring about others are oddly connected. When people don't feel loved they don't feel comfortable connecting with people. In that way love is very cyclical. This is one of many reasons why it is so important for everyone to feel valued. The more you feel the more love you will give, ultimately making a bigger difference. Allow yourself to be loved, because it will allow you to be a helper.
The great reminder of Christmas is that our Heavenly Father not only felt love toward us, he acted on it! He didn’t leave us wondering, Jesus crossed time and space to enter our world. He became fragile and vulnerable, he lived with us, and ultimately, he gave his life for us. And he did all this so that his actions could shout as loudly as possible “I love you!” Feel his love and spread it, you matter, allow yourself to be loved.
Close
Is everyone paying attention, because I am giving you homework. As we transition into the holiday, there are a few guarantees. First, there will be more and more things required of us, from wrapping and shopping to baking and entertaining or simply reaching out to others in phone calls, cards and travel. Second, We will also hear bells…in songs like Jingle Bells, I heard the bells on Christmas day and my favorite, Carol of the Bells. We will hear bells ring on ugly sweaters and at stores where the Salvation Army is collecting. So I am leaving you with a simple focus, a ringing bell (RING BELL). Everytime that you hear a bell this season, pause and think. Am I looking for the helpers? Am I using your words to promote kindness? Am I allowing myself to be loved? Think about all of the hope that God has for you, he wants you to see the good in the world, he wants you to share your joys with your friends and most importantly he wants you to know that you deeply and truly loved…May you think positive, may you speak kind, may you feel loved.