Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
Listening to the news from the US and around the world this week, I have been noticing my emotions. From politics to public safety, finances to climate changes, the world feels risky, scary and uncertain.
Risky to be part of a social fabric that is rent by violence and human competition for power that disregards the value of human life and dignity.
Risky to wonder if, when, where we matter and whether we can change any of the things that scare us so much.
There is a lot of risky happening in our lives. A lot of uncertainty about the future. I will be the first to admit that uncertainty is an affront to those of us who like to know how things work so we can plan and anticipate what to expect next.
Risk is the possibility that something will happen as a result of our actions. Risk, by itself, is neither good nor bad. We often think about risk as a negative: the possibility that something important to us will be adversely affected by a choice we make. Risk can also be positive, when there is the possibility that our action will cause something to happen that affirms one of our deep values.
A single choice can have both negative and positive risks.
For example, when we advocate for centering the voices of Indigenous, LGBTQ-identified, black and brown skinned people, women, immigrants, domestic violence survivors, unhoused people, refugees, addicts, and other people historically marginalized in our society, we risk feeling discomfort at hearing their pain, and wondering if we contributed to their marginalization. We risk feeling like our power and influence is diminished because different perspectives are being shared.
That same decision also risks empowering leaders with fresh ideas and experience-based ways to create justice and promote the thriving of ALL people and creation.
Living, breathing, going to sleep, walking, driving, putting on our pants one leg at a time all include some measure of risk - and we do them every day. We do them because we value living a full and healthy life. A small amount of risk that we might choke on our food or trip on the sidewalk is worth the promise of energy for our bodies and getting fresh air and sunshine. We make choices about which risks are worth taking in favor of desirable outcomes.
Decisions and situations feel risky and frightening when we don’t know what will happen in the future. At the risk of pointing out the obvious, we NEVER know what will happen in the future.
As people of faith, we believe in the future. Certainly, there is the promise of eternal life. But what about the future in this life? In a month, a year, or 5 years?
We choose the values that define our actions and attitudes. And we choose how we see the possible outcome of our actions. Whether we anticipate a risk as having a life-giving or dangerous outcome.
We believe that God is always at work in and with and through our lives. Always loving and nurturing us, always challenging us to grow in compassion and humility, always forgiving us when we sin, always inspiring us with courage and hope that we are part of creating God’s vision here and now.
When we celebrate the Eucharist, which is a prayer of thanksgiving, we offer our whole selves to God. In the same way God’s people sacrificed animal offerings on the altar in gratitude for God’s largess, we place our offerings of our work, our time, our money on the altar. Not a dead sacrifice, but a living, breathing, loving sacrifice.
We sacrifice our self-focused values and decisions, for the hope God holds for us. A holy vision of a living, healthy body. A body that has many different and varied parts, all working in complementary ways. A body that cares for the people and world around it, determined to share not only the Gospel of God but also our own selves.
Which brings us back to risk and uncertainty. It feels
Risky to sacrifice our own clear and urgent desires.
Risky to give up nostalgia and look toward a blurry future.
Risky to join our selves into a body, even logically knowing that together we are more than the sum of our individual parts.
Risky to offer our whole selves, our wisdom and experience, our wealth, and our works for God’s vision of how Trinity loves one another and the world the way Jesus showed us.
God promises never to abandon us, to always love and guide us into the future. In return, we offer our whole selves to God as a living sacrifice of love, humility, and desire to serve God’s hope for us. The only thing we have to lose is the walls that separate us from one another, from our neighbors, and from our God.
Today, I invoke your courage and faith because I love Trinity.
Thank you for inviting me a year ago to jump in and live life fully with you as your Rector. I love ministry here, the staff I am privileged to work with, all of you - near and far, the many dedicated volunteers and lay leaders who take care of our life together, and the relationships we are building with our neighbors. I love the challenges, the learning, the moments of unbelievable joy, and the surprises of the Holy Spirit moving among us. I hope we can continue to grow in partnership with our neighborhood, to pay our staff fairly, and to sustain our life together for another 158 years. This can only happen when each of us offers the gifts God has given us.
In a moment we will begin our annual ingathering of pledges of wisdom, works, and wealth for growing our life together in 2024. We hope that every member of Trinity will make a pledge of support of some kind. As you pray about your offering, I invite you to…
Risk generosity.
Risk hope.
Risk feeling part of something important.
Risk opening your heart and life to know others and be deeply known.
Risk sharing a few hours or a skill set.
