​​Sermon: "Known and Loved" (Psalm 139: 1-18)

W​elcome to our worship service for January 17, 2021.

My name is Danny Bradfield. My pronouns are he, him, his. I’m pastor of Bixby Knolls Christian Church, and I am blessed and honored by your presence with us for this online worship service. Even though we continue to be physically separated, these services are a reminder that we are not alone. I am not alone, and you are not alone.

The scripture that Scheri read - Psalm 139 - is a very meaningful one for me, and I think for a lot of people. The message it gives is one that people are longing to hear. People like Hiccup.

Hiccup is the main character in the movie How To Train Your Dragon. He’s the son of Stoick, the village leader.

Stoick is a big, strong, warrior of a man, but his son Hiccup is… small. Awkward. More sensitive, perhaps. And definitely not a fighter.

Nevertheless, it is expected that Hiccup will become a great fighter of dragons like his father. It’s his responsibility. His duty.

Which is why Stoick says to him: “When you carry this axe, you carry all of us with you. Which means, you walk like us, you talk like us, and you think like us. No more of... this!”

When he says that, he gestures to Hiccup. “No more of this...” and Hiccup, disappointed, says: “You just gestured to all of me!”

At that moment, Hiccup realizes he has to pretend to be who his father thinks he is. He has to keep who he really is a secret. Because if he let his true self show, it would be a great disappointment to his father and to his village.

In the movie Mulan, Mulan must pretend to be something she is not. Her true self, she must keep hidden. 

Her story is the same as Hiccup’s, but in reverse. Mulan does have a warrior’s heart, but in her society, only men could be warriors. So, like Hiccup, she has to hide her true identity. She becomes a warrior, but only by disguising herself as a man.

But as explained in the recent live-action version of Mulan, this deceit weakens her. She can’t fully be the warrior she is capable of being until she is able to be completely honest about who she really is, with herself, and with others.

And, in fact, Hiccup discovers the same thing. As long as he’s pretending, things won’t be quite right. Which leaves him wondering if he can possibly dare to reveal his true nature to the world.

I suppose I could come up with a million more examples of movies and stories in which people wrestle with being true to themselves, living authentically honest lives; it’s a common story, and a common fear, that being honest about who we really are makes us too vulnerable, or is too dangerous.

It’s scary to open ourselves up like that. If the expectations placed on us do not match with who we know ourselves to be… do we keep that part of ourselves that doesn’t fit society’s explanations hidden away? Or do we allow our true nature to show, and risk being ridiculed, ostracized, or cast out? How much of our true selves can we reveal without losing acceptance, love, and affirmation?

For some people, that struggle comes from their sexuality or gender identity. Coming out is a process accompanied by a great deal of fear and trembling. Would they be able to find love and acceptance if they reveal who they really are? 

This week, I watched the documentary Disclosure on Netflix, which includes transgender individuals describing just how hard it was for them to be honest with themselves and accepting of themselves, of who they are… not to mention opening up to others, being honest with the world about who they are, wondering if the world would then accept them, or cast them out.

By the way, you may notice that I mention my pronouns at the beginning of worship. I also include my pronouns in emails and on zoom. I do so because it's a way of letting people know that I am a safe person to be open and honest with. 

When I substitute teach, having my pronouns listed lets students know that my classroom is a safe space for them. 

To be honest, when I first started doing it, I didn't think it was that big of a deal. But then I started getting private messages from students thanking me for including my pronouns. Some of them know, first-hand, how incredibly hard it can be to be honest about who you are, and they are thankful to have a safe space in which they can be open and honest. 

A lot of people have similar struggles with issues of faith. A lot of things they were taught to believe, about who goes to heaven and who goes to hell; about what is sinful and what is acceptable; teachings about creation and evolution and the virgin birth and even the crucifixion and resurrection … one day they realize that, for them, such things no longer seem believable. They realize that they have questions and doubts.

