He can’t get enough.
When he’s not watching it, he’s imagining it. He’s a ninja in Lego Ninjago. My son loves that cartoon. I get it.
Growing up, I had a cartoon I couldn’t get enough of either. Does anyone remember Gigantor? If you’re not sure, this could jog your
memory. Or if nothing else, it’ll tell
you more than I’d rather admit about just how old I am.
Looking back, it looks kind of lame. But when it came to that cartoon, my son and
I had the same problem. The time for
dinner came to our home. My parents
called me to come. They’d call me again
and again. But they didn’t
understand. I was watching Gigantor. Even when I did make it to the dinner table,
I could hardly concentrate. What did Mom
say? I don’t know. I was thinking about Gigantor. The food, whatever it was, I wolfed that down. After all, maybe I could catch the last five
minutes when Gigantor saves the day. So,
when that stuff happens with my son, I get it.
But I also get how foolish it is. My obsession with Gigantor has disappeared. But the relationships built around that family
table, they have not. And now that she
is gone, what I would give for one more meal around that table with my mom.
But have things changed all that much from my childhood? It may not be Gigantor. But every day, life pulls me, pulls you away
from the meals that truly matter. Life
lures you with bright shiny things that in the end leave you empty. Meanwhile what truly fills you lies
neglected, not even noticed, much less savored and enjoyed. In the midst of life, you can miss what really
gives you life. So, how do you not miss
that? In these words, God shows you the
way. Let’s listen and hear what God has to say.
This
week, I remembered a quote from the preacher, Eugene Peterson that made me
sad. Peterson wrote thats: People can think correctly and
behave rightly and worship politely but still live badly: live anemically, live
individualistically self-enclosed lives, live bored and insipid and trivial
lives. Who wants a life like that, an
anemic life, an isolated life, a bored, trivial life? Yet many live it. You can go through your
life and miss so much of the abundance God wants to give you. It’s not because it’s hard to find. It’s
right in front of you yet still you miss it, I miss it. So how do you tap into that abundance? How do you not miss it? Here God tells you. God says. You come and listen. But to come and listen, you’ve got to buy and
delight.
In
fact, the words from Isaiah all work together to lead you to abundance. Take
the words come and listen. When I was
sitting in front of Gigantor, my mom would call, but I honestly didn’t hear her. And as noisy as my life was as a kid, the
world has become even noisier. And in
that noise, you don’t only miss God’s voice, you miss your voice. You can’t even hear yourself. And because you can’t hear yourself, you
don’t know you need to come. If if you
do come, you usually don’t come to where you can actually get what you
need. What do I mean?
Every
now and then I’ll run to get a thing or two from the grocery store without
realizing one important fact. I’m
hungry. And if that’s happened to you,
you know what happens. All of a sudden,
you want to buy way more than one or two things. Lots of things look good, so
good they just gotta go in your cart. In
those moments if you’re like me, you’re not craving broccoli and Brussel
sprouts. No, you’re craving potato chips
and Oreos, Fried Chicken and ham croquettes.
Mmmmm. That stuff sure feels good in the moment. But you can’t live off it. It doesn’t feed what you need. In the end, it leaves you empty, empty of
what you really need.
In
the same way, you can go through your life thirsty, and not even know it. You’re thirsting for some peace in your life,
some relief from anxieties and fears. And
just like the hunger in the grocery store, you go for what fills you in the
moment, what distracts you from the fear.
Maybe you immerse yourself in more activity. Or maybe you turn to screens, to Netflix or
Facebook or a video game, whatever. Or maybe you choose food or alcohol, something
else that can numb you. Or let’s say
you yearn for security, some way to quiet insecurities that lie inside
you. So, you try to build your resume
or get more stuff or try to please your friends more. All of these things,
sure, they fill you for a bit. But in
the end, they leave your thirst still unquenched, your hunger still unmet. That’s why God says, come and listen to me.
Listen
to what your heart is telling you, what it is really hungering for, really yearning
to receive. And then come, God
says. I have a feast that fills you up,
that quenches your thirst. But for this
feast to work, the listening has to move, from listening to yourself to
listening to God. And when that happens, the filling comes.
