“Abundance In
The Potter’s Hand”
Sermon for MCC
New Haven
September 8,
2013
Rev. Brian
Hutchison, M.Div.
Jeremiah
18:1-6
Luke
14:25-33
·
The Potter’s House
o Come on down with me to the
Potter’s House!
o The Still Small Voice of God
calls us to where we should be at any given moment.
o No matter where we are in
the world, God will use the situation to teach us wisdom.
o We are each vessels in God’s
hands. God molds us to be the best we can be. But unlike clay, we have free
will. So we can choose to be stubborn. We can throw rocks into our clay. We can
dry ourselves up.
o The best clay for God to
work with is flexible, wet, and malleable. How do we stay wet and flexible? We
have to dip into the waters of Deep Discipleship.
·
The Cost of Discipleship
o Jesus warns those who want
to follow him that it is not an easy path. It is an anti-empire path. It is an
anti-oppression path. It may mean leaving some people behind who do not foster
your spiritual growth.
o In the words of ACIM, we
must make the choice of shifting our perception from fear to Love. This process
is counter-intuitive. The world teaches us to fear and that love shows
weakness. It takes relearning love in order to live it.
o Jesus does not instruct to
“hate” your family. What he meant was that we need to love God above all else,
even our own lives, comforts, and opinions. (The Good News Bible got it right.)
o Following Jesus means also
letting go of attachment to belongings. We are not required to sell everything
we have and live in poverty. But we are required to be grateful for what we
have and to value people over possessions and value God over people.
o I have seen victims of
natural disasters lose everything they own. They are naturally devastated, but
they always say the same thing, “I have my loved ones and that’s all that
matters.”
o At the heart of Buddhism is
the letting go of attachments. The Buddha said himself, “You only lose what you
cling to.”
·
Building for the Future
o Instead of attaching, Jesus
gives us an alternative option: center in the Now and move forward.
o Jesus gives us the analogy
of preparing to build a tower. It’s a very simple metaphor that everyone can
understand. You don’t start building until you have first planned out your
materials, how much it will cost, etc.
o We have the same task on our
hands. As we look into our future, we cannot just hope for the best. We have to
make an intentional decision to invest in our future as a community.
o Do you realize what a beacon
of light this community has been, is now, and can be in the future in New
Haven?
o When we have prepared
ourselves to be true disciples, clay in God’s hands, we are ready to be joyful
givers…
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