Sunflower Faith: Living In The Light Transcript

Some of you have noted that I'm here again and that I possibly came here to spy on y'all last time. I had to clarify that I came to connect. My original ministry is social work. One thing we learned in our courses of study is that establishing relationship and building rapport and trust is foundational to any healing process, amen? And so I came to connect, scope out the neighborhood, get the lay of the land, make sure that I wasn't going to get lost finding my way here on the day. And so I again thank you for all the hospitality that has been shown to me. And those who found it not robbery to move up close and personal so that commune together, amen? Commune together, up close and personal. I am so happy that my sisters in Christ traveled over some borders to be with me this morning. Sister Cheryl and Sister Rachel are also visiting with you this morning. And we are... We are part of a ministry that's called Sister for Sisters. Our mission is to support each other through our journeys of hurting to healing. We've known each other from times when our hair was less silver, right? I want to extend my gratitude and appreciation to Pastor Kevin. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for sending an invite for me to be here this morning. Pastor Dodd... I mean Brother Dodd, you're going through seminary, board ordained ministry and today you are now pastor. So Brother Larry and I spent some time yesterday connecting so that he could give me the Crip notes with regards to our order of service today and thank you to our organist who has provided our music for today and those in the back sister Christine and her brother support person and our usher for this morning I have to do my hospitality thing other my otherwise my mother will make a visit from her heavenly realm to say did I not give you some home training and so mom it's done are we live-streaming I want to not leave out our virtual attendees thank you for joining us over the airwaves I always tell folks to be ready because I do not know so brother Larry has agreed that we are going to move with the spirit and allow the spirit to have the spirits way we have already sung this morning here I am in the words we said that we would be available with open hearts open ears amen amen and so for real full disclosure as you will come to see I am a call-and-response animated participatory deacon preacher teacher is that a mouthful for those unfamiliar with deacons we are bridge builders linking the needs of the world to the vast resources of the body of Christ to manifest mutual uplifting for peace and the transformation of God's world that is our mutual call and so I want to thank who was your preacher Sunday that I was here pastor Jim delivered a message entitled weight of the world indeed the word provoked further investigation introspection and self reflection some of which I'll share as a preface to the message for today the second reading or on communion Sunday was taken from John chapter 6 verses 24 to 35 and John reports the feeding of the five thousand and twenty-five that was the feeding of five thousand and fifty three that was taken from John chapter 6 verses 24 through 35 1 John SUBSCRIBE.pington and the crowd following him to the other side of the lake. In verse 26, he calls them out because he knows their true agenda that we often, with our short-term memory, forget. We talk about how God is omnipotent. I'm the present, all-knowing. But we do some stuff not know. Who had eyes everywhere. And I came to find that out very young. My sister was a baby. She was in her crib. And she was getting all the attention. And that was annoying. Right? So I wanted to climb up in the crib, be with my sister. And my mother said no. And so what did I do?

Mom was walking out of the room, and her back was to me. And what did I do?

And it was at that point in my young life that it got planted in my head that my mother has eyes in the back of her head. Right? And I also discovered that because we had a way that we were supposed to walk.

And mother took off work early, and I was unbeknownst.

And I'm standing on the corner of First Noto, just chilling with my girlfriend, with my back to the street. And so all of a sudden, thank you,

I didn't live it down until I graduated from elementary school and went to school on a different side of the path. And that Deborah got spanked. And I say, all that to say that God, as our divine mother, father, creator. So in verse 35, Jesus shines this light. I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry. And whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. But I told you that you have seen me, and you still do not believe. Later, Jesus has a follow-up session. He has a rethinking session with his disciples, who were also challenged by Jesus' word, and in verse 60, they respond, this message is harsh. Right? Following this encounter, John notes in verse 66, many of his disciples turned and walked away, and no longer followed him. It comes down to this. It is not enough to acknowledge and receive the word of God, the bread of life, living water, and the light of the world who took on flesh. We are required to take official steps out of our comfort zones. We have to move out of what is familiar to us so that we can receive the benefit of God's new kingdom God's desire to recreate us into the image of our divine parent. Remember I said call and response participatory so amen. So this leads to the message of this day. Sunflower faith. I just want you to know that I do believe in the moving and being in alignment with the spirit of God and being awake for the surprises that are in store for us. If we are this morning on our way here, we're in the car, Sister Rachel and I, and we're moving along. And Sister Rachel says,