Pretty
much every day I can, I do two things. First, I exercise, because well, those potato
chips gotta go somewhere, and I’d rather it not be around my middle. But, secondly, and more crucially, I take
time to listen to God, read the Bible, pray. I do that, because, I’ve come to learn,
nothing feeds what I need more than that.
And
what I need these days most of all is hope.
I need God to fill me with hope. I get discouraged by the dysfunctions
of our democracy. I get heartbroken by story after story of senseless, unfair
suffering in our world. I get
intimidated by challenges we face as a church, heck, challenges I confront as
your pastor. And listening to the news
channels, to the talking heads doesn’t give me hope. Facebook and Twitter don’t do it. Not even reading a ministry blog or how to be
more effective book doesn’t do it. But
coming to God does. It always does.
This
past Friday, I was running on the treadmill at the gym. At the same time, I was
looking at this app I use for my time with God.
And the passage we just read came up randomly as a scripture for the
day. But as I read it, I realized. I hadn’t read all of it. I had read just the part I was going to
preach on. But what God said after those words, that just
blew me away. Here is some of what God
said.
Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on God
while he is near…...“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are
your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As
the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and
my thoughts than your thoughts. As the
rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without
watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields
seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes
out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty. It will accomplish what I desire and achieve.
the purpose for which I sent it. You will go out
in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into
song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands….This
will be for the Lord’s renown, for an everlasting sign, that will endure forever.”
I heard God telling me. I know you’re stressed out by all the stuff
you don’t know, about the world, the nation, the church, yourself. But I know, God said, and I know what my word
sets out to do, gets done. And you,
Kennedy McGowan may not always feel large and in charge, but no worries,
because I am. And like the rain waters
the earth, and makes things grow. You
keep sharing my word, and what needs to get done will get done. You will go out
in joy. You will be led forth in peace.
And just in case, I didn’t get it, God put
Steve in the locker room that day. When Steve
shows up, I’m not too excited. He’s a
bit of a kooky Catholic, who loves to talk. He talks to me about the mystical
body of Christ, his guardian angel, stuff like that. But I know this. Steve loves Jesus and know that Jesus loves
him. But Steve has had a tough time. He’s a retired nurse but lives on a very
limited income. He’s become an Uber
drive to make ends meet. But that
stressed him out, because he had a lease car with limited mileage. And on top of that he had no idea what he
would do for a car once that lease ran out.
So, this past week, he came to the gym
because he had nothing better to do. He came
angry and discouraged. But he told me,
my guardian angel, she kept talking to me, telling me to hope, to trust. And then it happened, his key got stuck in his
ignition. He couldn’t get it out. He thought.
Oh great. So he drove to his dealership.
And while he was there waiting for the car, he talked. He talked about this mess of a lease he was
in, how it was stressing him out. And
the sales manager said. We can fix
that. For about 70 bucks more a month, Steve
said, I was able to buy the car. And
then the mechanic came and said to me. Your
key works fine. It’s not stuck. Steve
tried it. Sure enough, the key went in
and out like butter. But Steve knew. “I’m no dummy.” He said, “That key was
stuck. My guardian angel was just taking
care of me one more time.” And I
believe him. Because God’s word does get
things done. It gives hope. It gives hope to me and to Steve. It gives
hope to you, to everyone.
But in order to come and listen, you’ve
gotta buy into that hope, You’ve gotta delight in it. And
why would you do that? Because this God
has bought into you. This God delights
in you. This God loves you so
profoundly, so infinitely, he became one of you, one of us. And as one of us, he offered up everything
to give you a hope that not even death can defeat. So you can go out in joy. So you can be led forth in peace. So, this week, each day, make time, even five
minutes, to come and listen, to buy and delight. In fact, we’ll start today with these words
we read. Close your eyes and read the passage below, every place you find a space, put in your name, to make these words God’s personal
message to you. So come and listen, buy
and delight. Listen to what God has to say to
you.
Come everyone who thirsts,
come to the waters;_______ and you that have no money, come,
buy and eat! Come, ______buy wine and milk without money
and without price. _____Why do you spend your money for what is
not bread, and your labor for what does not satisfy? Listen
carefully to me, _______ eat what is good, delight yourselves in rich
food. Incline your ear,
and come to me;_______ listen, so that you may
live. I will make with you, _______ an everlasting covenant,
my steadfast, sure love for you.
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