Scripture | Habakkuk 1:12-2:1 (NIV)
12 Lord, are you not from everlasting? My God, my Holy One, you will never die. You, Lord, have appointed them to execute judgment; you, my Rock, have ordained them to punish. 13 Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrongdoing. Why then do you tolerate the treacherous? Why are you silent while the wicked swallow up those more righteous than themselves? 14 You have made people like the fish in the sea, like the sea creatures that have no ruler. 15 The wicked foe pulls all of them up with hooks, he catches them in his net, he gathers them up in his dragnet; and so he rejoices and is glad. 16 Therefore he sacrifices to his net and burns incense to his dragnet, for by his net he lives in luxury and enjoys the choicest food. 17 Is he to keep on emptying his net, destroying nations without mercy?
2 I will stand at my watch and station myself on the ramparts; I will look to see what he will say to me, and what answer I am to give to this complaint. 2Then the Lord replied: “Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it.
Opening Ourselves Up to God – Mission and Journaling
Pastor Thanael Certa-Werner
We continue our look at Spiritual Strength this week as we work towards our goal of spiritual strength in 2021. Thus far, we have already completed a section on worship and have moved on to look at Opening Ourselves Up to God. In this section, we’ve explored: Contemplation, the Examen, and Iconography.
This week is a special Sunday – UMCOR Sunday. What is UMCOR, you might be asking If you are, let me tell you! UMCOR stands for United Methodist Committee on Relief and it is the disaster response arm of the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1940 as the Methodist Committee for Overseas Relief. Over the years, its ministry reach has grown to serving 80+ countries, including the United States. UMCOR works through programs that address hunger, poverty, sustainable agriculture, international and domestic emergencies, refugee and immigrant concerns, global health issues, and transitional development. These programs are categorized into three major areas: Humanitarian Relief / Disaster Response, Sustainable Development, and Global Health.
And we are a part of this great ministry! Being a part of Bethany-Calvary United Methodist Church means that you are a part of this amazing mission work and that our love and service is able to reach around the globe. On this Sunday, we give money to help fund the administrative costs of running UMCOR so that whenever someone gives to UMCOR, 100% of that money is used solely for ministry. What an amazing thing to be a part of! But, you are probably wondering by now, what journaling has to do with any of this. Before you find out, let’s practice our memory verse: “Trust in God at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to Him, for God is our refuge.” – Psalm 62:8
Have you ever watched the show, “Hoarders?” It’s a show from A&E Network and Lifetime. It focuses on people who have trouble getting rid of anything and over time have houses absolutely FILLED with stuff. And when I say filled, I mean it. Many of these people have trouble even walking throughout their house and stay in one room because their stuff has taken up the rest of the house. The show finds people who are living this way and sends in professionals to help them get rid of the clutter which has taken over their lives and bring them to a place of life. But the biggest question is always, where on Earth do you start in such a mess?! The messes of these houses cannot be understated. Some truly horrifying and disgusting things lurk in the mountains of things that these people have made. I remember an episode where a lady had cages with the bones of her dead cats piled high. There were five cages with those poor cats’ remains that had been there SO LONG they were just bones. How would you deal with this? How could anyone help this person to clean up this nasty mess and help return them to health?
In all honesty, the world can seem a bit like this. Just like a hoarders’ house, the world is seemingly filled with disgusting stuff like crime, starvation, disaster, grief, persecution, war – the list goes on. And like the people who work on the show to clean up houses, it can be hard to know where to even start. As we look around ourselves and take inventory, we can find some truly horrifying and terrible things. What makes it even harder to take is that it’s not the bad people who are suffering, it’s also the good people, faithful people are the ones we see suffering. How does that make sense? Isn’t God supposed to take care of us? And what can we do to even begin to address these issues?
These are all questions which Habakkuk asks God in our reading for today. Listen to how aggressively and angerly he calls out to God. But then pay attention to his closing words. “Lord, are You not from everlasting? My God, my Holy One, You will never die. You, Lord, have appointed them to execute judgment; You, my Rock, have ordained them to punish. Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; You cannot tolerate wrongdoing. Why then do You tolerate the treacherous? Why are You silent while the wicked swallow up those more righteous than themselves? You have made people like the fish in the sea, like the sea creatures that have no ruler. (Or a person who can protect them) The wicked foe pulls all of them up with hooks, he catches them in his net, he gathers them up in his dragnet; and so he rejoices and is glad. Therefore he sacrifices to his net and burns incense to his dragnet, for by his net he lives in luxury and enjoys the choicest food. Is he to keep on emptying his net, destroying nations without mercy? I will stand at my watch and station myself on the ramparts; I will look to see what he will say to me, and what answer I am to give to this complaint.”
Wow. Even back thousands of years, the story was the same. The world full of sin and “hoards” of revolting things and the people of God were overwhelmed. How do they clean up this mess and why are they the ones who are suffering? Is God no longer faithful? Today, we might have the same thoughts. All we have to do is turn on the news to see the many ways in which the world seems to be just so horrible. So, we look to God for answers, as Habakkuk does and we receive answers.
God says, “Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it.” In other words, listen up – “write this down. Let me tell you what’s what.” Instead of looking at God’s full answer, let’s stop right there and talk about this. God’s response isn’t ignoring the plea of Habakkuk, or having lower management, like an angel, take care of it – No! He gives a direct response. This reminds us that God isn’t too big for our worries and He cares! He’s not too far away to listen to what we need. What this means is that we need to make sure we’re listening, because He is responding to our questions.
Today we’re looking at mission, and in a world as messy as ours, we need certainly need mission. But the question continues to be, where do we start? The answer for Habakkuk, and for us, is to start by listening – by paying attention and reflecting on what God is telling us. One of the most powerful ways of doing that is by journaling. John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, took rigorous notes in a journal, which we still have today. Throughout it, he records the workings of the Holy Spirit in his life and as time goes on, it is clear to see that his journal allowed him to see where the Spirit was leading him. In the same way, recording our lives and the ways in which the Holy Spirit moves within us allows for us to hear God’s voice a bit more clearly than we might otherwise. Journaling might just be your hearing aid which helps you listen to God!
In taking on the problems of the world, it is essential that we start by listening to where God is leading each of us. We each have our own skill set and strengths and when we listen to the Spirit’s call through many ways, one of which is Journaling, we open ourselves up to using those strengths and talents to impact the world in ways we could never imagine. So today, as we go from this place, let’s take up the task of journaling – of putting on some hearing aids – and listen to where God is leading us because we do have a mess – a horde of sin and suffering. But we also have a master cleaner, Who’s here to help us get started and work with us along the way. And for that, Thanks be to God! Amen.