Not-so-Perfect

Romans 7. 14-25

For we know that the law is spiritual; but I am of the flesh, sold into slavery under sin. I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree that the law is good. But in fact it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh. I can will what is right, but I cannot do it. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me.
So I find it to be a law that when I want to do what is good, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God in my inmost self, but I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind, making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!
So then, with my mind I am a slave to the law of God, but with my flesh I am a slave to the law of sin.

One of my family’s most lasting Christmas Eve traditions is the post-dinner screening of National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. I always feel a little guilty about finding so much pleasure in the Griswold family’s holiday pain, but seeing the movie each year helps temper my expectations of a “perfect” Christmas at home.

If Clark hadn’t fallen from his roof while stapling 25,000 twinkle lights; if Cousin Eddy hadn’t parked his rust bucket on wheels in the driveway; if Snot hadn’t lapped up all the Christmas tree’s water; if Uncle Lewis hadn’t taken a break from dinner to light a cigar; if that pesky cat hadn’t gnawed on an electrical cord…. You get the picture. If families were perfect, they wouldn’t be much fun. And if all of God’s children (that’s us) lived up to his expectations from Day 1, the adventure we all call life would lose so much of its zest.

Paul’s words give us a strangely uplifting notion to ponder this month: We are all slaves to sin, incapable of living the lives God wants us to live. But in this Advent season when we strive to better our lives in the coming year (and to finally mold our families into the iconic Norman Rockwell paintings we all strive to live in) Paul’s message liberates us.

No, we aren’t perfect. And we never will be. Our families will always be a little more Griswold than we care to admit, and no matter how hard we work to honor God’s will, we will often fall short. But there is great joy to be found in aspiring for greatness and purity. So when we gather for Christmas in a few weeks from now we can still fret over the small things. We can sweat all the details—working so very hard to make everything just right. And then as we watch my dreams of a “perfect” Christmas disappear quicker than you can say “Jelly of the Month Club” let us all strive to find comfort in Paul’s words and understand that only by first acknowledging our weaknesses can we fulfill God’s expectations for us.

(If you’ve yet to meet The Griswolds, tune in to ABC Family on Wednesday, December 11 at 8 p.m.)

Noah Bunn, FirstChurch Communications Consultant, UrbanLife member

Child of God

John 14.13-18

I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it.
‘If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you for ever. This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you.
‘I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you.

“I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you.”

Do you promise? I mean really promise? Isn’t this what our heart truly desires – to be told “Yes, I will be with you for ever.”

This year, as a congregation, our church is studying Christmas is Not Your Birthday for Advent. We’re being guided through this season of expectation, of want and desire. But what are we really wanting, and what are we really waiting for? I think at the heart of most of our wants is a desire for a purpose. I know I desperately crave a purpose in this life and a chance to feel like I’m at least trying to fulfill it.

What is my purpose? It might be the same as many of yours… it came to me because I finally heard these words whispered to me from above, “My child, I will not leave you”. It’s a feeling I think I first experienced high in the Appalachian Mountains. And again at some of the lowest moments in my life. I heard it in the churches of San Jose, Costa Rica, where children sang out “On a day like today, I need God!” In the slums on Delhi, India, where bare-foot children ran about crying out for attention with smiles and laughter. I felt it along the wall in Palestine, where school children play in shadows of armed guards. In the warmth of the Fiedler Atrium, where hundreds of school aged children received their very own school uniform.

Truly, can there be a better gift than the love of God? If so, I haven’t found it yet. So give it away by the truck load! Smiles, prayers, love like never before. Shout it! Until every child on this Earth, every person around hears, “You are a child of God, you are precious and you are loved!”

A prayer for the orphaned: God, we cry out today… every day… for those who are forgotten, neglected, alone. We know that You are the Protector of the weak, the Shelter for the cold, and that in You – because of grace – we are adopted! So, train our hearts to beat as Yours, cause our eyes to see as Yours, and move our hands to act as Yours.

Kat Kaden, Media Resources Manager, Chancel Choir Member, Rotunda Board Chair

Praise The Lord!

Psalm 150

 

Praise the Lord! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty firmament!

Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his surpassing greatness!

Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp!

Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe!

Praise him with clanging cymbals; praise him with loud clashing cymbals!

Let everything that breathes praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!

 

Is this the eleventh commandment?! Moses brought down from Mt. Sinai the ten we know about: believe in One God, don’t make idols, don’t curse, take a break for God’s sake, honor your parents, don’t do bad things and treat others as you would like to be treated (Exodus 20:1-21). Then, the eleventh commandment is “Praise The Lord!” Well, of course, what else is there to do?! It hardens back to the first commandment that God is One and One with us! When we fully understand this the only other option is for us to “Praise The Lord!” This eleventh commandment also reflects the ‘great commandment’ that King Josiah delivered in Deuteronomy. It is known as the Shema, this name is from the Hebrew for ‘listen’. “Israel, listen!” Deuteronomy 6:4 and following begins. That’s right: People of God, LISTEN! The psalmist expands this even further, “Let every living thing...” Listen! Listen because God is in our midst, beside us, walking with us, and providing for us.

After we listen, there is just one response: make noise, shake things up, stir the pot! Grab everything you’ve got from horns to strings, percussion to voice, and proclaim that God is One and one with us now and forevermore! “Praise The Lord!” Let it begin today!

Dr. Andy Stoker, Senior Minister