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From the
Pastor's Pen, February, 2006: “You've got to sing… "You've
got to sing like you don't need the money Those
words from a song by Kathy Mattea have always struck me as a good benediction
to use in worship. Sometimes I have, in fact. I've heard various forms of
that quote, some more elaborate and grammatically correct, but I like this
simple, succinct version. For general purposes, I'd change the word
"sing" to "work," as in "work like you don't need
the money." In any case, it seems to be a good sentiment: live your life
boldly, passionately, without worrying about who's watching or what others
will think. It's
a good idea to keep in mind in our Christian faith, both as individuals and
in the life of the church. We are called to live our lives boldly, to live
what we believe without fretting over "fitting in." When Jesus
calls us to follow him, that doesn't mean just when we feel like it, or only
when that following is convenient, or whenever it will have positive
consequences in the eyes of the world for us. To live boldly for Christ is to
follow him because that is what makes our heart sing, our feet dance, because
following him makes us most ourselves, most alive. The
book of Acts in the New Testament uses the words bold, boldly, and boldness
many times. They describe how the apostles of the early Christian Church
proclaimed the message about Jesus Christ. Sometimes that boldness got them into
trouble. Many people believed because of that boldly proclaimed message.
Others turned away. But the people of the early Church kept on, living the
life to which they had been called, sharing a message that needed to be
heard. They shared it, like they didn't need the money, like nobody was
watching, like they wouldn't get hurt. The message came from the heart. Even
Valentine, whose day we celebrate in February, lived boldly for God. That's
what the day was originally about, not about mushy love, but about the bold
love of Christ, proclaimed boldly, shared from the heart, even when it meant
imprisonment and death. Valentine's love for Christ and for people came from
the heart, and it came first from the heart of God. Sometimes
in the life of the church we are afraid to live boldly in following God's
call. We worry that we will offend others. We all know that people get
offended over one thing or another. Some have taken offense to the point that
they have left the church, for various reasons. But we cannot live our life
afraid of giving offense. (Nor should we be like bulldozers and give offense
on purpose, or unthinkingly!) We are called to live boldly, with a kind of
holy boldness that says, "this is how I believe, this is how we choose
to live our lives for Christ." Note: our call is not to argue, or to be
belligerent, but to simply live as we are called to live—passionately,
boldly, for God. What
would it mean in the life of the church, our congregation at First UMC, if we
were to "work like we didn't need the money; love like we'll never get
hurt; dance like nobody's watching"? To gather for worship for the
simple joy of praising God; to sing from the bottom of our toes, not just our
hearts; to love those in our midst and beyond our walls because that's what
God's love is like; to share the joy of being a child of God with someone you
care about…those things would be signs of our living boldly, for Christ! February
can be a season of winter doldrums in Michigan. We may drag through our days;
we may feel tired and cold; we may feel like nothing much exciting is
happening as the days of even this shortest month crawl by. But I'd make this
invitation: this month, live boldly for Christ. Look for what is exciting in
the life of the church (see many opportunities within this issue of First
Inklings); look for how God is at work in the world and in your own life.
Celebrate the goodness of gathering for worship with your family and friends
at First UMC. Share the message that God is love, and that you can experience
the goodness of God's love in our congregation. For
it really is God, revealed in Jesus Christ, who empowers us through the Holy
Spirit to live boldly. God is the one who makes us able to "work like we
don't need the money; love like we'll never get hurt; dance like nobody's
watching!" God's love makes us able! God's love makes us bold! "You've
got to work like you don't need the money May
our love, may our lives, in Christ and for Christ, come from the heart! On the Journey with you,
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Baker-Streevy
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