The OTHER Three Letter Word

"Sex."

There, I said it. How are y'all doing with that? You okay? Still a little uncomfortable when your pastor uses the other three letter word (meaning the three letter word that's not God)? Thankful that you have had a succession of pastors at MCC Austin that can say the word? Worried about how I am after having said it?

Don't worry; I'm fine. Truthfully, better than fine. As I told the Pastoral Search Team eight months ago, I believe that being able to talk and preach and think and pray with you about sexuality openly, honestly, and often is a sacred trust; a humbling opportunity; and a wonderful, though mysterious, blessing.

This weekend, as we continue our series on the different nuances of love, we remain with eros. This week's sermon title is "Sexual Salvation," a title I borrowed with permission from a sermon by Rev. Elder Ken Martin. The words "sexual" and "salvation" might seem oddly juxtaposed to you. After all, the word "sexual" connotes the body, things of "the flesh," and things "of this world." The word "salvation," on the other hand, most often connotes the soul, matters of the spirit, and things "celestial," or "not of this world."

I contend that those opposing connotations are the very reason that these two words need each other, need to be coupled, need to be close enough to touch.

When we force these two concepts apart, set them in different camps, make enemies of them, then we end up actually cutting Solomon's baby in half. We show no wisdom and no mercy. We destroy something beautiful and leave everyone bereft.

I'm not going to write the whole sermon here, or you might be tempted not to come to church. But I am going to ask you to prepare yourself for the sermon. I'm going to ask that you pray about, read about, and yes, even talk about these words "sex" and "salvation" before you come to worship. Invite God to ready your heart, mind, and Spirit for what you need to receive from the sermon. And please, pray for me, too. Pray that every word and thought that I share with you will be exactly what God intends it to be.

See you in worship!

Soul Mates

I've been the recipient of lots of puzzled looks the last few days, and it wasn't because of the clapping comment I made at the end of worship last week. (By the way, my comment wasn't about our inability to applaud; it was about our inability to clap in rhythm to music...we need a dose of soul!)

Which leads me back to the puzzled looks. I've been getting those from the Worship Team and this week's worship leaders as I've tried to explain what my sermon "Soul Mates" is about.

Initially, most of them thought that my sermon would be about the love between life partners, spouses. It was a reasonable guess, since they knew this week's topic was eros, one of several nuances of love, and one we most often associate with romantic or sexual love.

No, I said, it's not about that. It's about the people--yes, I said people--who touch our souls. The people who in unexplainable, profound ways stake a claim upon our hearts. The ones whose spirits commune with ours in everyday ways of words and gestures and in ways that transcend our everydayness. . .ways that are soul-full, almost sacramental. . .way beyond talk or touch.

I don't think I did a very good job of explaining myself because the blank looks remained. Oh, a couple of nice people nodded politely to help me feel better, but alas, I hadn't enlightened them at all.

Not one to give up easily, I'm going to try a different approach. I'm going to let someone else explain for me, and that someone is Richard from Texas, the para-hero of Elizabeth Gilbert's Eat, Pray, Love. Elizabeth is trying to explain to Richard why her shattered heart will never be over David, the man with whom she has recently broken up. Elizabeth says, "I think the reason it's so hard for me to get over this guy is because I seriously believed David was my soul mate."

"He probably was," Richard offers. "Your problem is you don't understand what that word means. People think a soul mate is your perfect fit, and that's what everyone wants. But a true soul mate is a mirror, the person who shows you everything that's holding you back, the person who brings you to your own attention so you can change your life. A true soul mate is probably the most important person you'll ever meet, because they tear down your walls and smack you awake. . . . Soul mates, they come into your life just to reveal another layer of yourself to you. . ."

Hmmmmmmm. Does that help? Are you thinking about the people who have come into your life that, as Richard also said, "touched a place in your heart deeper than you thought you were capable of reaching"? Are you remembering those soul mates who from the very beginning you felt you were getting reacquainted with, not meeting for the first time?

If you still don't get it, just read this week's scripture. When you read the lines "When David had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was bound to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul," if you still don't get it, if you can't think of a single friend or mentor or lover who has gotten to you in this way, if you've never encountered a soul mate, I encourage you to start praying for one right now. A true soul mate is someone in whom it's very easy to see all the possibilities God has created us for, and all the love, hope, and grace God is ready to offer us.