But according to their church and maybe even their family, one has to believe these things, without questioning them, in order to be a good Christian. Some churches and some families will even “disfellowship” you if you admit you no longer believe such things, or if you even question such things. 

So then they are faced with a dilemma: do they voice their questions out loud? Do they allow themselves to be honest about what’s going on inside them? Or do they hide these questions and doubts away? 

Not having a safe space to express questions and doubts can be a terrifying experience for people; in order to be true to themselves and to what they believe - to be honest about their questions and their doubts - they would have to risk losing the love and affirmation of their family and friends.

It’s a struggle that Brian McLaren writes about in his new book, Faith After Doubt. He writes about how the desire to be honest, and the desire to be accepted, often pull us in different directions. 

He writes: “Something in us wants to belong. But something in us also wants to be free, to be authentic, to be the truest, most genuine version of ourselves that we can.”

Is it even possible to experience both? To be completely open and honest about who we are and what we believe, and also find love and acceptance? If the world knew everything about you, everything you keep hidden… all your doubts, all your fears, all your insecurities… would you still be loved and accepted?

According to our scripture today, God does know all your secrets. God does know everything there is to know about you. Everything you try to keep hidden… God knows.

Maybe, for you, that is a comforting thought.

Or, maybe for you, that is a thought that strikes terror in your heart. Your secret is out. God knows. God has always known. God will always know.

I remember one person, when they told me their secret, they said: “I don’t think anyone will ever love me. Because of who I am inside. And I don’t think God will ever love me.”

Well, here’s the thing: God created you. God created you in God’s own image, and God pronounced you “good.” 

It’s true, God didn’t pronounce you “perfect,” but God did pronounce you “good.” You are good. Very good, in fact. You bear within you God’s own holy image. It says so in the book of Genesis.

And then, in the book of Romans, it says this: “neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God.”

In other words: nothing. Nothing will separate you from God’s love. Because God is love, and you were created in God’s image. 

In Isaiah 43, God says: “You are precious in my sight. You are honored. And I love you.”

In Lamentations 3, it says: “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases.”

In Psalm 136, it says that God’s love endures forever. In fact - get this! - that phrase appears in every verse of Psalm 136. Every verse repeats that phrase: God’s love endures forever. God’s love endures forever. God’s love endures forever!

Point taken.

God’s love for you never ceases. It never comes to an end. No matter what.

Now, it is possible for someone who loves you completely to be disappointed in something you’ve done, or even to be angry with you. 

Do you know why God gets disappointed or angry? 

Two reasons: 1. You’ve failed to show love to yourself. 2. You’ve failed to show love to your neighbor.

In other words, God’s love is complete, and God expects you to do your best to show that same love to yourself and to others.

At the end of How To Train Your Dragon, after Hiccup has saved his village by finally being true to himself and true to who he is, his father Stoick comes to him and says, “Well! Turns out all we needed was a little more of…” and he gestures to Hiccup… “this!”

And Hiccup’s eyes light up, and he says: “You just gestured to all of me!”

The world needs more of this. More of you. 

Our world is broken. Our world is fragmented. Our world is filled with people who are filled with fear and anger and hate - hatred for others, and hatred for themselves; people who have failed to see the sacred image in others and who haven’t learned to love one another. People who have failed to see the sacred image in themselves, and who haven’t learned to love themselves.

In order for this broken world to be made whole again, the world needs this. The world needs you. All of you. The world needs your true self, the real you, to be all that God created you to be. To fall in love with yourself so that you can more fully show love to others.

Now, it may be that you are in a situation where it’s not yet safe for you to do that. If, for your own safety, you need to keep part of yourself hidden away a little while longer, please do that.

But know, my dear friend... know that, when it comes to God, you will always be known, and you will always be loved.

Prayer:

Dear God, our world is in turmoil. It’s confusing; frightening. We need you now, more than ever. We need your guidance. We need your wisdom. We need your love.

In our broken, fragmented world, there is fear, there is anger, and there is hate. Racism and white supremacy continue to weaken our country and divide us from one another. Violence and threats of violence make headlines on a daily basis.

