Mirror Mirror on the Wall
July 24 , 2005
John 10:31-42
James 1:22-25
I love that scene of the Queen calling upon her servant to tell her she’s the fairest. She uses her magic to tell her what she wants to hear, but it backfires on her. She may be beautiful but only in appearance but there is someone more fair inside. This classic gets at the heart of today’s teaching from James and John.
Often we do things for the sake of appearance. We act a certain way so people will think we are the perfect couple, the best employee, the greatest parent but as soon as the person we’re trying to impress walks away appearances change. James reminds us today that when we say we are Christians, it is not enough. When we say we are Christians we must hold both verbal and practical elements. In other words, if we are going to profess we are Christian without practicing a Christian ethic in body and physical form we are not Christian. We are reminded today through the gospel of John that Jesus reflects God as much as is possible in the bonds of human form. We can see God when we see Jesus. And, we are called, to reflect God within our own lives when people look at us.
We’ve been working for the last year and a half to resurrect this community of faith. We’ve been working to shift our spiritual lives from declining to thriving. We’ve been working to shift our faith community’s presence in Tucson from declining to thriving. We wanted to be one of the active reasons that our denomination reverses the mainline trend of decline and leads on to renewal and growth. We want to be the community of faith that lives out our beliefs. To get us going in this effort a few of us attended an excellent workshop by Church Growth Expert Tom Bandy. In order to celebrate our one-year anniversary in this building and back it up with our Spiritual Discernment of James it seemed the perfect time to review what it is we’ve been trying to do and weigh what it is we’re reflecting of God.
Tom Bandy asked us how it was people could get a juicy taste of our communities of faith. What could you say to people in the time it took to see something on the back of a park bench about your church? What could you say to people in the time it took for the bus to drive by with your vision statement on it that would have people come and check you out? It can’t have very many words. It has to be eye-catching. It has to pique curiosity but not give it all away. In one sense, Tom said, it is the bait. How would we talk about our beloved First in one quick phrase? How would we share who we were in a flash?
The Council spent several sessions together listening and sharing with Anna and Scott Griesel about who we are and who we hope to be. We used the brainstorming session notes from our first Annual Meeting to dialogue about our hopes and dreams. Jim Barzeele was the one who finally came up with Always Open Open All Ways. Every time we spoke of who we were being open rose to the top of the dialogue. We wanted something that said we felt that the story of our faith was one of being open. Particularly to those who are often being shoved aside. We wanted something that said to others that our theology is open. We are open to dialogue, conversation, and the give and take of a diversity of opinions. We wanted something that said we were open to all types of people no matter where they are on life’s journey, where they’ve been or where they are going. We were beginning to say it, what got reflected because of this statement?
We wanted a physical space to hold open. John Edman took that to heart and looked at every available piece of property with and without buildings for four months. He worked tirelessly at searching, seeking and asking questions. Finally, out of frustration, exhaustion and a bit of doubt creeping in we sought out a realtor. Peter Canakakos was as much a character as John. Within seven days he found this building and we made the offer by day eight. We finally had a physical location to hold open. And yet, the space didn’t feel quite open to us. Cathy gathered us in focus groups and we talked about sacred space, what made it so, what our traditions were and this sanctuary was born. The steps to the chancel were removed to ensure all of God’s people could participate in worship. Bob made sure there was a better way to roll into the building than up the steep entryway with new pavers and without the trees. The bathrooms continue to evolve and new railings are waiting to be installed. Bathroom signage became inclusive. The offices are finally complete offering a comfortable and non-threatening library entrance. A wonderful place for people to wait, do projects, or welcome our visitors and community members. My office is ready for all who seek a Spiritual Guide and need a bit of respite from the world. Finally, thanks to Don Barstow the children’s Sunday School room is getting a mural designed just for them to kick off a new model with a new vision. Are we walking our talk of extravagant welcome through our physical space?
Next, we wanted our community to feel open. We began with creating and wearing nametags in worship on Sunday. Helping us to learn each other’s names and invite our visitors to get to know our names more quickly. And, with the increase in activity and the passion of people coming to join our community we felt the strain of having a board of directors who dictated to the rest, burnout and exhaustion palpable. So, we adopted the Flower Model for this year. A governing structure that allows any and all to participate in an area where they feel called or passionate. We went from having nine people leading the work of our community to 23! And, we opened each petal meeting to all who wanted to participate whether holding an official position or not. We have been open when people needed to say goodbye and when people were ready to join. We have had eight members join this year and a few more waiting for another new member Sunday coming in August. We began to pray for one another and ourselves opening a prayer time every Thursday night. We began to open our minds through adult ed series like Rev. Dr. Shelby Lee’s on the gospels. We even began to name who it was we sought and why it is we are praying them into our midst. Are we walking our talk of extravagant welcome through our community structure and presence?
Personally, we often look into that mirror and see a whole lot of things. Some of us look into the mirror and all we see is regret. We feel we aren’t worth the air we take into our lungs. That our mistakes are too big. That our shortcomings too many. That our sin is too great and we are more bad than good. Some of us look into that mirror and we feel like we’ve got it all: smarts, looks, talent. We see all the work we’ve done to get to this point and are proud of our accomplishments. And a few of us when we look into that mirror we see with God’s eyes what is reflected. We see that it matters not where we’ve been or where we’re going but rather how it is we’ll use what we’ve learned. God reminds us that it is not that we’ve fallen down and taken others with us but rather if we’ve included others in the learning that we did about how we got back up.
God see us as beautiful and blessed creations. Fruits of God’s own divine love. Our call as people of faith is to reflect those blessings and that divine love as we live into God’s own image. What is it the mirror reflects this year?
Let us pray…Let us continue to grow spiritually, personally, and communally as the reflective people you call us to be. Help us to be the pillars and hope in this community of your extravagant welcome and love. These are the days that you have called us into being and we give you thanks and praise! Let us reflect that into ourselves, our relationships, our community, this world with the visionary leadership of your Son, the dynamic power of your Holy Spirit and the creative energy of yourself. Amen.