August 05, 2024
• Rev. Mindie Moore
Find Your Mountain Week 1: "Why Joy?"
Colossians 3:1-10
Intro Self
A big thing that has been happening at St. Luke’s this summer is that our senior Pastor Rob Fuquay has been on a 3 month Sabbatical, supported by a generous Lilly Grant. (SLIDES) He and his wife Susan have had some amazing experiences, including hiking to Everest Base Camp. This is Pastor Rob’s first Sunday back, so he is preaching at North Indy and I want you to know that NEXT SUNDAY NIGHT is the welcome back celebration for him and Susan. There will be food, fun, a chance to hear more about their time away, and I will be there and I’d love to see you all there too. It’s going to be a really fun way to connect with our whole St. Luke’s community. So you can see more about that in your bulletin and sign up online.
And over the next several weeks on Sundays, we’re going to be exploring some of the experiences that Pastor Rob brought back from his time away. Now, let’s just name this up front—I did not climb to Everest Base Camp this summer! I did climb a lot of stairs to
get to public transit when we were in Chicago, so maybe that is not the same at all, but that’s what I’ve got.
But here’s the cool thing—we all have different experiences, but there’s something universal in this idea of what it means to “find your mountain.” Because at its core, it’s about more than any physical place we could go. On some level, we can ALL relate to what it’s like to have a significant, transformational experience. And that kind of experience can happen on a trip, it can happen in our neighborhoods, it can happen right here in this room. When we experience something like that, it sticks with us and shapes who we are.
So we’re going to explore these lessons and ideas together over the next several weeks. And today we’re going to start by looking at how we find joy and inspiration.
Let’s pray as we get started.
For some of us, school started this past week, signaling some kind of end of summer. Now, it is still
approximately 500 degrees and 100% humidity, but it is back to school we go! And I don’t know what your summer structure is like, but I’ve noticed a lot of people are making “summer bucket lists” or things that they HAVE to do or accomplish by the end of summer in order to make their summer really count. Sometimes these things are really big: go to Europe, bike a certain number of miles, go snorkeling. Sometimes they are more everyday things, like roast a marshmallow or go to the neighborhood pool.
The point of a summer bucket list like this is to experience as much joy as possible. To not let the 8 or so weeks of summer just fly by and next thing you know you’re wearing a scarf and drinking a pumpkin spice latte. It’s this idea of really knowing who you are and what you like to do...and then making sure to do those things.
And that kind of awareness and intentionality, that’s something that we ALL could probably use a little more of in our lives—no matter what season it is, no matter if you like the idea of bucket lists or don’t do that kind of thing. Because each and every one of us
(SLIDE) We were all created to find joy and inspiration.
And sometimes that can feel like a complicated thing to do. We might have even been told throughout our lives that that isn't actually a very good use of our time and it might not even be something that reflects a life of faith. When I was talking with Pastor Rob about the message this week and we were discussing this idea about how we were designed to find delight and joy and that us doing that actually that delights God...I realized that this was actually really healing conversation to me because it was so different than some of the other narratives I’ve encountered around this topic.
I think an unfortunately prevalent narrative that exists about faith is that to be this faithful, holy type of person, you actually should be spending your time DENYING the things that delight you. You should be suspicious of stuff that is too joyful or pleasurable. Too much of that, and you might just go to the dark side or something! There was this whole idea that in order to REALLY be like Jesus, you have to be all about
sacrifice and you should want NOTHING MORE than God. Everything else is just a distraction or not really that important.
Maybe that sounds a little extreme, but my guess is that for some of us it’s pretty accurate of our lived experience. And so I just want to acknowledge that what we’re talking about today might be a little bit of a new concept for some of us. That the things that inspire us and delight us are not only WORTH pursuing but that God is absolutely delighted when we do, that might take you to the edge of your spiritual comfort zone a bit. And that’s ok.
And we get some direction on how to orient our lives toward these joyful things from the Scripture we’re reading today. We’re back in the book of Colossians, we were there last week, just a few verses after this, and we’re reading a letter to a church community. We’re reading some instructions on what it means to be a community and cultivate a life of faith.
And here’s what the writer of this letter wants this church to do. They say (SLIDE):
2 Set your minds on the things that are above, not on the things that are on earth, 3 for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is your life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory.
Basically, you should be on the lookout for things that are good. You should be on the lookout for things that bring joy. You should be on the lookout for the people and places and activities that speak uniquely to the heart and soul that God has given you. Because when you are looking out for those things, you’re inevitably going to find something else—you're going to find the Spirit of God at work.
We might get a little intimidated by this passage because of the way the writer frames these things. I mean, that idea of “set your minds on things that are above” that just sounds super lofty and VERY abstract! And then the fact that this passage goes on to list all these things we SHOULDN’T do...it’s like, ok...how do we know?! How can we tell if something falls into the category of the stuff we should set our
minds on or it’s on that list of the things that aren’t going to lead to a very great life?
It can be hard to trust ourselves to know the difference; to actually be able to tell what kind of joy we should be pursuing. There are plenty of Scriptures that have been used to create this message of “DANGER DANGER!” when we think about trusting ourselves. Proverbs 28:26 straight up says “Whoever trusts their own mind is a fool.” That feels very direct and I think is one of the examples of the way Scripture has influenced this wrestling some of us feel with if we can trust ourselves to know what is good.
But that’s not the whole story. Because there’s also this idea that knowing ourselves is the very first step to really knowing and connecting with God. In the 500s, in Confessions, Augustine wrote, (SLIDE) “How can you draw close to God when you are far from your own self?”