At times, in the midst of it all, you seem so far away. Distant. Silent. Not just to us in our own time, but to prophets and psalmists, too. They cried out: “Oh, that you would tear open the heavens and come down! Oh, that you would show yourself, and not stand so far away! Oh, that you would remember your people now, just as you did in ancient times!”

In addition to the turmoil of the world, many of us are also facing personal crises. Some have lost employment. Some have battled COVID, or are battling COVID, or have known friends and loved ones who have battled COVID. And some are mourning those who have lost their battle.

And on top of all this, many are dealing with pain; many are searching for meaning; and many just long for a world in which they can be who they truly are, openly, and without fear.

But in the midst of all this, one thing is certain, and that is that your steadfast love endures forever. Your love is here, and nothing can separate us from your love. Even now, in the midst of all that is going on, your love is present in our lives and in the lives of those around us.

So we pray that we may tap into that love, and wrap ourselves in that love, and share that love with our neighbors near and far. Let that love transform our thinking, so that we learn to see your holy image in ourselves, and in the lives of our neighbors. Let that love transform the thinking of our leaders, including those who have been newly sworn into office, and those about to be sworn in. Let that love transform the hearts of all who might be inclined to violence in the coming days; help them to also see your holy image in the lives of those around them, and to turn to the way of peace.

And together, may we pursue justice for all, because true, lasting peace depends on justice. It depends on doing what is right, for all humanity.

It is the way of Jesus, in whose name we pray. Amen.

"Labels" (Genesis 1; Psalm 139)

One of the things I did on my Sabbatical in August was read through all 150 psalms. 

What surprised me the most was how many of the psalms deal with emotions and situations that we just don’t talk about much in church. They’re raw, they’re real, and they reach into the deepest parts of the human experience.

Which means it’s not all smiles and joy.

The psalmists who wrote these psalms were dealing with some difficult, personal issues. Self-doubt. Depression. Disillusionment. 

And in some of the psalms, the reason for this is the insults, attacks, and slander of those around them.

In today’s media, you often see people attacking others. They are quick to apply labels - labels that are often lies - labels that are derogatory. President Trump is particularly fond of doing this, but many others do it to, people representing all different viewpoints.

And this seems like a modern issue, but apparently, based on my readings of the psalms, it’s an issue that goes back thousands of years.

Here’s an example, from Psalm 35:

“How long, my Lord, will you watch this happen? Rescue me from their attacks; rescue my precious life from these predatory lions! Then I will thank you in the great assembly; I will praise you in a huge crowd of people. Don’t let those who are my enemies without cause celebrate over me; don’t let those who hate me for no reason wink at my demise. They don’t speak the truth; instead, they plot false accusations against innocent people in the land. They speak out against me, saying, ‘Yes! Oh, yes! We’ve seen it with our own eyes!’ But you’ve seen it too, Lord.” [Psalm 35.17-22 CEB]

Did you have any idea that the psalmists had to deal with this? With people labelling them like that?

Here’s another example, from Psalm 41:

“My enemies speak maliciously about me: ‘When will he die and his name disappear?’ Whenever they come to visit, they say nothing of value. Their hearts collect evil gossip; once they leave, they tell it to everybody.” [Psalm 41.5-6]

I could share many more examples, but I’ll share just one more, from Psalm 69:

“Insults have broken my heart. I’m sick about it. I hoped for sympathy, but there wasn’t any. I hoped for comforters, but couldn’t find any. They gave me poison for food. To quench my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.” [Psalm 69.20-21]

There is a lot of poison and vinegar going around today, much of it on social media. Some people on twitter feel it’s their duty to spew venom. Many of them are good people, but they don’t know how to react to injustice with love, so they react with anger. When insulted, they insult back. When ridiculed, they find something to ridicule in return.

