Believe and Belong

I remember when I was younger how hard I would strive to be a part of something. It might have been the choir, the cheerleaders, or just the 'in' crowd. I believe that each of us has a yearning deep within to belong and be a part of something special. Not all of us, however, are accepted into the 'in' club or the socially 'cool' cliques that are all around us.

In a post I made a few months back, I mentioned my friend Joe and what a difference he made in the way I look at life just by sharing one hour of worship time with him. (original blog posted below) Joe is very special in many ways.

Recently, after months of patiently waiting and learning, Joe officially became a member of our church. I am blessed to be one of his sponsors and, as such, Joe and I have become very close over the past few months. He was so excited to be joining our church that every day I would get the count down on how many days, weeks or months were left until the day. We would chat online, by text or by phone several times throughout each day about things involving membership in the church.

Every conversation included the same questions, "What's it like to be a member of the church?" and "What does it feel like to be a member of the church?" To Joe, joining the church was like being included in the socially 'cool' group or the 'in' crowd.

Now, I had never pondered these particular questions as he related them to the church, so I stumbled to find words that would explain it adequately for him. I described membership as being welcomed into a huge family that includes not only those of us in our congregation but all of God's children everywhere. The feeling, for me, is similar to going home to your parents house where you are welcomed with arms wide open and accepted unconditionally with all your flaws and imperfections included. The only requirement is that you believe and want to follow Jesus.

It has now been 9 days since Joe joined the church and not a day goes by that he doesn't tell me how happy he is to be a member of the church. Being a part of the body of Christ is one of the 'coolest' groups I know and the rules are simple - Believe and Belong!

Original post: Rejoice and Be Glad In it! 12/01/08

Today is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it
Psalm 118:24

I have heard this Psalm many times, but it has never struck my heart as true as it did this morning.

I woke up early as I usually do on the weekend, around 5:30 am, to find everything covered in a beautiful blanket of white this morning. This was a beautiful sight as today is the first Sunday in Advent and we were full on into the Christmas season. I left my house a little early so I could 'run in to Wal-Mart' and get a few things. I found myself grumbling all the way because the roads were slushy, it was cold outside and it was still snowing and that leads to a bad hair day. After an hour at the store, I headed off to church, gathering my thoughts in the car as I went and preparing my heart to hear the words that would be spoken there that day.

For the past few months, we had the pleasure a very special guest attending our services. Out of respect for his privacy, I will call him "Joe", although anyone who shops regularly at our local Wal-Mart will recognize him just by the description. Joe was born with certain challenges that might have held back others - but not Joe. This blonde-haired, blue-eyed ray of sunshine beams right into each of our hearts when he is around. He is forever cheerful, upbeat, caring, and worships with all his heart and soul. There is utterly no human way that you can speak to him and not walk away with a smile in your heart. This brings me to the Psalm mentioned above - . . . "let us rejoice and be glad in it."

I chose a seat close to the outside of the row of pews, as I was the reader that Sunday morning and I would need to be able to get out easily. I was the only one in that row until Joe came and asked if it was okay if he sat with me. What an honor that felt like! Now, from the very moment we sat down, he never left my side. In fact, he moved in closer, as if to say, "I'm right here if you need me."

The service began and as we normally do we start off with a hymn. Joe is quite accomplished on the piano and reads music quite nicely, so no sooner than the organ started playing, Joe's voice rang out next to mine with such joy and abandon I couldn't help but smile. Why can't we all just sing with joyful abandon like that? When the first prayer began, Joe reached over and grabbed my hand tight. I was surprised at first but gladly accepted his hand knowing that there was genuine sincerity in his offering it to me. We held hands tightly with every prayer that followed, and if he forgot, I reached over and took his hand. Rejoice and be glad in it!

Upon returning to my seat after I had finished the readings for the day, he heartily hugged me and said, "That was awesome!" He had me beaming from ear to ear with his smile. Following the readings Pastor began her sermon. It was a wonderful story to help us all better understand how God knows we need help even before we cry out to him. At every turn of the story, Joe would look at me and we would discuss briefly the meanings behind what she was saying. When she was finished, Joe grabbed my hand and shouted, "Intense!" It was, indeed, intense. Isn't it amazing that God knows we need him even before we ask? Wow. Intense! Rejoice and be glad in it!

