Stepping out

       Sometimes people die rather young, perhaps in their thirties or forties and yet their bodies live on to a ripe old age. These are the curmudgeons, the grouchy people who have nothing good to say and can only think about "the good old days". For all intents and purposes they have stopped living. They've stopped growing and stopped loving.

       How does this happen to a person?  I imagine in some cases it might be fear to move forward. There is a comfort in the little cocoon that we build ourselves. They may not even be particularly happy either but It might be that old expression, better the devil I know than the devil I don't know. So they hunker down and mentally die while their body carries on in some stupefied, mummified state of affairs for years on.

        There are two things that I can think of that make a difference in peoples lives and perhaps they go hand in hand. The first is to hand over your life to your to God, creator or 'the Force'. Call it whatever you wish, it is an acknowledgement that we are not the one in control. It is trust in our 'Potter'. The next then is the willingness to be molded by that Potter.

         The willingness to be molded simply means that we are willing to step forward in faith. We are willing to just step forward. We do not hunker down in our cocoon. Most times that does take struggle but we do need to move, grow and yes, love, in order to really live.

        Faith and movement (growth) are the keys to staying alive until you die. One of my favorite Broadway songs is from Pippin. It is called No Time at All and to hear Andrea Martin sing it is magical although there are times she out sung by my voice right along with her on the CD. The lines that I am thinking of right now is this: 

                                        Here is a secret I never have told                                                                                          Maybe you'll understand why

                                        I believe if I refuse to grow old      

                                        I can stay young till I die

              

The answer that I see that is a universal answer for all is that we should never just settle into some complacency of life. This is especially true when life seems to have dealt us some bad cards. 'Bad cards' may be a poor euphemism for the horrors of life whether it is war, being demeaned because of who you are or cultural restrictions. Perhaps being an intelligent blond woman? How about being gay or a woman trapped in a man's body or the reverse or anyone in the magnificently beautiful LGBTQ spectrum. We should never settle, never give up, always take a step forward and move ahead. Never settle for complacency. Never settle for a bifurcation of who you are to 'survive'. That kind of 'survival' will warp and kill you faster than any poison. 

       Today the church recalls the life of Mary McCloud Bethune. Mary could easily have rolled over and 'died' because of her surroundings and society. Mary recognized who she was, saw the light within herself from God and moved ever forward. She did not step back. She was fully alive until she died, body, mind and soul. THAT is what we are aiming for. Always stepping back and NEVER making excuses for ourselves to stay put. What a beautiful person and life Mary exhibited. Fully alive, a witness to God's love and life.

       For never making excuses for ourselves and always taking a step forward in love and faith we pray this day.

 

Luke 7:18-35

 The disciples of John reported all these things to him. So John summoned two of his disciples and sent them to the Lord to ask, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?’ When the men had come to him, they said, ‘John the Baptist has sent us to you to ask, “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?” ’ Jesushad just then cured many people of diseases, plagues, and evil spirits, and had given sight to many who were blind. And he answered them, ‘Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have good news brought to them. And blessed is anyone who takes no offence at me.’

 When John’s messengers had gone, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John: ‘What did you go out into the wilderness to look at? A reed shaken by the wind? What then did you go out to see? Someone dressed in soft robes? Look, those who put on fine clothing and live in luxury are in royal palaces. What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is the one about whom it is written,
“See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,
   who will prepare your way before you.” 
I tell you, among those born of women no one is greater than John; yet the least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.’ (And all the people who heard this, including the tax-collectors, acknowledged the justice of God, because they had been baptized with John’s baptism. But by refusing to be baptized by him, the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected God’s purpose for themselves.)

 ‘To what then will I compare the people of this generation, and what are they like? They are like children sitting in the market-place and calling to one another,
“We played the flute for you, and you did not dance;
   we wailed, and you did not weep.” 
For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, “He has a demon”; the Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, “Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax-collectors and sinners!” Nevertheless, wisdom is vindicated by all her children.’