But we don’t need to be on twitter to have had negative labels attached to us. All our lives, those labels have been thrown at us, and some of them have stuck. From the time we were very young, just learning to walk and talk, others have insulted us, called us names, bullied us, and labelled us. 

And some of those labels weren’t true then, but became so as we came to believe them. We’ve allowed those negative labels to attach themselves to us like an alien symbiote from a Marvel movie.

But God has God’s own labels for us. And how God describes us should have some bearing on how we feel about ourselves, since God knows us better than anyone. 

Another Psalm - Psalm 139 - explains just how well God knows us. In Psalm 139, the psalmist writes:

“Lord, you have examined me. You know me.

You know when I sit down and when I stand up. Even from far away, you comprehend my plans. You study my traveling and resting. 

You are thoroughly familiar with all my ways.

There isn’t a word on my tongue, Lord, that you don’t already know completely.”

God knows you. The people who know you best know a lot about you, but even their knowledge isn’t complete. And all those who don’t really know you at all - why do you let their negative labels remain firmly attached to you and embedded in you?

Since God knows you best, it’s a good idea to listen to what God says about you, how God describes you.

First of all, know that God created you in God’s own image. The image of God dwells in you.

In ancient times, the Roman emperor wanted to make it seem like he was everywhere, but of course that was impossible, even for a man who claimed to be divine. So the emperor had his image placed everywhere: on buildings, and on statues in the center of town, and on all Roman currency. Everywhere you looked, you’d see the emperor, and you’d know that everything belonged to the emperor, because the emperor’s image was everywhere.

Well, God did that too. Sort of. 

God didn’t place God’s image on statues or coins, but in you. So that wherever you were, people would see the image of God.

The unfortunate thing is that people don’t often recognize the image of God when they see it. But that doesn’t change the fact that God’s image is in you. And wherever you go, God goes.

God also says this about you:

“You are precious in my eyes,

 you are honored, 

and I love you.”

That’s from Isaiah 43. 

Precious.

Honored.

Loved.

In God’s eyes, you are beautiful.

Now, if you find that other, less-affirming labels have attached themselves to you or embedded themselves in you, what are you going to do? Which labels are you going to allow to remain? Which ones will you allow to stick, and which ones will you allow to fall off?

It’s not easy. People struggle with this all the time. Actor Billy Porter’s father told everyone that Billy’s mother was a witch, then he abandoned his family. Then Billy’s stepfather told Billy he wasn’t right, and he sexually abused Billy.

And the labels Billy’s stepfather flung at him stuck for twenty years.

But then those labels began to fall off. 

At the Emmy Awards last Sunday, during his acceptance speech, Billy Porter said “It took many years of vomiting up all the filth I’d been taught about myself, and half-believed, before I was able to walk on the earth as though I had a right to be here.”

I heard that he was sort-of quoting James Baldwin when he said that, and if so, it just proves that a lot of people find it hard to peel off the lies and labels that society has stuck to us. In fact, it reminds me of a story that Fred Craddock once told, about a boy born to an unwed mother in Tennessee a long time ago. 

 This boy had a hard time growing up, because every place he went, he was always asked the same question, “Hey boy, Who’s your daddy?” Whether he was at school, in the grocery store or drug store, people would ask the same question, “Who’s your daddy?” It was their way of labelling him as a worthless, illegitimate child.

This boy did like going to church, but he would always arrive at the last possible moment, and leave as quickly as he could, to avoid having to answer that question.

But one Sunday some people queued up in the aisle before he could sneak out. The minister put his hand on the boy’s shoulder, and the boy trembled in fear. 

The minister turned his face around so he could see the boy, and seemed to be staring for a little while. The boy knew what the minister was doing. He was going to make a guess as to who his father was. 

A moment later the minister said, “Well, boy, you’re a child of…” and he paused for just a moment, then said, “Boy, you’re a child of God. I see a striking resemblance. Now, you go claim your inheritance.”

And as the story goes, that made such a positive impact in that boy’s life, that he grew up to become the governor of Tennessee.  