Soon it was time for us to approach the altar for communion. One by one we rose from our seats and proceeded to form our orderly lines, much as we do many other Sundays throughout the year. But somehow that day was different for me, just being with Joe and watching his unequalled excitement with every phase of worship – something many of us do routinely and without much though. When handed the communion wafer and the words spoken "the body of Christ given for you" Joe exclaimed quite loudly, "Amen, Pastor!" I immediately noticed every face around me smiling. They were not laughing at Joe, but they were relishing the joy with which he enjoyed worshiping our Lord. I am sure, like me, there were a few who were thinking, "Why don't we all worship like that?" Rejoice and be glad in it!

At the end of the service, the women of our church presented boxes full of home-baked goodies to our college students and military service personnel. As one of the military moms in the congregation I was up to accept the package for my daughter, a soldier in Afghanistan. The pastor lead a prayer of blessing for all of these students and soldiers and, as is usual for me, I cried. I always cry when we pray for the military, although I try to hold it in and almost always fail. When I returned to my seat, Joe was there waiting with his arms open wide to give me a hug and tell me it would be okay. Selfless, unconditional love – Wow! Intense! Rejoice and be glad in it!

Spending one hour of worship time with Joe that morning was an enormous blessing and a certain sign, at least to me, that God is with us. He did not care if it was snowing, or the roads were slushy, or he was having a bad hair day. He showed me, in all of his unbridled energy and glory, that "This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it." Thanks to the joyful heart of Joe, I now have a truer vision of how God wants us to rejoice and be glad in it.

The Jesus Creed

“Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.
Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul,
with all your mind, and with all your strength.
The second is this, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
There is no commandment greater than these.
Mark 12:29-31

“Love your neighbor as yourself” – we have all heard these words before or at least something along those lines. Did you ever think that loving others like we love ourselves could be so difficult? Can you just imagine how wonderful our world would be if we all really did love each other as well as we love ourselves?

I, like others in my church, have tried to learn and live the Jesus Creed during our Lenten journey this year. Colorful, little cards with the Creed noted on them are hanging in various places where I can see them and remind myself to recite the words and remember how Jesus wants me to live. They dangle precariously in my car, on the fridge, and on my computer monitor at work and there’s even a few in my purse and one in the pocket of my smock. Overkill? Maybe. But it seems I need a lot of reminding on the matter of how Jesus wants me to live.

Recently a friend came into our store and inquired about my daughter, a soldier, serving in Afghanistan. When I replied that she was doing great and she loved her job, he continued on ranting about ‘why would she put herself in harm’s way’, ‘we should just stay out of it’ and ‘we shouldn’t be over there in the first place’. Few things can get me riled up like those who speak against the military or the jobs they are sent to do. The first thing that came to my mind at that moment was the Jesus Creed and those few simple words “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

With two soldiers in our immediate family we continually fear for their safety. However, when they return from a mission they are so excited to share their stories with those of us back home in stories and pictures. The work they are doing over there, to me, is one of the truest examples of living the Jesus Creed. They are taken out of the familiar comforts of home, flown halfway across the world to live with strangers, and to work in a culture so unlike our own they are amazed that these people have survived there.

Stories have been shared of the many young children treated by the army medical center for severe burns due to open flames heating their homes. The story of the young boy, recently circumcised, left untreated and unclean to be overcome with infection; the story of villages struggling to survive in a “poppy-free” environment, free from the tyranny of drugs; an entire country torn apart by war and terrorism without sufficient education, equipment or skills to fight back - Who could not love their neighbor at such a time as this?

Our pastor described this ‘living the Jesus Creed’ with brilliant clarity during her sermon this week. Living the Jesus Creed, loving our neighbors as ourselves, means laying down part of our own lives in service to others. In our own congregation we have seen people lay down their fear of speaking in public to share their faith stories and they have set aside their fear of needles to donate blood and platelets to serve and save a fellow Christian sister. And on the other side of the world, our soldiers have laid down the familiar comforts of home and family to serve our neighbors in need. They are setting aside their fears and traveling in unfamiliar surroundings to reach those in need of food, medical care, education and training for the betterment of their futures.

To our soldiers I say thank you. Thank you for being the living, breathing examples of the Jesus Creed for me. I pray that others will open their hearts and minds and see that loving our neighbors as ourselves means more than loving just those across the street and in our own home towns. Jesus sent us to love all of our neighbors, even those who can be difficult to love at times.