It's Not Easy Being MeDr. James Mayfield October 3, 2004 Text: Amos 5:14-15, II Timothy 1:5-9 Kermit, the frog, of Sesame Street fame, had a best selling record: “It's Not Easy Being Green.” Change the title just a little, and it becomes a song any of us can sing: “It's Not Easy Being Me.” It is not easy for us to be the persons God created us to be. Each of us has been created in the image of God, to live in harmony with God, so that all we say and do is pleasing to God, contributing to the fulfillment of creation. In the second creation story, the one recorded in chapter 2 of Genesis, God has Adam name the animals. For those of us who speak American English, this does not seem to be a very important job. But for those who first told and heard the story, it was a very important detail. In Hebrew the word “name” means much more than “label” we give to something. In Hebrew the word “name” is part of who that person is. Adam means “dirt man,” from dirt he was made. Jacob means grasping or grabby; and when, after wrestling with God his life was changed; Because he had changed, his name changed. He was no long Jacob, the grabby one; he was Israel , one who wrestles with God. So, when God told Adam to name the animals, God was telling Adam to be involved in creating the very being of each animal. Obviously, this story is not a CNN account of what happened on one specific day a long time ago. This story is a profound theological statement revealing profound insight into both the nature of who God is and who we humans have been created to be. God has created us to be the creatures who work with him in completing the creation. Adam was to tend the Garden of Eden; Adam was to name the animals. We are to live our lives, working with God for the fulfillment of creation. We are to tend the Garden. We are to be stewards of the earth. We are to live in cooperative harmony with God. We have been created in the image of God -- to live our lives, doing God's will. And what is it to live, doing God's will? “Hate evil; love good; and establish justice,” Amos wrote. Hate evil; that is, resist and reject all that tears life apart, anything that distorts human life, or destroys the God given potential in persons. Love good; that is, give ourselves to whatever improves life, whatever serves the need of others, whatever enables others to experience what it is to live as God intends. And establish justice at the gate; that is, bind up those wounded in life, but do more than merely bind up the wounds, become involved in doing what needs to be done to bring an end to whatever is wounding people. To establish justice is more, much more than punishing wrong doers. To establish justice is to invest oneself striving to make life be as God intends life to be -- for everyone. Hate evil; love good and establish justice,” Amos told us. But this is more easily said than done. We want to live as God intends us to live. But because of the effort that is required and the conflict we encounter, we become discouraged and experience spiritual burnout. And so we sing our version of Kermit's song: “It's not easy being me.” Perhaps this sort of spiritual burnout is what Timothy was experiencing, and why Paul wrote his young friend, reminding him of his rich heritage of faith and urging him to rekindle the gift of God within him. From time to time, this is what each of us need to do also: “to rekindle the gifts of God within us.” The word “rekindle” calls to mind a childhood memory. There was no central air conditioning in my grandparents farmhouse several miles outside San Saba , Texas . In fact, until I was six or seven years old there was no electricity there. In the winter, the house was heated by the fireplace in the living room, the wood stove in the kitchen, and the wood stove in one of the bedrooms. On cold winter mornings, Granddaddy would get up early and rekindle the fire. He did not start the fire from nothing; he rekindled the fire from the smoldering coals, by stirring them with a poker and adding fresh wood to burn. Paul told Timothy to rekindle the gift from God that was within him. Timothy was not starting from scratch. The fire had burned brightly, but now the coals needed stirring, and additional fuel was needed. Paul urged Timothy to rekindle the gift of God that was within him. And what is this gift of God? Paul described that gift as a spirit of power and love and self-discipline -- all we need to live as God intends. We know about these gifts. We have received them. We know what it is to be energized by confident faith in God. We have experienced the energy of hope that comes when we live trusting God. “Rekindle this gift,” Paul urges. And being energized by our confident trust in God, we are to move out in love. We are to live our lives giving of ourselves for the good of others, using the gifts God has given us to make life better. Energized by faith and love, we are to live as Amos urged us to live -- doing what is good and working for justice. We are to live, striving to eliminate whatever destroys life and working for whatever will make it possible for all persons to live as God intends. And we can do this, because by the grace of God at work in us, it is possible for us to have the self-discipline this kind of living requires. When we are energized by confidence in God and empowered by love, we are able to re-order our priorities; we are able to make the choices we must make for us to live as God intends. Paul wrote to Timothy saying, “Rekindle the gift of God that is within you.” This is the message I want us to hear today. “Rekindle the gift of God that is within you.” We are not starting with a stone cold heart. We know what it is to have our hearts warmed by the grace of God. We who have gathered here, already have at least a flickering glow or we would not be here. So, Paul's message to Timothy is an appropriate message for us: “Rekindle the gift of God that is within you.” This is what this sacrament is for. This sacrament is more than a memento from the past helping us remember what God did a long time ago in and through Jesus. This sacrament is a means of grace. This sacrament is an instrument, a vessel containing the amazing love of God for those who will receive it. When we eat this bread and drink from this cup, in a profound symbolic way we are taking into our being the grace of God. We are swallowing God's grace so that our souls may be healed, and not only healed but empowered. And so, the invitation for today is “Come, take into the very depths of your being the grace of God that has been made known in Jesus the Christ, our Lord. Come, rekindle the gift of God within you.” God, rekindle the gifts of grace within each of us so that we are reenergized and we live as Amos urged us to live – rejecting evil, embracing the good, and working to make life better for all. Amen. Pastoral prayer:
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