We thank you, God, for loving us each and every day. In the pause of this morning we acknowledge how much we love you.  May you use the offering of our love and lives for your ways in the world. Amen.

 

 

 

It has been suggested that one of the readings for the Church to consider this day is from the New Testament, a letter that is remembered as having been written by Paul, one of those first, passionate followers of Jesus after Jesus’ resurrection. He was one of the first missionaries in the journey of early Christianity. It was a letter written from Paul to the person he was mentoring in ministry, Timothy. So we have preserved for us, this precious, intimate letter.

 

 

 

 

 

May this part of this letter be a blessing to us, as I am sure it was to Timothy.

 

 

 

In the movie The Love Letter, hence the name, there is a letter discovered in the cushions of a couch, in a bookstore, by the bookstore owner, portrayed by the actress Kate Capshaw. It is a typed letter, and this is what the letter says:

 

 

 

 

 

Well, after Kate had read this letter about 100 times, through the course of the day, and upon going to bed she says aloud, “Who the heck is ‘Yours’?” 

 

(Only I did a bit of pulpit editing on that. We would not show that particular clip on a video strip.) “Who the heck is yours?” 

 

After that, a college student, who was working in the bookstore that summer, found this same letter. It was also found by the bookstore’s bookkeeper, who is played by Ellen Degeneres. It is discovered by an awkward, town police officer. Each person, who finds the letter, immediately identifies himself or herself as the “Dearest.” 

 

And of course, they know the letter is meant just for them. They even argue about it with each other. Each one is set to wondering, “Who the heck is ‘Yours’?” Except the police officer, who knows a good thing when he sees it, and he hand copies the letter to his girlfriend with the desired result. 

 

Ah…. The power of a letter. The power of a few words to ignite wonderment and imagination. The power of words to speak to our deepest longing. “You are my dearest, and I am yours.” 

 

Well, I discovered a love letter several weeks ago, not one like this, although I would not mind one like that. It’s a different kind of love letter, but it was a love letter just the same. One morning in July in the wee early hours, I couldn’t sleep. So I went in search of a book to distract my mind, so that I could get back to sleep. I couldn’t find anything just right at hand, so I went into the living room where I have some bookshelves. I reached far back on a big shelf. I pulled from that bookshelf a book from my childhood. It was this book, The Secret Garden. Have you read this book? It’s been made into a movie as well.

 

When I pulled it off the bookshelf and opened the cover, a letter fell out. Here is what it said.

 

Happy Birthday, 1976

 

To my dear grandgirl, Kim:

 

(I was 18 in 1976. Just so you don’t get distracted trying to do the math, I’m 49 now. OK. Put that aside. Here is what the letter said.) 

 

When you start to read this book, The Secret Garden, you will probably think poor, old Grandma Ruby. She has reverted to her childhood, and she thinks I have, too. But please read on. A friend lent me her copy, and I was so thrilled with the message it conveyed that Eileen bought a copy for me, and I got this one for you. I believe you will be blessed by the simple, yet powerful message it contains.  

 

Have a good day and life.

 

Much love,

She was my adopted grandmother. I was her only grandchild, because she had never had children of her own. My family was blessed with her as an angel in our lives. She is one of those VIPs – a very important person – in my life. She’s been gone now for more than 20 years, and yet when I held that letter in my hand… When I read her typewritten words, which was how she always wrote her letters… When I traced the signature, Grandma Ruby, I felt as if she were right there with me.

 

The embarrassing truth is, I don’t think I read that book when I was 18. Maybe at 18, I was too busy, and I thought I knew everything I needed to know. But I can assure you in July I read the book. I didn’t go back to sleep that night. 

 

In many nights to follow, I read every chapter, every page. I searched for the words that were what she wanted and intended for me and hoped for me to receive. At 18, and later at 49, the book, her letter, her signature felt like a blessing at just the right time in my life – this time in my life.

 

Although I did wonder about the line, “I believe you will be blessed by this simple, but powerful message it contains.” I didn’t know if she meant she believed I would be blessed, or if she was exhorting me: “Believe! And you will be blessed.” Perhaps it was both. 

 

Love letters are like that. Aren’t they? We read between the lines, reading and rereading, with longing, for the discovery of each word’s meaning, cherishing the words for the reassurance, the encouragement from one lover to another. 

 

It has been suggested that the Bible itself can be read just like that, just like a love letter from God.   “Dearest, do you know how in love I am with you? Yours.” 

 

Or a love letter from people to God, “Dearest, do you how much I love you? Yours.” 

 

I have found myself, thinking these last few weeks, especially in this time of praying together and our waiting together: “Wouldn’t it be nice to get a letter from God? A typewritten letter would be fine. A whole book is not necessary; just one page: “This is what I want you to do.” 

 

Does anybody else want this? Yeah. What if, reaching for the Bible this morning, (and for some of us, reaching for the Bible this morning is like reaching for a book from our childhood)… What if reaching for the Bible, a love letter falls out and could be there for us to see? What if the letter said, “I love you, and this is exactly what I want you to do.” 

 

Maybe it has. Maybe this morning, we could consider the letter from Paul to Timothy as our love letter. I do wonder if young Timothy took Paul’s words to heart the first time he read them, or if years afterward, way on down the road in his ministry, he found that letter tucked into an old pair of pants, and he pulled it out and said, “Oh, yeah, now I understand what he was trying to say to me.” 

