A Lenten Journey of Disconnecting, Surrendering, and Embracing God's Guidance
Today I want to talk about the Lenten theme of “UNPLUGGED”. As I write this today, we have finished the first three topics for this series; Unplugged from Stress; Unplugged from Expectations; and Unplugged from Busyness. I was glad to write sermons for the first two and to listen to Pastor Leanne’s heartfelt message on the third. I, along with all of you who have been listening, look forward to her topics and sermons over the next two weeks in the series.
I am sure we will all agree that the addition of local artist, Doug Aaberg, original painting entitled, “UNPLUGGED” has been a welcome visual enhancement to our deepening understanding hour being “Plugged In” affects our everyday lives and is adding to the sense of loneliness and disconnection in our life today.
Unfortunately, I became ill the day I was to preach on Stress and feel so blessed that Gwen Morgan and I had spoken, and she was willing to read my sermon to you for me. Thanks to Gwen’s assistance, we were able to begin the Lenten series in a timely manner. Each week the beginning prayer is based on what’s known as “The Set Aside Prayer”.
“God, today help me set aside everything I think I know about You, everything I think I know about myself, everything I think I know about others, and everything I think I know about my own recovery so I may have an open mind and a new experience with all these things. Please help me see the truth.”
The takeaway from this sermon is “Don’t believe everything you think!” I ended the sermon with the poem, “Sea Fever” by John Mansfield, with a focus on both the beckoning and the loneliness of the call to the sea. The scripture from Mark 1:9-15 highlights the baptism of Jesus, his time in the wilderness and the beginning of his Galilean ministry. Jesus was no stranger to isolation. Thought to ponder: “Isolation is for breaking down; solitude is for building up.” So many timesJesus sought that solitude to be with God, and in my second sermon, I spoke more about the need to “stand on our heads and empty out all the useless facts.” (On Contentment by Ruth Gendler in her book, “The Book of Qualities”)
Releasing ourselves and others from expectation also invites us into solitude with God. In Mark 8:31-38, Jesus reveals his identity as Messiah to his disciples and instructs them to surrender their very lives to follow Him. With all that we have going on in our lives, it is important to remember that God does not want our Lists; God wants our hearts. In all humility, Jesus asks us to follow Him, to surrender our hearts today. Our expectations of ourselves and of others can wear us down. We can get mentally and emotionally overloaded with goals that we set upon ourselves, and others and that other people set for us. The takeaway from this lesson is what I found on a card my sister sent me many years ago. It had a bright yellow sun on front and inside it said, “If all else fails, lower your expectations!” Often this is a necessity as we consider what it means to follow Jesus and to allow our spiritual goals to align with His. May your Lenten journey continue to inspire deep reflection on the many ways we are invited to follow Jesus and to serve God every day.
Artist Doug Aaberg, on his piece, Unplugged: "Riding on the New York City subway some years back, I was struck by two children sitting across from me playing a word game and laughing uproariously at their comical results. I noticed the contrast between them and all the adults around them silently plugged in to headphones or staring at cell phones, looking nowhere but downward and completely disengaged from the joy nearby. I later painted Unplugged to capture the unfortunately common contrast."
