Template Oct 1, Messy Spiritualism Series 1 2006 World Communion Sunday
Messages adapted from Messy Spirituality by Michael Yaconelli.
Felt Need: Does God accept me with all my baggage, shortcomings, sins?
Desired Outcome: To understand that God always is seeking and loving the least of these and He loves us with all our baggage, shortcomings and sins.
Message: Am I , a “Messy Christian?”
Scripture: Luke 9: 51-56
51As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem. 52And he sent messengers on ahead, who went into a Samaritan village to get things ready for him; 53but the people there did not welcome him, because he was heading for Jerusalem. 54When the disciples James and John saw this, they asked, "Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them[a]?" 55But Jesus turned and rebuked them, 56and they went to another village. (The messiness of the Disciples)
Synopsis:
A Heroes of the faith were Messy.
1. Noah, David, Disciples
B. Our lives are messy, if we are honest.
1. Being real. “Messy spirituality is a description of the Christianity most of us live and that few of us admit. It is an attempt to break through the religious wall of secrecy and legitimize a faith with is unfinished, incomplete, and inexperienced. Messy spirituality is a celebration of a discipleship which is under construction.”
2. Notorious Sinners
3. Who did Jesus hang with? Prostitutes, tax collectors and sinners.
C. Jesus sought out the lost, disenfranchised, the least of these, ie. the messiest people.
1. Story of Anne.
2. God’s mercy for us.
3. God’s grace within our own mess.
Metaphor:
Music:
Am I a “Messy Christian”?
Peanuts cartoon
Charlie Brown has stopped at Lucy’s five -cent psychology booth for some advice about life.
Life is like a deck chair, Charlie, “she says. “On the cruise ship of life, some people place their deck chair at the rear of the ship so they can see where they’ve been. Others place their deck chairs at the front of the ship so they can see where they’re going”
The good doctor looks at her puzzled client and asks “Which way is your deck chair facing?”
Without hesitating Charlie replies glumly, “I can’t even get my deck chair unfolded.”
As Christians there are so many so called gurus who define our life, our values and make the Christian walk look so predictable and easy, and yet at the same time most of us are still trying to unfold our deck chairs in our spiritual journey.
It was not different for some of our fore fathers of the faith....
A Heroes of the faith were Messy.
1. Noah, David, Disciples
Noah had his faith journey, people tolerated his wild visions thought he was crazy, but he had a strong faith and was courageous. He was ridiculed, but he built the ark., because God said it was going to rain and we all know it rained for 40 days and nights. but when the mission was accomplished he scripture records that Noah got naked and got drunk. What do we remember, we remember him as a man of faith who was faithful to God.
David now King, sees Bathsheba and lusts for her and gets her pregnant. Has her husband killed on the front lines and yet we remember David with fondness, for his psalms, his courage, his leadership.
The disciples spent a lot of their energy wondering who would be first, who would sit where, they were so human, yet we remember them with respect for how they sacrificed their lives for the faith. In our scripture this morning we see their true colors flying.
51As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem. 52And he sent messengers on ahead, who went into a Samaritan village to get things ready for him; 53but the people there did not welcome him, because he was heading for Jerusalem. 54When the disciples James and John saw this, they asked, "Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them[a]?" 55But Jesus turned and rebuked them, 56and they went to another village. (The messiness of the Disciples)
B. Our lives are messy, if we are honest.
1. Being real. “Messy spirituality is a description of the Christianity most of us live and that few of us admit. It is an attempt to break through the religious wall of secrecy and legitimize a faith with is unfinished, incomplete, and inexperienced.
Messy spirituality is a celebration of a discipleship which is under construction.”
None of us here are complete, none of us have it altogether in our faith journey, we are all under construction and for most of us it isn’t pretty.
2. They called themselves the “ Notorious Sinners” Let me describe them and as I do I want you to consider if they could be part of our fellowship here at Lakeside?
This was a group of men from all walks of life who meet once a year to openly share their messy spirituality with each other. Their name Notorious Sinners refers to the scandalous category of forgiven sinners whose reputations and ongoing flaws didn’t seem to keep Jesus away. They meet at a spiritual retreat center reserved quiet silently seeking the voice of God. Were a different kind of contemplative– earth boisterous, noisy, and rowdy, tromping around our souls seeking God, hanging out with a rambunctious Jesus who is looking for a good time in our hearts. A number of us smoke cigars, about half are recovering alcoholics, and a couple could embarrass a sailor with their language. Two show up on their Harley’s complete w3ith leather pants and leather jackets.
