I Give Myself Away.....sort of

Dear Crossroads Community,

There is a song we sing at Crossroads called “I Give Myself Away.” The lyrics go like this…”Take my heart, take my life…as a living sacrifice. All my dreams, all my plans…Lord I place them in your hands. I give myself away so you can use me…”

It takes a lot of trust to sing that song…and mean it. Throughout Lent we have been talking about cultivating mindfulness. We have been practicing the presence of God. Moving towards this mindfulness is confusing in that it does require us to be intentional about our ongoing awareness of God’s presence, and at the same time simply allowing it to take root in our hearts. Yet, we find that one of the most challenging aspects of this is to become more aware of our own self-centeredness. An awareness that on this journey in the wilderness we become more and more alert (hopefully) that it isn’t all about you or me. Some of us truly come by this the hard way.

Growing mindfulness requires a sacrifice. It requires a humility that opens up space for us to love others sacrificially. It takes the emphasis off of us and places it on others. In the process of this giving up of ourselves, we potentially gain so much more. Jesus said in John 12 “ …unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” (NRSV John 12:24).

This doesn’t mean we give up our dreams, hopes, plans, desires. In our mindfulness, though, we do listen for those places where God is inviting us to give up a little in order to be used. It does mean that what we desire is shaped by God’s spirit that breathes life into us.

What needs to fall away and die in order for us to give our lives so that we might be used fully? Where are those places that are rough that need to be smoothed by grace so that we can sing, “Take my heart, take my life…as a living sacrifice…”?

Let’s explore this together. We probably won’t figure it all out, but whatever we do, we will do as a community even as we sing “I give myself away…”

I hope to see you on Sunday at 5 PM. I can’t wait to see what God is going to do.

Jimmy

Cleaning out and letting go...

Did you give up something for Lent? Was it hard to let it go? Did you take on something for Lent? Is it hard to keep it up? As we are moving through this season of self-examination, there are points along the way where perhaps the disciplines we are engaging in become rather difficult. The temptation to retreat from the wilderness becomes overwhelming. The simplicity of enjoying fellowship with God becomes another chore to do. The call by Brother Lawrence, the Carmelite monk we’ve been learning about, is to enjoy constant conversation with God in ALL that you do. But, there are always things ready to stand in our way. Maybe there’s something within us or in our lives that is holding us back?

When Jesus drives out the moneychangers at the Temple in John 2, in essence he is “cleaning” up the place. He is preparing it for something new that God is doing in and through him. It’s a powerful metaphor for our own spiritual lives. What needs to be “cleaned out” in order to make room for new life (the promise of Easter)? What material things might we need to let go of in order to fully seek God? What misperceptions, stereotypes and prejudices might we need to rethink in order to fully live into who God is inviting us to be? How might we move towards a simplicity that allows us to be linked with the divine presence in our lives?

I don’t know exactly, but I do know it may require a little “cleaning out” and letting go.

Jimmy

"Feed the hungry"

On the first Sunday of each month, our community participates in the Salvation Army's Grate Patrol ministry. We make sandwiches for our unhoused neighbors downtown. We then bag those sandwiches up with water, fruit, and protein bars. For many who are homeless, it is their only nightly nourishment. This past week, we included a "hot meal" to what we served. A team gathered on Sunday afternoon to make an awesome chicken and vegetable soup
that was served along with sandwiches.

I am humbled and grateful to be serving along side folks who give their time to serve others. Getting something to eat is a very basic need that we all have. In Matthew 25, Jesus tells us that the way we welcome him is to, among other things, feed those who are hungry. Feeding the hungry goes beyond a "call." It is an imperative given to us by the one who taught us humility and sacrifice.

Indeed, we walk by faith and not by sight. However, there are things that we witness, that we experience, that we get to be a part of that remind us that, ultimately, our love for one another (expressed in many ways) is what rises above all else.

As we grow together, I pray we will be able to expand to another night so that we might feed more. I pray that we will harvest from our community garden plenty of food that will be shared with others. I pray that as we continue to grow in our faithfulness and our service, that God will continue to take a few of us and multiply us so that we can love others just as God loves us.

I am grateful to serve along side of each of you at Crossroads and in the Metropolitan Cooperative Parish.

Practicing the Presence of...trust

Oh, the first week of Lent. It's much like the first week of January when we make all sorts of resolutions, and we are waiting to break them. When we give up something or something for Lent, it is also very difficult to keep up with.

How has your first week of Lent been? Are you exploring the depths of the wilderness? Have you given up something and found it to be terribly difficult Have you taken on something and found it to be terribly difficult? I encourage you to continue to seek your hearts and to continually practice the presence of God in everything that you do. Seek a “constant conversation” with God as your grow in faith and trust.

I hope you will join us this Sunday at 5 PM for our worship celebration. We will continue with our Lenten journey of mindfulness. This week, we will go to the depths of faith and trust. Trust is something that is very difficult for some of us. For others, it is easy and natural to put your whole trust in someone. God asked Abraham to do that when God told him that he would be the father of many nations. How does our trust of God allow us to be in constant conversation with God? We’ll explore that and bring in some excerpts from Brother Lawrence’s the Practice of the Presence of God.

Last week, there was great evidence of the Spirit's movement. I am fully expecting that to have happened throughout the week, and again when we meet on Sunday. I hope to see you there at 5 PM. Find out more at metrocrossroads.org