Random Acts of Kindness, by following the Gospel
The following Sermon occurred at Augustana Lutheran Church, in Hyde Park where perhaps, my next journey in my spiritual and pastoral journey will lead me in Campus Ministry
“Christ has no body now on earth but yours,
no hands but yours,
no feet but yours,
Yours are the eyes through which to look out
Christ’s compassion to the world
Yours are the feet with which he is to go about
doing good;
Yours are the hands with which he is to bless humanity now.”
(pause)
St. Teresa’s echoes
What Jesus empowers both His disciples
And us, beloved
About how far,
A cup of cold water,
The simplicity of being in relationship
And working in community,
means for a world
that seemingly only deals
in separation and segregation
and is steeped
in death.
(pause)
Being with you this morning,
Is a wonderful culmination
To a week of Sabbath time that I have had the joy of experiencing
This past week,
And I am grateful, as well
For the opportunity
As we discern,
Explore
What the Gospel
Is calling us into.
(pause)
Random acts of kindness.
Who have we offered
That cup of cold water to?
(pause)
A number of years ago,
After the impact
Of a horrific public shooting,
My husband and I were running errands
On the north side of the city.
We happened to see at the corner of Belmont and Diversey
A young tattered man,
Holding up a large sign,
Carved out on cardboard
With the words,
“You Are Loved.”
My husband,
an avid photographer,
Moved towards him
Asking for permission to take his photo
And engage him in conversation.
His response to my husband’s question
About whether he was out there
Because of what had happened,
Was
“No.
I didn’t even know it had happened.
Something just told me I needed to do this today,
That people needed to see this,
You know?”
There is no way we can measure,
Whether he was making a difference
But,
Here was a young man,
Offering to strangers
That cup of cold water
In an atmosphere
That was thirsty
For a sense of relief
And of peace.
(pause)
Random acts of kindness
What does it even mean,
For us to offer to others
That cup of cold water,
Just as Christ extended that same cup
To us?
(pause)
I’ve spent the past week,
At Augsburg College
As a Theology and Vocation Fellow
Through the Lily Foundation.
My cohort group and I
Are charged with critical thinking
Analysis
And creation
Of curriculum and programming
Focused on closing the gap of faith formation
That occurs with our youth,
And young adults
Along their faith journey.
Its not just a vehicle to be used
Simply to keep the numbers up
In our post confirmation
And college ministries
But as an essential and vital tool,
To assist and be a resource for them,
Along their spiritual and faith journeys
As they navigate an ever-expanding world
And what they are called to do
It’s not just simply imploring them
To stay in the church,
For our comfort
It is a way for them to understand that vocation
Has a vast meaning and purpose
Not just in the seminary or religious sense,
But the work we do,
Marked as a child of the Creator
Is holy,
Sanctified
And vital,
Regardless if it involves those whom we know and love
Or if they are those that the Creator God has led us to.
(pause)
Ultimately,
it is not about how big of an impact,
we should be measured by
But more so,
We are always working as disciples of Jesus Christ,
Towards healing and liberation,
For all,
Because that is the Good News,
For a world,
That is overwhelmed,
And being choked
By hatred.
(pause)
As a fellow,
We were observers to Augsburg’s
Youth Theological institute
Also this week.
High school students were immersed in the theological
And the practical understanding of ministry and mission
And it was indeed interesting
To see how,
This evolved into
Random acts of kindness
Without hesitation,
They gave and engaged our homeless siblings in Christ,
Whether it was sharing what they had purchased for lunch
Or what resources they had on them
(pause)
Random acts of kindness,
That phrase is easily thrown around
To where sometimes we are jaded,
And its watered down to a point,
Where humanity only sees the surface meaning,
That it’s nothing more than a feel-good vehicle
And a social media photo op.
But even with the heavy responsibilities
That Jesus Christ has laid at the disciples’ feet
Throughout Matthew 10,
Jesus also recognized,
That He needed to anchor both them,
And us, beloved
That even the simple act,
Of a cup of cold water
“to one of these little ones
truly I tell you,
none of these will lose their reward.”
Jesus knew,
Both then and now
That we as people of faith,
Sometimes get so worked up
And obsessed
With this notion
That our purpose is that we have to save people,
That we have to evangelize
That we have to solve the problem
About how to get new members,
And keep the youth and young adults,
That we forget,
Jesus Christ,
Has already SAVED ALL OF US.
Thanks be to God that holy,
And hard work
Has already been accomplished
At the Cross!
Jesus extended that cup of cold water
At the Table,
Forever liberating us
From anything,
Any abyss,
Any darkness
That continually attempts to block us
From the light
And unending love
Of the Creator God.
(pause)
Jesus Christ,
Has lovingly poured that cup of cold water over us,
Marking us forever,
As God’s,
Regardless of where our faith journey leads us.
(pause)
Jesus,
Calls us
Teaches us
Reminds us
To extend that same cup of cold water,
Emulating Christ
In the world,
Through yes-
Those random acts of kindness,
Which are nothing more than,
following Jesus’s commandment
of loving one another
through random acts of liberation,
Liberating from sin, from sorrow, from darkness
Random acts of healing,
Healing from sadness, from despair,
Random acts of love,
LOVE!
Love that the Creator has poured into who we are
That is Good News.
So,
what random acts of kindness,
can we do today?
Because no one will know, right?
And yet,
We,
through these acts of grace and mercy,
are weaving together
the beloved community.
Thanks Be to God.
