Loading...Sermon March 5, 2017
The Rev. Rebecca S. Myers, LSW
The Church of the Nativity and St. Stephen, Newport, PA
Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! for it is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God,
and serve only him.’” Matthew 4:10
Please be seated.
One of the reality TV shows I watch is Hoarders. I call it preventive medicine, because I know I could have a tendency to hoard. I’ve seen the strong attachment to stuff in myself and in my family.
When I was helping my parents clean out their house for sale, I saw my mother cry at the thought of giving a small ceramic pitcher away. Her sister gave it to her and while it was never used and there was no room for it, she insisted I pack it away. I think it’s still in my son’s basement, along with many other pieces of stuff. Mind you, my mother died 9 ½ years ago and my father died over 6 years ago.
When I went to seminary, I had to move every year, due to the Seminary’s precarious finances. The year my father died, I could have moved from a 2-bedroom apartment into a studio room. The seminary would have paid for me to store many things that would not fit in the downsizing; however, I just couldn’t bear to part with my stuff. I knew it was because I was upset that my father had died and both of my parents were no longer here on earth. I knew it was because of the stress that I couldn’t bear to put my beloved doll collection in boxes. So, I chose, instead to be moved into a 1-bedroom apartment that could accommodate my things.
The next year, when that apartment was no longer available and I had to move again, I easily put some of my things in storage…had no problem with those dolls going in boxes.
So, I get what happens to people who hoard. I get how tough emotional times happen and buying stuff or hanging on to it feels like life itself. I get how your brain changes and you don’t think it’s that bad or you feel so overwhelmed by the thought of cleaning up that you don’t know where to start. I get how you feel embarrassed.
Yet, I’m fascinated watching the people on the show. Fascinated by how they cannot see the damage their behavior is doing not only to themselves but to all of their relationships. How they become isolated, because no one can come over to visit. How it affects the children in so many ways, often leading to broken relationships and bitterness and anger. How it leads to financial ruin and homelessness.
I record the new shows and in the past couple of weeks, there are three new shows that get recorded at a time. So I binge-watched episodes earlier in the week, totally immersing myself.
Somehow all of this converged in my thinking and as I pondered our Lenten season and pondered our readings for today, I thought about how Jesus coming into the world – the incarnation – was designed to reconcile we human beings with God. Jesus came so that we could return to God and connect to God once again.
Paul in his letter to the Romans writes how our human movement away from God began with Adam and continued from there. And how Jesus, one man, would restore us to a right relationship with God.
I began to wonder about what we hoard or hang on to that is keeping us from our relationship with God? What stuff have we collected so that there are just tiny pathways or no pathway from us to God? Is there stuff or behaviors or beliefs that pile up and pile up, using our financial and emotional resources so there’s nothing left to give back to God or give to our communities?
Is there fear or grief weighing us down? Have we shut down our hearts and built stuff all around them, hoping we won’t feel despair or be hurt?
Lent comes in the spring and is a perfect time do so some spring cleaning. We can examine all of the things we’ve hoarded that separate us from God. We can begin a little at a time to clear them away. We can ask for help from each other, family, friends or even professionals if necessary.
One of the things I love about the newer Hoarders shows is when they fix up at least one cleared-out room. For the most part, people are so happy. They smile. Their family members and friends are happy. You can actually breathe. You know they will have so many fun times since the hoard is gone.
And that is true of us. Clearing it all out can be challenging and take ongoing help. Our parlor people series on forgiveness may be one way to begin.
Yet, taking on this task is necessary. Jesus got rid of Satan and Satan’s temptations today by declaring that we are to “Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.” Clearing away the hoard separating us from God allows us to do just that.
Amen
