EDITOR'S NOTE: On Oct. 23, 2021, I was ordained as a minister of word and sacrament in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and installed as pastor at Faith Lutheran Church in Wolverton, Minn. I also served the same church for four years from October 2017 to October 2021 a synodically authorized minister. The journey together these past four years has been an amazing one, full of learning, growing and a deepening of my theological mind. This sermon took place on Feb. 5, 2023.
This week's scripture: Psalm 139:14, Exodus 14:4, Ephesians 2:10
Psalm 139:14: “I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” … That is the psalmist talking to God. “I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” … Faith Family, we are wonderfully made, just as we are. There’s absolutely no pressure to be abundant.
Exodus 14:14: “The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to keep still.” … See, no magic needed. We don’t have to be supernatural. We only need to “be,” and let God fight for us.
And finally, Ephesians 2:10: “For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we may walk in them.”
That is the only realness we need to know. … God created us to walk in Jesus’ footsteps. And if we do that, we never need to worry about being real.
The Message:
Faith Family … let me start by telling you this morning that you … are … enough.
Just you. … You as you are sitting here this minute. … You need to be nothing more.
It doesn’t matter what emotional hardships or real world distractions that you have drug into this Sanctuary with you this morning.
It doesn’t matter how long the to-do list you have at home is. … Nor does it matter what you didn’t get done at work or school last week.
You … are … enough.
It doesn’t matter what broken relationships that follow you into this holy house this morning. … Or how you think you have fallen short of serving a loved one. … Or whatever other trivial and not-so-trivial troubles that are weighing on you this morning.
Faith Family, in spite of all of that, God wants you to know this morning that you … are … enough.
So, I probably need to back up and begin at the beginning of this story, mostly because some of you are probably thinking: “Where in the world is he going with this now?”
First off, a little admission. … Despite popular belief, oftentimes the sermons we pastors write are more for ourselves than they are for those of you who are sitting in the pews. … No, it’s true.
For every time you’ve sat in the pew, and after a sermon thought, “My stars, how did he know that was the message I needed right this minute. Did he read my mind?” … Well, the truth is that I am not a mind reader, and that I likely needed to write that message for myself just as much as you may have needed to hear it to. … And that is the truth.
So, the story I promised you …
This past week -- on Thursday and Friday -- I was at a work training event out of town. About 30 of us were gathered for continuing education in sales.
The event was held at a business center, a place where other businesses can rent the facility, and there’s a conference room, smaller breakout meeting rooms, a kitchen that is staffed by on-call attendants, etc.
All of the amenities that you’d need to host a successful business training event.
But the very interesting thing about this business center is that is now a vastly underutilized Minnesota headquarters of a Fortune 500 company. … And since the pandemic, which forced the company to drastically downsize its workforce, and changed how many people the company now needs in the building, they had to figure out what to do with the beautiful, fairly new office building that used to house 400 people.
So company officials moved their remaining folks into the offices on the upper floors of the facility, and turned the vast first floor into this business center that others can now rent.
Now, at the center of this business center is a gorgeous cafeteria, that once upon a time was the busy hub for this big corporation. A large gleaming kitchen with all the shiny, stainless steel appliances one can think of.
Plush, vinyl booths that lined the walls. Stained glass art that takes up an entire wall. A fireplace with comfortable couches and armchairs that surround it in a half moon. … I’m telling you, this cafeteria looks like it belongs in an upscale Montana ski lodge.
Now, on the ceiling of this fireplace area -- remember the half moon shape -- there is a dropped down ceiling that holds hidden track lighting that draws focus to this area.
And on the face of that dropped down ceiling are six inscribed words. Carved right there in the outcropping … Three, two-word sentences. … And this is what they say:
“Be abundant.” … “Make Magic.” … “Be Real.”
Now, just let that sink in for a minute … “Be abundant.” … “Make Magic.” … “Be Real.”
Whew! … Where do we even begin to unpack that right?
