I may love my laptop, but for lots of young adults, it is all about the phone — the cell phone, that is.  Since we were honoring our high school seniors today, I decided to try to speak their language — the text message!

Baccalaureate Sunday

Psalm 131    Matthew 6:24-34 

Text Messages

Those of you who have been watching the website over the last few weeks have no doubt figured out that I have become very interested and engaged in that form of electronic communication. In fact I went to a continuing education event at the end of April that was designed to introduce pastors to the way the Internet and other electronic media are being used by young people – and how the church can use those media to be part of their world.

One of the things I learned at that seminar was that for teenagers, it is all about the phone. Among those with the financial means, the laptop or home computer is just for homework; everything else is on the phone: calls, text messages, surfing the Internet, reading e-mail – all on the phone. Presumably if I really wanted these seniors to pay attention to my sermon, I wouldn’t preach it, I would text it.

I didn’t figure that out in time to tell them all to bring their phones, get all their numbers, and figure out how to text a whole sermon … so we will have to settle for the next best thing: I will pretend to text and you can pretend you are looking at your phone.

For those of you who aren’t accustomed to texting, it is a lot like Biblical Hebrew: lots of consonants and almost no vowels. There are numbers, too – just sound them out and you’ll get it.

[By the way, one of my goals for my sabbatical was to get as good at Power Point as the average third grader. This was a goal I did not fulfill; fortunately, text messages do not usually have graphics, nor do the words in text messages dance or spin, explode, fade, or change color. I am hoping that my novice attempt, with Pete Duys’ help, will be a reasonable facsimile of texting.

gd lvs u

[It was hard not to capitalize the G.] Even in text-speak you can see that the verb is not future tense, and there is no “if” clause in this. I didn’t say that “God will love you if …” as in “…if you are very good.” Or “…if you are sorry that you aren’t very good.” Or even “…if you promise to try harder to be good.” There are lots of things that you can mess up in your life by your behavior and choices, but this is not one of them. God loves you.

u dnt gt wht u dsrv

This is also known as grace. It is a very hard idea to hold on to. We keep thinking that there must be some reason for the things that happen to us (both good and bad), and usually we slip into giving ourselves credit or blame and assume that God likewise gives us what we deserve.

Here’s the corollary to that: bad things are going to happen to you and to people you love, and you aren’t going to understand why. Whatever the reason is, it isn’t about God. God is not the cause; God is the arms that hold you while you recover from those bad things. That’s what the beautiful words of Psalm 131 are about: I have calmed and quieted my soul. [Psalm 131:2]

xnty nt abt sx

[The x is for Christ, like in Xmas] In spite of what you have been led to believe, Christianity is not primarily about sexual behavior. Jesus said absolutely nothing about premarital sex, homosexuality, or abortion – not a word. These are important matters, and you ought to think about them seriously and prayerfully, but the Bible is not going to provide any simple or universal answer for you. If someone tells you that it does, be careful about what else that person thinks is in the Bible.

xnty abt mny

Jesus had lots to say about money; he also spoke often about love, power, healing, reconciliation, and peace. Put simply

gv mny awy

lv 1 anthr

shr pwr

ask 4 hlg

wrk 4 rcncltn

nsist on pce

If these are the values you share, you might be a Christian, whether you usually think of yourself this way or not. And if you don’t – well, look at some people you deeply admire and see if you want to change your mind.

gd dsnt wnt u 2 wry

This is what we just heard from the gospel reading, and I love Jesus’ question: “And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life?” [Matthew 6:27] This is one of the hardest of all Christian beliefs – way harder than the virgin birth or the Resurrection. If we are really trying to follow Jesus, and if we are really trying to discern what God wants us to do in the world, how can we keep from worrying? Only by believing that God’s call to us is an invitation and not an ultimatum.

bbl nt hw 2 bk

Contrary to popular belief, the Bible is not a “How-to” book. Most of it is history, biography, or poetry. The parts that seem to be giving advice are mostly the letters of the New Testament which – pay close attention here – were not written to you. When we read those parts of the Bible, we are essentially reading other people’s mail, and we need to be careful what we make of it.

xnty nt diy

Christianity is not Do-It-Yourself. When Jesus said, “Whenever two or three of you are gathered together, I am there,” he wasn’t setting a quorum for congregational meetings. He was describing how the life of faith, the journey of the spirit, is something that we do together, with companions and in community. Of course I hope that you will find a church community wherever your journey takes you, but some of you will choose not to do that. If you are one of those, I want to urge you to find another community of meaning and spiritual companionship to be a part of. None of us can live up to our aspirations – let alone to God’s aspirations for us – alone. Companions and community are the gifts of the spirit that make it possible to live in a rich and deeply meaningful way.

gd lvs u

In fact, God loves everyone. Everyone – including the people that we think are entirely unlovable: the people who frighten us, the people who wish us ill, the people who are mean to us, the people who are different from us. If you remember that every person you encounter is a cherished, dear child of God, it will make it a lot easier to do all those Christian things like turning the other cheek and giving away your coat.

gly

(Did I already mention this?) And almost as importantly, so do we.

wly 2

It has been a great honor as well as a great joy to share your life’s journey with you this far, and we look forward to being with you in the future. You may, from time to time, lose this particular text message. Someone may even erase it for you. When that happens, text me or send me an email or just show up some Sunday morning – and we’ll help you to remember.

go n pce

amen.

Prayer for May 25, 2008 (Memorial Day Weekend)

Almighty and everlasting God, creator of all things seen and unseen, hear now our silent prayers, as we open our hearts to you in the sacred quietness.

God of faith and hope, we bring before you our prayers for those we have named this morning – we especially remember … Bring to each of them the gifts of mercy and grace that are most needed, according to your wisdom and love.

God of Shalom, we bring you our prayers this morning for those who serve in the armed forces of the world, most especially and most tenderly for those who serve our country.

We pray, first, for the women and men who are on active duty: those who have set aside family obligations, career advancement, and personal safety in order to serve. We remember them in their training and preparation, in their traveling and waiting, and in their working and (sometimes) fighting. We pray for their safety, for their skill, for their integrity, and for their forbearance. Receive our prayers for the ones we know, and stretch those prayers to envelop their friends and comrades, until all are wrapped in you faithful care.

We pray, too, for the chaplains and chaplain staff members who attend to the spiritual health of the troops. Give them wisdom as they accompany servicemen and women through difficult decisions, grievous losses, and painful memories. Fill them with your Spirit, and grant them double measures of courage, fortitude, humility, and hope in their ministries.

God of all our families, this morning we lift up the families of those serving in the military: the parents and siblings, the spouses and partners, and most urgently, the children. We thank you for their willingness to take on extra responsibilities when their loved ones are deployed, and for the generosity of spirit which lets them offer support even in the midst of their own loneliness and worry. Grant them the comfort of knowing your presence, and help us to surround them with love and care that illuminate your constant companionship.

Holy One, we thank you for all the courageous women and men through history who have offered their time, their talents, and sometimes their lives defending the best of our country’s values. Fill us with resolve to continue the work for justice and peace – in our homes, in our communities, and in our world – the work that is a testament to their service and sacrifice.

All this we pray in the name of the one who comes to us as the Prince of Peace, even Jesus the Christ, and we pray together now in the words that he taught us …