That’s a pretty powerful question to consider. It makes me think that God probably cares about us knowing ourselves, that it matters that we understand who God has uniquely created us to be, and that having a deep
understanding of this probably is worth a good deal of our attention, especially if we want to truly pursue those things that are above, the things that lead to joy.
Even Jesus gives us an example of what it looks like to be deeply aware of one’s self, of what it looks like to pay attention to our souls and what we need. He takes his down time, he spends time with friends, he worships and prays, and eats good food. And what I love about the example that Jesus gives us is that he kind of takes the dichotomy that we can create between being humble and centered on God and confidently knowing how God made us and what brings us joy...and he just wipes it away. He leads by example and teaches us that both of those things are good and holy and possible for us.
And when we look at how Jesus lived, when we look at what this scripture encourages people who follow Jesus to do, it feels pretty clear that (SLIDE) pursuing joy can be an act of worship. That pursuing joy is something God absolutely made us to do. And, that pursuing joy is an absolutely holy
response to who God is and how God is moving in our lives.
There’s almost this cause and effect thing happening in this Scripture. Where the writer says things like, “God has been faithful, God has done all these things, and BECAUSE OF THAT we get to live these lives that have this sense of being renewed, that have this sense of awe and joy and goodness to them.” What God has done and how we can experience joy are deeply connected to each other.
And I think that God wants us to pursue joy, not simply as an act of worship...although I think that’s part of it. And not simply as a way for our souls to experience something really wonderful...although I think that’s part of it too. But I think that people of faith making room and time and intention to seek out and experience joy...I think that is actually one of the most powerful ways we can share our faith. Because when joy is happening, people notice.
Have you been watching the Olympics? If you have, then you likely saw this exuberant example of joy last week when the US Men’s Gymnastics Team competed
(SLIDE). Did you watch it? Oh my goodness. You want to talk about all the feels. I went from literally zero awareness of ANYTHING concerning this year’s men’s gymnastics team to be fully invested, all in!
I mean, you had all these heartwarming stories, you had the fact that US Men’s Gymnastics hadn’t won a medal since 2008, you had Stephen and his ONE EVENT and his glasses!! And you had this group of men who were so supportive, and so excited, and so absolutely overflowing with joy at winning the bronze medal that you just couldn’t help but feel it too. You couldn’t help but root for them and be so excited for them.
When we see joy like that, it doesn’t just stay with the person experiencing it. (SLIDE) Joy is incredibly contagious. Joy draws you in; it’s compelling; it has the power to make an impact in a really stunning way. And when you couple joy with faith, joy tells a story that is worth telling. It tells a story of a God who loves and cares for people and inspires something really incredible in them.
And so it doesn't seem like it's an accident that God has created us to pursue and exude joy. It’s the story we were meant to live and tell about what a life spent with Jesus looks like. There’s something so good here and our lives can reflect it. They were MADE to reflect it.
And if we’re going to be people who want to pursue joy, we have to know what, for us, are the things that spark it. We have to know what those things from above are that we should set our minds on. And so I asked this question over on our Midtown Campus Facebook Group on Friday, but I’m going to ask you here today too: (SLIDE) What brings you joy and gives you inspiration?
This is not a rhetorical question, it’s something I actually want you to give some thought to and feel the freedom to name the things. Maybe you jot it down on your bulletin or in a notes app, maybe you spend some time thinking about it this week, but it’s serious business to name the things that give us joy. It’s serious business to know what we were made to do and what we were made NOT to do. When you do
these things, you’re taking your worship beyond this place and into your everyday life as you discover and prioritize, and actually take the time to pursue the joy and inspiration around you.
And as we wrap up, I want to say one more thing about joy and inspiration, and I want to speak directly to those of you who might be feeling a little left out of this conversation. Who might be hearing this message and thinking, “well, yeah, I’m in survival mode. I’m working multiple jobs, or I’m trying to keep track of all the kids and their schedules, or I’m dealing with a really challenging health moment...I’m not sure I even have the capacity to pursue joy right now.”
If that is you—first of all, I just want you to know that you are seen and you are loved and this is a place where you can bring ALL of yourself, which includes the parts that are experiencing joy and the parts where joy feels pretty far out of reach. All of that is welcome here.
And second of all, if this is you, if you feel just a little disconnected from this whole idea of joy and inspiration, I want to encourage you that these things
can come in simple, everyday forms. You do not need a lot of money to experience joy and inpsiration, you do not need to take time off work, you do not need to do something that goes on your Instagram Story Highlights. Those are very real pressures and barriers we can encounter as we try to find and experience joy and inspiration, but they are absolutely manufactured criteria. You don’t need any of that. If you’ve got those things, that’s great! Embrace it, give thanks, enjoy it! But it’s not necessary.
Because when we’re told to set our minds on the things above, to set our minds on pursuing the joy of God, that is a joy that can be found in so many places exactly where we are. (SLIDE) God is at work exactly where you are. And so if you need to look for joy in the carpool line? Do that. If you need to look for joy in your 9-5 office job? Do that. If you need to look for joy in caring for your aging parent? Do that. If you need to look for joy in the quiet of your house, painting or writing in your journal? Do that. Know yourself and your situation and know that somewhere, somehow,
joy and inspiration are ready for you to find them in the middle of whatever that looks like.
Because God is every single place that we are. And when God is there, joy is there too.
Transition to Communion.