This is It! Put Your Whole Self In!

All of me
Why not take all of me

-Jazz Standard written by Marks and Simons, 1931

As you may know, I have been taking West African Drum lessons for over a year. I have my patient teachers to thank for what little progress I have made. Also, I have them to thank for opening my life to wonderful rhythms, abundant rhythms filled with life. Today, I am thinking about the rhythms that I have learned over the last year. What is clear to me is that although I drum with my hands, drumming, rhythm has more to do with my whole self, my whole body, than it does with my hands. If I had no hands, I would still have rhythm, a rhythm that could be expressed through dance, by bobbing my head...whatever. This human capacity for rhythm is something that involves my whole self. In short, to drum, to dance, to sing, I have to "put my whole self in."

That is the way it is with faith. Some have said that faith is a verb. That means that “we faith” -- faith is something that we do. I don't know about you, but when I do something it involves all of me. Typing this for example -- it is not just fingers. It is my brain, it is the way my feet are on the floor, my eyes focused on the monitor, my straight back in the chair, my eyes following the letters as I put them up on the monitor. It is not even a matter of putting your whole self in to an action -- your whole self is in every action you take. So, in this season of stewardship we are aware that whenever we do anything it takes all of who we are, body, mind, spirit, soul. Stewardship asks us to look at how we approach our faith. As they say in gambling circles, are we “all in?”

All of me

It takes all of me

-Jazz Standard, 1931, improvised upon by DPR, 2009

It takes all of who we are. That is how we are called into our lives. We aren’t born in pieces you know. It takes all of us. And that is how we approach the abundance of life that we known as a community of faith. It takes all of me to live a faithful life. This means, of course, full involvement in my faith. In the last weeks, we have tried to help you think about what “all of me” means. We have asked you to consider going 5 for 5. Putting your whole self in means worshiping, learning, doing, connecting and giving. This Sunday, you will have an opportunity to express yourself by putting your whole self in. Please bring your 5 for 5 form to church along with your faith promise card. Experience again what it means to fully engage your life through careful stewardship of your life.

Blessings,

David

Put Your Whole Self In: Giving

Two members of our congregation died over the last week. Warren Kreml was a minister who gave his life to the ministry, always on the leading edge. A real pioneer, Warren put his whole self in, generously holding nothing back. And the same is true for Corrine Orr, a life-long teacher, who gave herself - heart, mind and soul - to the children that she taught throughout her life. She taught in our Sunday School up to just a few years ago. These two fine human beings, Warren and Corrine, are find examples of what it means to put your whole self in through your generosity, by giving.

Paul calls generosity a gift of the spirit. Why would this be? When I look at generosity I look at my hands. Hands can grasp or they can open. Hands can hold tight or they can let go. What Paul is saying about generosity is that it is a divine gift to open and let go. Just thinking about it a little bit I see how this is true. Look at how much in our culture is oriented towards grasping and holding. Our economy is based on grasping and holding -- companies make stuff and advertisers tell us how we can't live without more stuff. It goes so far that our whole identities get caught up in grasping and holding -- we are called consumers, we are those who grasp and hold, who are encouraged to find ourselves in what we own. But, look at your hands. The grasping hand is tight fist, holding on for dear life. Our culture is all about grasping and holding. The natural tendency that we have to look out for ourselves is exploited and we grasp and hold on as if our life depends on it. Wars are fought as collectively we grasp and hold on to oil, territory, and rigid ideology. Generosity is different from this.

The generous hand opens as we notice our generous hearts, as we notice the empathy and compassion that wells up within us, sometimes despite ourselves. This "sometimes despite ourselves," is the place to look for the spiritual gift. Spirit ties us together, helps us to be aware that we are one body, all part of one another. As are lives are so intimately tied we are open to one another and hands open. The generous hand is the hand that opens to give, to massage, to sooth, to teach, to heal. The generous hand opens because, in community, we have nothing to lose. Life will ebb and flow, stuff will come and go, but as part of one another we all have what we need. Period. If you need a listening ear, in community we are there generously giving to one another. If you need, a meal in community we are there generously giving to one another. It feels good to be generous. In generosity there is really no giver and receiver. In generosity there is the flowing of energy and life through community. No one really holds on as we are caught in the flow of generosity. With open hands we hold the hands of others, we are constantly passing back and forth to one another and like fountains our hearts spring forth in generosity towards all Creation. This sort of generosity is well reflected in the last verse of the hymn, "My Life Flow On in Endless Song!"

The peace of Christ makes fresh my heart,
A fountain ever springing:
All things are mine since I am His-
How can I keep from singing?

I give thanks for the lives of Warren and Corrine. I give thanks for the generosity with which they lived their lives, for the good of all. So, Let's take a look at our hands as we contemplate the theme, "Put Your Whole Self In: Giving.

Blessings, David