Goodbye, 2018. Hello, 2019!

Sunday is the last Sunday of 2018. I always love this pause between the old year and the new. It is a chance to reflect on the year that has been and give thanks for all those whose lives touched mine. It is also a time to reflect on the baggage I have been carrying and consider what I need to let go of in order to enter the new year unencumbered.

Because there are definitely things I need to leave in 2018. Ephesians 4 urges us:

“Everything…connected with that old way of life has to go. It’s rotten through and through. Get rid of it! And then take on an entirely new way of life—a God-fashioned life, a life renewed from the inside and working itself into your conduct as God accurately reproduces God’s character in you.” (Ephesians 4: 22-24, The Message)

Where bitterness has hardened my heart, may I let go of it so my heart may learn to feel again.

Where guilt has frozen me in my tracks, may I let go of it so I can move forward.

Where shame has caused me to cower in a corner, may I let go of it so I can walk with my head held high.

Where fear and doubts have eroded my self-worth, may I let go of them so I can trust not only myself again, but also others.

Where anger has burned bridges of relationships, may I let it go I can begin to rebuild them.

Where I have closed myself to the movement of the Holy Spirit in my life, may I be open, so that God may be at work within me, creating in me a “life renewed from the inside”.

This is the time of year to let go of all that has weighed us down in 2018, particularly those things that prevented us from living a life in love that God desires for us.

My favorite prayer this time of year is the Wesley Covenant prayer. The prayer is nearly 300 years old. Each time I pray it, I think of all those who came before me who uttered these same words, desiring only one thing, to live in right relationship with God:

“I am no longer my own, but thine.
Put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt.
Put me to doing, put me to suffering.
Let me be employed by thee or laid aside for thee,
exalted for thee or brought low for thee.
Let me be full, let me be empty.
Let me have all things, let me have nothing.
I freely and heartily yield all things
to thy pleasure and disposal.
And now, O glorious and blessed God,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
thou art mine, and I am thine. So be it.
And the covenant which I have made on earth,
let it be ratified in heaven. Amen.”

As you tuck away your 2018 calendar, and crack open your new 2019 one, may the empty blocks of days ignite your imagination with the creative and unexpected ways that you will encounter God and discern fuller ways to serve as a disciple of Christ, so that your life and this world may be infused with God’s grace and healing love.

Building Up The Body of Christ

Sunday’s epistle lesson is Ephesians 4: 1-16. Paul continues to teach the Ephesians about how to live into a common life as the body of Christ. God continues to widen the circle of believers—through Jesus Christ, both Jew and Gentile claim the name of Christ--and the tensions of difference strain their life together.  Paul calls for a deep humility, a mature faith, and a grounding in love so that what is shared in the midst of the differences builds up rather than tears down.

I think of the current state of our nation and our church. Words that hurt are hurled with alarming regularity. Some claim a moral superiority over others. Others claim the “truth” with a warriorlike orientation rather than through actions that are invitational and instructive.

We need to reclaim the lessons of Paul, who reminds us that God has woven diversity into the Christian community—it is a necessary element if the body of Christ is to be whole and vibrant:

“But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body’s growth in building itself up in love.” (Ephesians 4: 15-16)

Is your congregation living into this truth? Are you welcoming the variety of gifts each person brings into your shared life and ministry? Is your expression of faith marked by “humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love”? (Ephesians 4:2)

I read a tweet today that offered wise instruction on how to live this out: “Every person you meet in an expert in something you most likely know nothing about. Let them help you broaden your horizons.” (@QueerEye on Twitter)

When you go to church, open yourself to the wisdom around you. Watch and see how God is working in the lives you may have overlooked. Listen to the wisdom of someone you may have dismissed. This is how we grow together. This is how unity deepens. This is how the Body of Christ is made visible in our world.