The
Sermons At Calvary
Mary
Catherine Wright
Youth
Sunday 2007
May 13,
2007 - Youth Sunday
Gospel:
John 14: 23-29
When I sat down at my computer on a
Tuesday night to write this sermon, I felt anxious about this daunting task set
before me. A test of my knowledge regarding the Bible, and how was I
supposed to write a sermon entirely based on faith when I haven’t attended
seminary, Sunday school since I was thirteen, and lack a theology degree.
In school, the answers are in the textbook, faith is not that simple – it is
not concrete. In the Gospel, Jesus says, “I am going away, and I am coming to
you,” and tells us not to let our hearts be troubled or be afraid. I came
to a realization, I shouldn’t be anxious, God is with me and God loves me.
God loves all of us. Just as the Children’s song, “Yes, Jesus loves me,
the Bible tells me so.” The message I derived from the Gospel was that
God loves us and will take care of us as long as we maintain our faith in
him.
Then I had my mother read the
Gospel, and asked her opinion as every child asks for the advice of his or her
mother. But to her the Gospel immediately spoke of the different
movements of faith and how Jesus left through his crucifixion, but reappeared
in a different form – the Holy Ghost. She applied this to the different
transitions I am about to experience in going away to college. I am leaving her
household, but eventually I will return older, wiser, and hopefully with a
Biology degree. Thus, faith is different for every person; even the
interpretation of a Bible passage can vary from individual to individual.
Our church, Calvary, has had a
different impact for each and every one of us. I was baptized here, an
angel in many different Christmas pageants, and even remember getting scolded
for talking too loud during the 9:15 service when I was eight years old.
Yes, we all have similar experiences; we all kneel and stand at the proper
times during liturgy, sing the hymns to the best of our ability and take
communion. But we also have different experiences, experiences individual
to us, for example, my first communion, I asked for chocolate milk instead of
wine.
But just as we all have different experiences within Calvary, and different
interpretations of a Gospel, it is our own unique faith that is important. I
think faith is very similar to a journey; it has its ups and downs, detours and
turns. I’m just beginning my journey, and learning to
understand my faith, my beliefs, and what it means to me. When I was thirteen,
my family and I stopped attending church, not due to discontent, but simply I
was a competitive gymnast who practiced twenty-five hours a week along with an
honors student. I was edging on exhaustion, and Sunday was my only day to
sleep in. But about two years ago - my gymnastics career was a year in
the dust due to elbow an injury - something inside me called me back to
church. I had always believed in God, but didn’t have much of a grasp on
the rest of my faith. It is hard to put words around the feeling I felt;
I can tell you it was intense, an intense desire to return. I found
myself wanting to learn more about the Bible. Yes, I know the super stars
of the Bible: Adam and Eve, Noah’s Ark, Moses’ Ten Commandments, and Jesus’
birth and crucifixion. Although, I had a misconception, I thought you
could sit down and in a year learn everything there is to know about
Christianity. I even bought The Everyday Bible, which featured a 365-day
guide to reading the entire Bible. I approached it as an AP course, and I
was going to get an A. I was wrong.
Last week, a wise lady by the name
of Emma Melo came to our Confirmation class and told us of her faith
story. A daughter of an Episcopal minister, I figured she knew everything
there was to know. But then she told us of the ongoing journey of her
faith; the highs and lows, the questioning, the realizations, and the desperate
need of God in her life. I then realized it was not about the ability to spit
facts of the Bible at the snap of a finger, but a deeper relationship with
God. As humans, our individual hurdles, detours, and rivers we must cross
define our unique relationship with God. But although we all have unique
relationships with God, we all turn to God as a source of comfort, and a place
to find peace. As the Gospel says, “Those who love me will keep my word,
and my father will love them…Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you…Do
not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.” God is
with each and every one of us, to be our travel companion through our own
individual journey through life.