God Bless Your Heart & Soul...

Goodwill at the USPS

I wonder if the U.S. Postal Service has felt an unexplainable surge of goodwill this week? I'm wondering this because I estimate that our MCC Austin family has mailed somewhere between 400 and 500 postcards this week to people that we love. All those love letters are bound to be spilling their positive energy onto unsuspecting people everywhere!

If you weren't able to worship with us last weekend, let me describe the postcards I'm talking about. They were created in keeping with our Epiphany theme "Love Letters from God." On the front of each card is a heart resting in a swirling flame of orange and red and yellow. Upon the heart are written Mother Teresa's words: "I am a little pencil in the hand of a writing God who is sending a love letter to the world." On the back, each card says simply: "I was thinking about you in church today..."

After each worship service, we invited you to take as many postcards as you wanted and send them to the people that the service moved you to reach out to, especially your parents and children, biological or chosen.

Well, you took over half of our 1,000 cards home with you, and some of you dropped by during the week to pick up more...wonderful! We asked David to order 1,000 more, and if that's still not enough, thanks be to God that we are blessed with so many people that we love and are thankful for!

This week, we will explore thelema, the "desire to do something" or "the will." We'll focus on the amazing possibilities that arise when we join our human will to the will of God, either intentionally or unintentionally.

Specifically, we'll look at two people, Harvey Milk and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. I feel pretty certain that both of these men were in lockstep with the will of God insofar as their work for human rights was concerned. Dr. King once wrote that as he prepared to speak, he would always remind himself to "keep Martin Luther King in the background and God in the foreground and everything will be all right. " We do not have nearly as extensive a record of the speeches and writings of Harvey Milk, a Jewish man, nor was his faith as prominent a part of his platform, but I have no difficulty in accepting that the hope and dignity he offered to gay people everywhere generated within the will of a good and gracious God. Whenever we help to raise people up, not above God but toward God, I believe we, too, are resting in the will of God.

Come worship with us this weekend! Be inspired by the love of God and the lives of two remarkable people. When you leave, send a postcard or a dozen to people who have inspired you.

Next week, I'll check in with the Postmaster General and see if my theory about goodwill at the post office has any merit. Anybody know the number?

Unbelivable #2

I've tried to come up with another word to use, but there's just not one. So here again, for the second time in less than a month, is my signature exclamation: Unbelievable!

Unbelievable that we've said goodbye to Advent, my favorite season of the church year, and I'm not a bit sad about it. I don't have time or energy or need to be sad because I'm too excited about Epiphany and our theme "Love Letters from God."

Mother Teresa once described herself as a pencil in the hand of a God who is writing love letters to the world. During Epiphany, we're going to continue our year's theme of "Sacred Desire~Spiritual Yearnings" as we explore different types of love and the risks and rewards of giving and receiving those types of love. Here are the types of love we will explore:

January 10 & 11 Storge- love of parents and children"Before I Am and Yet a Child of Me"
January 17 & 18 Thelema- desire to do things; will"MiLK"
January 24 & 25 Eros- soulful love"Soul Mates"
January 31 & February 1 Eros-erotic love"Sexual Salvation"
February 7 & 8 Philia- love of siblings"Poet, Prophet, and Priest"
February 14 & 15 Agape- love"Wide Open"

Each time we gather together you will have an opportunity to send your own love letters to the world. It will be amazing!

I hope you will commit yourself to worshiping with us every weekend of the series. I think you will be moved to laughter, moved to tears, and moved to new depths of loving God and others.
One last thing. As your Worship Team has planned these services, we've been mindful of the emotional impact of this series. If you find yourself with questions or comments, please don't hesitate to reach out to one of your pastors or deacons. You can find staff email addresses on our website at www.mccaustin.com or reach us through the office at (512) 291-8601, and you can call the Deacon Care Line at (512) 291-8819.

Please never think that your questions or concerns are too trivial or that your needs are inconsequential. Reach out. Trust God. Trust others.

May we all be pencils in God's hand.