I said, really, just what? All right. Let us pray. Good and gracious God, we are grateful that you have called us out of our nighttime journey to be able to walk in the light of this new day that you have planted us in. We ask for the anointing of your spirit. John, first John, light represents what is good, pure, true, holy, and reliable. It is noted that God is light, perfectly holy, and true. And God alone causes out of the darkness of sin. Sin being the absence of all that is good, kind, loving and caring, and all that is about God. In the dark good and evil look alike in the light they can be clearly distinguished just as darkness cannot exist in the presence of light sin cannot exist in the presence of a holy God if we are to have a relationship with God then we must surrender for out of alignment ways of living now I have to let you know we cannot serve and Jesus presented this in a number of ways as he journeyed in this world for three years we cannot serve two masters we cannot say that we are the people of God that we are6 we are heirs of our mother-father, that we are sisters and brothers in Christ and walk in the darkness of this world. We cannot say that we live in the light, walk in the light. This is a song that we used to sing in my church. We're going to walk in the light, beautiful light, walk where the dewdrops of mercy shine bright. Shine all around us by day and by night. Jesus, the light of the world. But to walk in the light, to be of the light, is to be in the will and the way of the light, is the light. And Jesus, Jesus is the way. We cannot say that we are about the light if we walk with division, if we walk with exclusion, if we walk with prejudgment. We are then out of alignment with the will and the way of God who created us all in God's image. Jesus had words for the Pharisees who wanted to heap burdens of the law on the people but showed no compassion, did not offer bread, did not offer water, did not offer God's love. He said, you hypocrites. When the lawyer came up and said, what, what, what is, what is, who is my neighbor? And Jesus told that story. About the good Samaritan, Samaritans who were excluded, not welcomed by the people of Israel. As the priest walked past this person who was laying out in the street, who had gotten beaten up, they walked by on the way to the temple. Who was the one who stopped? The Samaritan. The Samaritan didn't ask the person on the ground, who are you? Where do you come from? Who do you serve? The word says that the Samaritan picked that person up, took that person to the inn, paid their way to make sure that they were going to be taken care of, didn't ask for any recompense, didn't want a tax deduction. We who have accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, as we have confessed that without God, we cannot be anything. We are intended to walk and be in the light. Not only that, we are to be light in dark places where people are hungry and lonely and tired. Where people are in prison and naked. Where those people are, Jesus said, when you see and minister to them you see means. Several years ago, a movie came out called Calendar Girls. How many of you remember Calendar Girls? It was British movie. I love British movies, right? The main character are a group of 12 women, who are members of a church. A group of women who are문vers of a church who are risking toda auxiliary. The husband of one of the members is a gardener. How many gardeners do we have in the house? Gardeners, gardeners, oh yes, thank you. They asked him to make a presentation to their group but he dies of leukemia. His presentation is read to the auxiliary and he tells them that his favorite of all flowers is the what? Sunflowers. Sunflowers. Right? What he says is it goes beyond how the flower resembles the sun. He points out that the sunflower trumpets life meaning if proclaims or announces life. He shared that the head of the sunflower follows across the sky. And what is the sunflower? This is called soul. What does that mean? It means that it let's me know. I hope you're saying the name of the plant asked it was the way not or perhaps their N wind with an L seventh sunflower looking for? Light. Wherever the light is, no matter how weak the light is, the sunflower head finds the light. Being a gardener and prayerfully a follower, the sunflower captured my attention, and I was enlightened to discover that the sunflower is very diverse. The sunflower is not stingy. The sunflower does not keep all of itself to itself. As the sunflower lives, it gives in multiple ways. Birds come, feed off of its center, feed off of its seeds. As the birds fly, and they deliver their contribution to creation. The other thing is we can take the sunflower seeds, roast the seeds, and eat. We can use the sunflower oil, as our indigenous sisters and brothers did, to create oil for our hair and to cook with it. The sunflower gives and receives and extends beyond itself to promote life. And guess what we are? We are sunflowers of God. And as we have been infused with God's light, then we are to walk in the light, in the will, in the way of God, to be about God's agenda, not our human agenda, but God's agenda, that God's kingdom will come on earth as it is in heaven. Heaven. That's who we are intended to be, an alliance, an alignment, with God's will and God's way. And so, my brothers and sisters, as we have come together from many different directions, there is only one way. There is only one way. And Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. And whomever believes in me shall not perish, but have everlasting life. And belief is just not a thought. It's a thought process. It's a heart process. It's a mind process. It's a living out process. Amen.