Risk giving more financially until you come to joy in giving.
Risk wondering what God is doing here at Trinity and how you can invest in bringing God’s vision to reality.
Glory to God whose power working in us can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine. Glory to God from generation to generation in the church, and in Christ Jesus for ever and ever. Amen.
Risk is the possibility that something will happen as a result of our actions. Risk, by itself, is neither good nor bad. We often think about risk as a negative: the possibility that something important to us will be adversely affected by a choice we make. Risk can also be positive, when there is the possibility that our action will cause something to happen that affirms one of our deep values.
A single choice can have both negative and positive risks.
For example, when we advocate for centering the voices of Indigenous, LGBTQ-identified, black and brown skinned people, women, immigrants, domestic violence survivors, unhoused people, refugees, addicts, and other people historically marginalized in our society, we risk feeling discomfort at hearing their pain, and wondering if we contributed to their marginalization. We risk feeling like our power and influence is diminished because different perspectives are being shared.
That same decision also risks empowering leaders with fresh ideas and experience-based ways to create justice and promote the thriving of ALL people and creation.
Living, breathing, going to sleep, walking, driving, putting on our pants one leg at a time all include some measure of risk - and we do them every day. We do them because we value living a full and healthy life. A small amount of risk that we might choke on our food or trip on the sidewalk is worth the promise of energy for our bodies and getting fresh air and sunshine. We make choices about which risks are worth taking in favor of desirable outcomes.
Decisions and situations feel risky and frightening when we don’t know what will happen in the future. At the risk of pointing out the obvious, we NEVER know what will happen in the future.
As people of faith, we believe in the future. Certainly, there is the promise of eternal life. But what about the future in this life? In a month, a year, or 5 years?
We choose the values that define our actions and attitudes. And we choose how we see the possible outcome of our actions. Whether we anticipate a risk as having a life-giving or dangerous outcome.
We believe that God is always at work in and with and through our lives. Always loving and nurturing us, always challenging us to grow in compassion and humility, always forgiving us when we sin, always inspiring us with courage and hope that we are part of creating God’s vision here and now.
When we celebrate the Eucharist, which is a prayer of thanksgiving, we offer our whole selves to God. In the same way God’s people sacrificed animal offerings on the altar in gratitude for God’s largess, we place our offerings of our work, our time, our money on the altar. Not a dead sacrifice, but a living, breathing, loving sacrifice.
We sacrifice our self-focused values and decisions, for the hope God holds for us. A holy vision of a living, healthy body. A body that has many different and varied parts, all working in complementary ways. A body that cares for the people and world around it, determined to share not only the Gospel of God but also our own selves.
Which brings us back to risk and uncertainty. It feels
Risky to sacrifice our own clear and urgent desires.
Risky to give up nostalgia and look toward a blurry future.
Risky to join our selves into a body, even logically knowing that together we are more than the sum of our individual parts.
Risky to offer our whole selves, our wisdom and experience, our wealth, and our works for God’s vision of how Trinity loves one another and the world the way Jesus showed us.
God promises never to abandon us, to always love and guide us into the future. In return, we offer our whole selves to God as a living sacrifice of love, humility, and desire to serve God’s hope for us. The only thing we have to lose is the walls that separate us from one another, from our neighbors, and from our God.
Today, I invoke your courage and faith because I love Trinity.
Thank you for inviting me a year ago to jump in and live life fully with you as your Rector. I love ministry here, the staff I am privileged to work with, all of you - near and far, the many dedicated volunteers and lay leaders who take care of our life together, and the relationships we are building with our neighbors. I love the challenges, the learning, the moments of unbelievable joy, and the surprises of the Holy Spirit moving among us. I hope we can continue to grow in partnership with our neighborhood, to pay our staff fairly, and to sustain our life together for another 158 years. This can only happen when each of us offers the gifts God has given us.
In a moment we will begin our annual ingathering of pledges of wisdom, works, and wealth for growing our life together in 2024. We hope that every member of Trinity will make a pledge of support of some kind. As you pray about your offering, I invite you to…
Risk generosity.
Risk hope.
Risk feeling part of something important.
Risk opening your heart and life to know others and be deeply known.
Risk sharing a few hours or a skill set.
Risk giving more financially until you come to joy in giving.
Risk wondering what God is doing here at Trinity and how you can invest in bringing God’s vision to reality.
Glory to God whose power working in us can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine. Glory to God from generation to generation in the church, and in Christ Jesus for ever and ever. Amen.
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