 

It is a letter of deep intimacy. Did you hear the intimacy in those words? Did you hear the kind thoughts, and tearful goodbyes, and anticipated hellos, the kind of shared memories, and the strong words of encouragement spoken in love?

 

So, what if we imagined this morning that Paul’s words to Timothy are God’s words to us in a letter, offering us the same words of encouragement spoken in love. 

 

You have heard of a grandfather clause. Correct? We’ll just call this a grandchildren’s clause. We will be the grandchildren to this letter and let it speak to us in our place, and our time, and our circumstances, and our ministry.

 

Now, there is a space on your worship bulletin cover. If you would like, you may write down the key nuggets I am going to mention from this letter. There are five, and I think these key nuggets speak to us as individuals in our own personal lives, and in our walk with Jesus. I think they can speak to us as a congregation, so here are the five.

 

1. Don’t be shy with your gifts.

2. Be bold.

3. Be loving.

4. Be sensible.

5. Guard the truth entrusted to you by the Holy Spirit who dwells within us.

 

Those five gems were each embedded in the Scripture reading for us today.

Let’s just take a closer look at each one of these. 

 

1. Don’t be shy with your gifts. Certainly, for those among us as individuals at Broadway, we have available to us Life Focus, which can help us name those gifts. If we don’t know what they are, and if we know what they are, it helps us figure out how I can put those into use, into good practice. There is a Life Focus session coming up on October 23. There are brochures on the table in the back. 

 

But, as a congregation to ask ourselves, what are our gifts in this particular group of people? Two weeks ago, a minister from Indianapolis asked me, “Well, what are the strengths of Broadway Christian Church?” Actually he may have felt like he made a mistake when he asked me. Three hours later, I had a lot to say. 

 

But what I say needs to partner with what you say. What do you say are the gifts of Broadway Christian Church? If this is the first time you have been a part of worship in this congregation, please think with us. “What is it that I sense from this congregation that are its strengths?” Then if you would share those, or write those down and place them in the vessel, that would be great, because your voice is a fresh voice. You are seeing us for the first time. 

 

What are our gifts? It might be a great conversation to have with a friend you wish to invite to church, or a great conversation to have if you are in a small group. What are the gifts and the strengths of this church?

 

2. Be bold; be courageous. Do not be timid. The first thing that the angels from God always say is, “Be not afraid.” As I was thinking about this and working on this sermon, I thought, I’m going to say, “Think big!” Then something whispered, what about “Think small.”   Be bold.

 

3. Be loving. Jesus is so clear about this. Jesus is crystal clear about this. When asked what is the most important commandment of all of the tradition of his faith, he said without hesitation, “The greatest commandment is that you love God with your heart, your mind, and your soul. And the second is just like it. You love your neighbor as yourself.”  

 

The next question was, “But who is my neighbor?” What a great question. Who is our neighbor? Who is our neighbor?

 

4. Be sensible. I love this partnering. Don’t be shy with your gifts. Be bold; be loving, and be sensible. It reminds me of the family of which I grew up in. My family was one where my parents told me I could do anything. Actually, they were more specific than that. They told me I could do anything a boy could do. And obviously, I believed them.

 

That is partnered with every time I have left their home, from the time I was three up to last Wednesday, when I get ready to walk out the door, whether I am headed to South Africa or I am headed to the grocery store, their words to me every time are, “Be careful.”

 

Be bold. Be loving. Don’t be shy. Be sensible. Be careful.

 

5. And then, “Guard the truth entrusted to you by the Holy Spirit. 

 

Here at Broadway, we call that truth entrusted to us, “the Broadway Spirit.” It is something in the DNA of how we were birthed. It is in our history of 49 years. (Isn’t it interesting? Broadway and I are the same age. Thank goodness you didn’t make that connection.) 

 

It is what moves among us, and between us, and within us. For a very long time when I was seeking God’s guidance in my life personally, I was searching the heavens. I wanted God to write the answer in the sky. I waited the answer to come parachuting from the universe into my backyard. “Please God.” But more and more I found God’s guidance in nudging much closer than that. It’s in the joy that resonates in my heart when I’m doing just what God created me to do. The affirmation I feel with the group of people where laughter, and enjoyment, and building up one another is more dominant than cynicism, or criticism, or judgementalism. 

 

It’s in the loving question of a friend or a family member, which causes me to pause and reexamine my life, and my choices, and my calendar. It’s in the gentle question of one who asks, “How can I be praying for you?”

 

What if, in our waiting for God to answer our prayers, we look around, and we look within, and we name that which has given us energy, and life, and blessing, and we lean toward that as a possible next step. We step deeper into God’s hopes for us that are already within us. 

 

 

 

Hmm.   The power of a letter igniting wonderment, and imagination, and tender love, blessing us to be a blessing.

 

Just one last thought. What if this week, we took the time to write a love letter to God? What if I did? What if you did? What if, in this love letter to God, we thanked God for our gifts as individuals and as this gathering? What if we asked God for the boldness to share them? What if we committed ourselves to love God, love our neighbors, love ourselves? What if we thanked God for that Holy Spirit, the gift of truth, and affirmed that Presence within us, and what if we signed the letter, “Yours”? And what if we meant it? 

 

“Yours.”

 

Amen.