And, according to snopes, that story is mostly true.

The labels applied to us matter! So today, remember the labels God gives you. Remember who you are in God’s eyes. Precious. Honored. Beautiful. Loved.

And filled with the power of the Spirit of Love that enables you to accomplish far more than you can ask or even imagine.

One last thing...

Amanda Garber is the pastor of RISE church in Harrisonburg Virginia. And every week, she says the same thing to her congregation. And what she says to them, I now say to you:

"Please remember that your life is a gift from God. You are made in God's image. You matter to this world and to us. We do not take you for granted. There are so many places you could be right now and you are here. We also want to challenge you and us to go and be a gift to a world that needs you. Open your gift, if you will, and remember how much you matter. We say it every week but there are some things in life that need to be said every week." 

Sermon: "Beautifully Made" (Psalm 139:1-18)

This is week three of my four-week series on finding wholeness in your heart, soul, body, and mind. Today, the focus is specifically on finding wholeness in your body.

Let me start by asking: does your body make you feel whole? Does your body contribute to your sense of wholeness? What is your attitude toward your body?

For the past few years, I’ve been sharing photos online via Instagram. You share pictures on Instagram, and people who see the pictures you share can tap a little heart to show that they really like it.

Most people who share photos on Instagram really like it when more people tap to show their approval. And a good percentage of the photos people share on Instagram are photos of themselves. So of course, people are going to do their best to look good in the photos they share.

It’s true for me. It’s true for everyone.

However, there are so many “perfect-looking” people on Instagram, that it’s hard to compete. Instagram presents a false ideal of what a person should look like. But Instagram is not the only place where this happens. In fact, it happens almost everywhere: in movies, on TV, in magazines, and a whole bunch of other places.

The result is that we are left feeling inadequate, because our bodies and our physiques just can’t measure up to the images we see.

But still, we try. We search for clothes that make our waists look thinner, shoes that make us look taller. We spend too much time obsessing over a crooked smile, or wrinkles around the eyes, or thinning hair.

We do what we can. We suck it in. We wear makeup. We dye our hair. We whiten our teeth. And, just maybe, we even exercise.

And we judge. We’re so judgmental. We judge other people. You see someone on the beach in a swimsuit and think, “a person with a body like that should NOT be wearing a swimsuit!”

But we don’t just judge other people. We judge ourselves. We judge ourselves even more harshly than we judge others. We take one look in the mirror, and are depressed the rest of the day, because the face in the mirror doesn't look like the pretty faces we see on Instagram, or on the magazine pages, or in the movies.

This is no way to find wholeness.

Any talk about our bodies, our might, our strength, needs to start with the recognition that your body is a precious gift from God. Some of you don’t think of your body as a precious gift. Some of you think of it as a curse. A different body, you think, would be a blessing; but not this imperfect, flawed, aging body that you do have.

But listen to what scripture says…

Scripture says your body is amazing and wonderful. The psalmist is in awe, and declares to God: “It was you who formed my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; that I know very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth.”

God knows you. Intimately. God knows all your flaws and imperfections. Your crooked smile and your warts and your wrinkles. God knows how much you weigh. God sees all the things you try to hide.

And God thinks you are wonderful. Beautiful. Worthy of love.

What we need to do is think of our bodies the same way the psalmist did: with awe and wonder.

My eyes aren’t perfect. Ever since sixth grade, I’ve had to wear glasses to see clearly. Some glasses I wore were dorkier than others. But I’m still amazed at my body’s ability to take light rays, flip them over inside the eye, convert them to signals that the brain can read, and then the brain processes those signals into an image of my surroundings that appears in my mind. It’s incredible!

Or even something as simple as moving a finger… all I have to do is think it in my brain, and that thinking causes the muscles in my finger to contract in a way that makes the finger move back and forth.

