God Lite

The Rev. Dr. Harold S. Weicker

May 9, 2004

Readings:

Acts 13:44-52
or Leviticus 19:1-2,9-18
Revelation 19:1,4-9
or Acts 13:44-52
John 13:31-35
Psalm 145 or 145:1-9

Well, we are coming close to the end of my ministry among you: first as your Interim Rector and then as Lynn’s assistant. Carol and I leave for our Oregon home in the last week of May, and my final sermon will be next Sunday. I must confess to experiencing a real sense of frustration in these final weeks, because there still is so much I would like to share with you. One of the reasons I wanted to become a priest was because I love to think, and talk, about God. Frankly, as most of you know, I get “high” thinking and talking about God. I touch The Spirit within me, and all my energies kick into high gear! I love it!

My sister still teases me about a time when, as a five year old, I was preaching from a garden wall at our home and became so excited I fell off the wall into the rose bushes! I wish I could tell you that this experience deterred me from preaching the Gospel again— but obviously it didn’t— even from walls! I didn’t even learn that exuberant enthusiasm for Jesus and his teachings could, sometimes, have painful consequences. However, when I read about “the rose of Sharon,” I do feel a twinge.

I don’t know how you can speak about your experiences and revelations of God without getting excited! As I have told you before, one of the most exciting aspects of my friend and mentor, The Rev. Sam Shoemaker, was how he never could stop talking about God: God as Father (remember this was 40 years ago), God in Jesus, and (especially) God as Spirit. He would light up– as if there were a bright lamp inside him (which indeed there was) and just shine with The Spirit within him. It didn’t matter where we were. Sam wanted to talk about God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. It made me think that we were all together on the rose garden wall. Enthusiasm and exuberance in the Spirit just seemed so natural!

Did I tell you about the time I drove down to Pittsburg to visit with Sam? I walked into the huge, paneled vestibule of his rectory when no one answered the bell and hollered “Sam?” From the recesses of one of the ground floor rooms, I heard Sam shout “Come on in!” I followed his voice, and there was Sam, in his study, on his knees with the housekeeper, praying. As if nothing special was going on, Sam looked up at all 6’5” of me and said, “What are you standing there for? Get down here and join us.” So there I was, on the floor, Sam, the housekeeper and me, on our knees together, thanking God for the beauty of a new day.

If I understand St. Paul’s admonition to pray without ceasing, this has to be part of it. The totally natural quality of prayer, prayed in the energy of the Holy Spirit is no big deal. It is just part of the juice of life— especially when you live in the awareness of Christ in you.

In this next to last sermon, I want to be real sure that I am sharing the best of what I know in God with you. Time is running out, and there is no time left to be talking about anything less than the most important experiences of a faith based life! And the truth of life, lived in a natural awareness of God, reinforced by moments of reflective objectivity is that God is light. I mean this in a different way than what we usually hear (especially in John’s gospel.) I am talking about weight.

I am not talking about the light of God, but rather the lightness of God; not just Christ the light of the world, but Christ the lightness of creation … Jesus, the easiness of God. There is the light of faith, but there also is lightness in the Spirit. And I suggest to you that the two are connected. Isn’t it interesting that though there is no weight to spirit, it can press you down or raise you up. It all depends on how you go with the Spirit within you. If we work with the Spirit, we are supported by the Spirit. If we struggle against the Holy Spirit within us— which is to say, if we fight that inner voice that constantly calls us to be the best person we can be and advises us to do the best we can for ourselves and others in any particular situation— we carry a dead weight in our heart and soul and bodies.

In Matthew’s gospel, Jesus says, “Come to me all you that are weary and carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Now, isn’t that wonderful? Don’t these words lift you up? And if we but remember them when our going gets tough on any particular day, isn’t Jesus’ promise of ease and easiness enough to cause us to stop; take a deep breath; and settle down to a more peaceful and creative state? Why do we forget The Master’s promises when we especially need them? (It must be the work of the Devil, if we believe in the force of evil.) Jesus was ultimately serious when he said, in so many words, “With me, it is always, easy does it.” (Any of you here this morning who are getting, or staying, healthy in 12 Step programs can attest to the saving power of lightness in the spirit.)

When the storms of life overtake us, and great waves of doubt, despair, confusion, defeat, fear, anger, isolation, rejection and hopelessness (to name a few) seem on the verge of sinking our boat, then we need to say to ourselves, “I, too, am Peter, and Jesus is calling me out of the storm that engulfs me to share his lightness of being and walk over my waves to stand with him – not sink — on the turbulent water.”

Did you ever consider this well known story as a personal challenge– or better yet, a personal promise to you? Well, there it is. There is a supportive lightness to Jesus that he promises to all who follow him— particularly when we become aware that we, too, are fashioned from the same power of God as Jesus.

As my time with you draws to a close, it is so important that you seize this truth of the lightness of God– and thus the true lightness of your core being– for yourself. Your health and happiness depends on it, as does the joy of your faith. The mark of a Christian — and, indeed, many other people of faith— is that they radiate this incredible lightness of being. They have humor and energy, as well as a deep, positive compassion for all, which comes from their deep sense of connection to life.

Some years ago, there was a highly sexual movie with the title The Incredible Lightness of Being. It happened to be a very good film because it was concerned with the passion for life. Since we presently are in church, don’t worry the sex right now. Just ask yourself, “Do I have an incredible lightness of being? And, “Do I want it?” I know many of you do— because it shows— and I know that all of us would like, and need, the lightness of the Spirit of Jesus, the uplifting Spirit of God within us, that raises us up and holds us from becoming stuck– or worse yet, getting pulled down– by our problems, the stresses, within and without, that are so often present, the snares that can make life so difficult.

Maintaining an awareness of the lightness of God, and, staying centered in our incredible lightness of being, we can: rise above circumstances; claim a better present; be able to breathe and in that breath find meaning, not defeat, in the pressures at hand; discover better ways to deal with the problems that now have become challenges; and envision a happier future. We’ve known the alternatives… a heavy life with a heavy God… personal confusion and a sense of overwhelming …reacting not acting… loss of inner peace and confidence… and we don’t want to go back there again.

So there you have it, dear friends, we are talking about: that part of the light of God in Christ that transforms us from people of burden into the lightness of being; that part of the light of God that reveals the lightness of God; the float of the Holy Spirit; the easiness of Jesus.

When Peter was preoccupied with the waves, he started to sink. When he focused on Jesus, he walked over the water. So can we all. It all depends on how we see what’s happening in the moment. It all depends on whether we can trust the lightness of God, the easiness of Jesus… and therefore the incredible lightness of our being.

One sermon down. One to go. God bless you and Amen.

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