Now, I recognize that some of you may be thinking? … That’s it, the pastor really has flipped his lid now! … What is the big deal about six words on the wall of some business office?
But here me out …
Imagine coming to work five days -- or more -- a week, and those words -- “Be abundant.” … “Make Magic.” … “Be Real.” -- are what you see.
Every time you step into the company cafeteria, you are faced with those words which you know are the stated expectation of what you must be … to be successful in this company.
“Be abundant.” … “Make Magic.” … “Be Real.” … Or you are irrelevant to us. …. Or you're not a good enough employee. … Or you don’t measure up.
Imagine thinking that every day your employer expects you to be abundant, make magic and be real. … And if you don’t, you are falling short of everything that company -- and this earthly kingdom -- measures in you.
Now, those words are no longer just harmless inspirational messages on the cafeteria walls. … No, there’s a gospel lesson in there, I promise you that.
A little more context to this story may be helpful. … I should share with you that I did not want to be at that two-day sales training event. … Just the week prior, I was gone from home for another 2 ½ days for work. … And frankly I’m on a several month stretch of work that has been pretty exhausting.
So to be fully transparent with you, I wasn’t feeling abundant at that moment. … In fact, I had nothing left to give, and I was there at that training out of sheer compliance.
Secondly, I was so emotionally and spiritually drained that I couldn’t have made magic this past week even if I would have had a magic wand.
And third, if I were to have been “real” in that moment with my boss, I may no longer be employed.
And so, Faith Family, I think that is the big deal about six words inscribed on the wall at some business center. … Because, this story is a parable for the larger context of what this earthly kingdom tries to make us believe each and every day.
Every time we go to work, or attend school, or show up here at church or at the gym or when we’re with friends or at the school fundraiser … everywhere our earthly lives take us … the words “Be abundant.” … “Make Magic.” … and “Be Real.” are carved there in the wall somewhere.
Because that is what this world calls us to do.
The world tells us that to be worthy we have to give more of ourselves in every moment than is good for our mental health.
And that to be worthy we somehow have to pull magic out of hat. … Mind you, it’s not good enough just to be human, but rather we need to be superhuman … to matter in this earthly world.
Oh, and after you have given more of yourself than you have to give … AND then … after you’ve achieved the supernatural … well, then just be real.
Now I ask you, what kind of contorted, incomprehensible formula to live by is that?
And to think that some very smart, savvy, successful business people had to sit around a conference table and decide that it was important to hang that message on the wall for their 400 employees to see every day!
But Faith Family, if we are honest with ourselves, that is also the message that is carved on the walls of our homes and schools and places of worship.
Everywhere we look in this world, we are told to give more of ourselves than we have to give, and that we need to be able to perform the supernatural. … But we also need to be real while not lying about the fact that we can’t be either abundant or supernatural.
So, Faith Family, I am here this morning to tell you -- and myself -- that you … are … enough.
And our scripture is littered with reminders of that:
Psalm 139:14: “I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” … That is the psalmist talking to God. “I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” … Faith Family, we are wonderfully made, just as we are. There’s absolutely no pressure to be abundant.
Exodus 14:14: “The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to keep still.” … See, no magic needed. We don’t have to be supernatural. We only need to “be,” and let God fight for us.
And finally, Ephesians 2:10: “For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we may walk in them.”
That is the only realness we need to know. … God created us to walk in Jesus’ footsteps. And if we do that, we never need to worry about being real.
In seminary we are taught that a pastor should never use the pulpit as a substitute for therapy. … So, I apologize if this was a message you think was better suited for me to share with my own spiritual advisor than to create a sermon with.
But my experience tells me that I am not alone in needing to be reminded that it is not the sum of our work, nor what we produce, nor what supernatural acts that we perform that makes us important.
Faith Family, everywhere we look in this world, we are going to be reminded that we are not enough and that we’re expected to be more than human.
But this morning, I am here to relay a message from your Creator: You are enough. … And God loves you just because you are you.
And that is Good News for this Fifth Sunday after Epiphany, Feb. 5, 2023. … Amen.
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