And when I exercise: When I push my muscles to their limit, what actually happens is that the muscles are injured slightly. That’s why the day after a really intense workout, you feel the pain. But in that time of healing, the body decides, “Hey, I better do more than just repair these muscles to how they were; I better repair them even better, so that they are even stronger, so that next time, they can handle the task.” And that’s how exercise makes muscles grow stronger.

Truly we are fearfully and wonderfully made.

I could go on.

Have you ever given birth, or watched that happen? My God! The things the human body is capable of!

And yet, at the same time, the wonder and beauty of a smile, or a twinkle in the eye, can, in its own way, be just as amazing.

In Isaiah 43.4, we hear God say: “You are precious in my sight, and honored, and I love you.”

Genesis 1.26-27: “Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness… So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.”

Your body is the image of God!

1 Corinthians 6:19: Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you. You are not your own. Therefore glorify God in your body.

Deuteronomy 6.4-5: “Hear O Israel: The LORD is our God, the LORD alone. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.”

With all your might. All your strength. In all that your body can and can’t do, God is glorified.

So what should we do with this precious gift?

What should we do with any precious gift that has been given to us?

Take care of it, of course.

On the bookshelf in my office is a Bible that was owned by my great-grandmother. (It looks a lot like this one.) On the wall there is also the Lord’s Prayer in lace that she made. These precious gifts were given to me by her daughter, which would be my grandmother. You can bet that I take care of them. I handle them gently and carefully.

I don’t take care of them so that they might become something worth admiring. They already are something worth admiring… and that is why I take care of them.

In the same way, I don’t take care of my body so that it might become something worth admiring on Instagram. My body, even with all its imperfections, is already something to admire, to be thankful for… and that is why I do my best to take care of it.

People exercise, and that’s good. But many of them do it for the wrong reasons. They exercise, they watch their diet, because they think that if they can get their body to a certain weight or size or shape, then it will be worth appreciating.

But that’s backwards! Your body is right now worth appreciating. It is worth admiring. It is a precious gift.

And that’s why we exercise and eat healthy and take care of ourselves.

I do hope you exercise and take care of yourself. But not because you need to look beautiful. You already are beautiful. And that’s why you should take care of your body.

Also: I have learned that physical wholeness is connected to the other aspects of wholeness. Being whole in your body helps you be whole in your heart, soul, and mind.

Exercise during the day helps you sleep well at night. Exercise releases endorphins in the brain which lift your mood and help combat depression. For me, exercise clears my mind and sometimes leads me into a prayer-like state, although the reason for that is probably because one of my favorite types of exercise involves running or hiking outside, in the sunshine, in some beautiful place, listening to the birds and the wind… and the silence. I don’t like gyms or treadmills. If I had to run on a treadmill in a gym with TVs on the wall showing, I don’t know, talk shows of people gabbing away, interrupted by annoying ads – that would not work for me! It would nourish my body, but not my soul. That would be something to endure, that’s for sure!

But hiking up a beautiful mountain, breathing in that wonderful mountain air, smelling the pine trees as I huff and puff away, and then being rewarded by the most amazing view at the top – that is an experience that restores both my body and my soul.

You gotta find what works for you!

I don’t drink soda. I haven’t had more than a couple of sips in the past three years. It’s not worth it. And I pick and choose which desserts and sweets I eat. I pass on the stuff that is good, but I do say yes to the stuff that is really good.

Someday, God willing, I’ll live long enough that old age will keep me from climbing to the top of mountain peaks. Already, I think about some of the hardest hikes I’ve done, like reaching the summit of Mount Whitney – elevation 14, 500 feet – and I think, “I don’t need to do that again.” But I’ll keep doing what I can, whatever that is, for as long as I can, in a way that brings wholeness to my body as well as to my heart, soul, and mind.

Because I really do want to love God with all my heart, with all my soul, with all my mind, and with all my strength. And to do that, I need to take care of my heart, take care of my soul, take care of my mind, and take care of my body.

And I encourage you to do all you can to love and honor God with all your heart, soul, mind, and body. Doing so not only glorifies God, but also leads you on the path to wholeness.