This group is a rough group whose discipleship is blatantly real and carelessly passionate. Unafraid to admit their flaws, unintimidated by Christians who deny their own messiness, these guys sometimes look like pagans and other times they look like Jesus. Truly messy disciples.
Would you feel ok with this group, or would you rather they disappeared from site and mind.
3. Who did Jesus hang with? Prostitutes, tax collectors and sinners.
Messy Spirituality as described by Mike Yacconilli is the scandalous assertion that following Christ is anything but tidy and neat, balanced and orderly. Far from it. Spirituality is complex, complicated, and perplexing the disorderly, sloppy, chaotic look of authentic faith in the real world.
Spirituality is anything but a straight line; it is a mixed -up , topsy-turvey, helter skelter godliness that turns our lives into an upside down toboggan ride full of unexpected turns, surprise bumps, and bone-shattering crashes. In other words, messy spirituality is the delirious consequence of a life ruined by a Jesus who will love us right into his arms.
C. Jesus sought out the lost, disenfranchised, the least of these, ie. the messiest people.
Would Jesus be in New Orleans? Would he be down at the mission, or at Supper house? Would he be at the prison?
1. Story of Anne.
Anne Lamott, a fellow messy Christian describes perfectly what happens when Jesus pursues us. In her book Traveling Mercies, Anne recounts her conversion to Jesus. Things were not going well in her life: addicted to cocaine and alcohol, involved in an affair that produced a child whom she aborted, helplessly watching her best friend die of cancer. During this time Anne visited a small church periodically. She would sit in the back to listen to the singing and then leave before the sermon. During the week of the abortion, she spiraled downward drowning her sorrows in alcohol and drugs. The abortion had left her bleeding and finally she collapsed on her bed, smoked a cigarette and fell asleep.
“After a while, as I lay there, I became aware of someone with me, hunkered down in the corner, and I just assumed it was my father, whose presence I had felt over the years when I was frightened and alone. The feeling was so strong that I actually turned on the light for a moment to make sure no one was there- of course, there wasn’t . But after a while, in the dark again, I knew beyond any doubt that it was Jesus; I felt him as surely as I feel my dog lying nearby as I write this.
And was appalled.....I thought about what everyone wold think of me if I became a Christian and it seemed utterly impossible thing that simply could not be allowed to happen. I turned to the wall and said out loud “I’d rather die”.
I felt him just sitting there on this haunches in the corner of my sleeping loft, watching me with patience and love, and I squinched my eyes shut, but that didn’t help because that’s not what I was seeing him with.
Finally I fell asleep, and in the morning, he was gone.
The experience spooked be badly, but I thought it was just an apparition, born of fear and self-loathing and booze and loss of blood. But then everywhere I went, I had the feeling a little cat was following me, wanting me to reach down and pick it up, wanting me to open the door and let it in. But I knew what would happen: you let a cat in one time, give it a little milk, and then it stays forever.
And one week later, when I went back to church I was so hung over that I couldn’t stand up for the songs, and this time I stayed for the sermon, which I just thought was so ridiculous, like someone trying to convince me of the existence of extraterrestrials, but the last song was so deep and raw and pre that I could not escape. It was as if the people were singing in between the notes, weeping and joyful at the same time, and I felt like their voices or something was rocking me in its bosom, holding me like a scared kid, and I opened up to that feeling and it washed over me. ‘’
I began to cry and left before the benediction, and I raced home and felt the little cat running along at my heels and I walked down the dock past dozens of potted flowers, under a sky as blue as one of God’s own dreams, and I opened the door to my houseboat, and I stood there a minute, and then I hung my head and said “I quit” I took a long deep breath and said aloud, “‘
All right. You can come in.” This was my beautiful moment of conversion.
2. God’s mercy for us
Eugene Peterson in his book “A long obedience in the same direction says this:
When we sin and mess up our lives, we find that God doesn’t go off and leave us-he enters into our trouble and saves us.....
God is like that kitty that Anne described, He is there pursuing up, He is where we are. He isn’t waiting until we get prettied up or get everything perfect, he is there when things are going all wrong, when the decisions we have made have brought down unexpected, unwanted results. He is there when we are in pain from broken relationships, pain from physical ailments.
Too often we convey that we have to hide our messiness from God, and each other lest we look bad, or look like we don’t have it all together. That God will somehow stay away until we are better, more perfect, more giving, more prayerful, etc.
God’s grace is here like the kitty we can’t get away, He follows us waiting for us to stop, pick Him up, and let His love and forgiveness flow out upon us, that we might become new persons in His name, right in the middle of our mess....
Where are you this morning? Where is God in your life? As we join in communion let this sacred moment for you be a time of letting God into your life just as it is, may you accept Him into your heart...
