What I Most Need to Hear this Week
Art by Gustavo Rimada
I’d like to begin by apologizing for the first sermon I ever preached late summer of 2012. This 7-section behemoth was offered to the kind souls at First Unitarian Society of Denver who were lovingly preparing me to enter seminary later that month.
Since it was my first time preaching, it felt like an extremely rare opportunity. To do what, you ask? To bestow upon these poor souls the accumulated wisdom of my 28 years of life. Which is to say, a lot of wisdom.
* insert hysterically laughing emoji here *
I’m sure there were more than 7 sections in the first draft yet I somehow managed to pare it down to just the essentials. If I had to guess, it was probably a 30+ minute ordeal of wisdom bestowing. Bless you, First Unitarian, bless you.
Cut to the last year of seminary when I was serving as a very intimidated yet determined intern at Glide UMC in San Francisco. If you know, you know. If you don’t know, go visit! It’s a big wild love fest of humanity.
That was the year I learned how to really preach to a big crowd. I’m talking 2000-4000 people a Sunday and I had the extreme privilege of being handed the mic at least twice. But before my mentor gave me that mic (thank you, Bishop Oliveto!) she had me do a demo in the empty sanctuary with her as the sole listener.
I earnestly started reading my super intellectual academic sermon and was interrupted mere seconds later by the sound of the then-Reverend Oliveto fake snoring. Wowwwwww. That’s humbling, folks.
She stopped me and just said one thing to me, “I want you to preach so the person in the very front row and the person hiding by the door in the back both feel like you’re speaking just to them.” Then I think she just got up and left, leaving me a bit stunned.
What was she saying to me? She was saying, get out of your head, Cindy. Get into your heart because that’s where the people are whether they know it or not. And that’s where the magic happens if I’m willing to meet them there.
5 years later I was preparing a sermon for House for All Sinners and Saints and totally, totally stuck on what the hell to write. I’m sure the assigned liturgy was something that didn’t fit with my self-righteous liberalish theology and so my ego was getting in the way.
I reached out to the minister of the church who told me, “Cindy, just write the thing you most need to hear this week.” How did he know I was struggling so hard and could really use some Good News?
I scrapped whatever intellectual exercise I was preparing to inflict on the congregation that week and just wrote what I needed to hear. I think it went well, but more than that I got to meet myself where I was at and just let myself be loved there.
So here’s my offering this week; the thing I most need to hear:
No matter how alone you feel, I’m always here.
No matter what your pain/anxiety/depression is telling you, Spirit’s truth is bigger.
The most true thing about you is your kindness and your beauty.
Even if all you do today is stand in the sun and remember your breath for even one moment, it is enough.
Even if all you do today is watch TV in the dark, it is enough.
You have no idea how much you matter to so many people, and how many people would do anything to show you how valuable you are.
Your clothes are perfect, your hair looks great, people are happy to see you.
God knows your prayers and cares so deeply about them, is tending to them even as we speak.
Everything will be ok, reach out your hand, just keep going, and keep your eyes on Spirit. This won’t last forever.
You are God’s beloved child, partner, sister, brother, lover with whom She is well pleased and there is nothing anywhere in the universe that could ever change that.
