The Story of US – Part 1 – The Ayrees
Sermon by Pastor Rachel Gilmore
Maya Angelou once said, ““There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story.”
inside you.” So, what’s your story? Who are you? What has made you who you are? The good, the bad, the ugly things that have happened to you and shaped and formed you in ways you never imagined? And how does God’s story intersect with our story? What difference does the story of Christ make in our lives and where does God’s story shine through in our darkest moments?
We’re kicking off a sermon series this week called THE STORY OF US where you have a chance to learn more about the people seated beside you in the pew and hopefully learn a little more about God as they share their story with you. In a few moments you will hear from Benetta Aryeee- born out of the country, as was her husband but they met in the great state of Minnesota. While he is on board the non-commissioned Navy Ship Comfort out near Puerto Rico, she shared about what has happened to them over the past few years with the birth of their son, Nathaniel. Let’s hear her story…(click here to see video)
When you receive unexpected devastating news, how do you respond? Are you angry because you are a good person who has lived a good life and it just doesn’t seem fair to have to struggle and hurt so much when you have tried so hard for so long to do what is right? Are you sad and heartbroken because you don’t know how to see the silver lining on this rain storm of a cloud and just want to wave a magic wand and make it all go away? Are you in denial or stonewalling your emotions to devastating news, trying to numb yourself in any way that you can because you just cannot accept what you have heard? What do we do with difficult times and struggles in our lives and how can this church make a difference in our journey through good times and bad? I don’t know about you, but I was amazed by Benetta’s response and it made me think of Colossians 3:15-17 which says,
“And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
You see, when tough times come our way, when our child, our gift from God isn’t born looking just like the other babies, our natural response is not gratitude and trust and peace- that’s something that comes out of a lifetime of walking with God. Now something Benetta wasn’t asked, so she didn’t share in the video, is that she was raised in church, in the Methodist church actually and the word of Christ dwelt in her richly throughout her life. She grew up singing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs to God like Colossians said and when we surround ourselves with this story it shapes and forms us and covers us with a peace that sees us through tough times like nothing else will. If you look at these two verses in the Greek, we learn some powerful things from this text. According to the scholar Margaret MacDonald, this is the only time in the New Testament that the expression “word of Christ” shows up. It means the teachings of Jesus and the story of his love and sacrifice on the cross along with his victorious resurrection. Because, you see, if we know this story, if we let it dwell in us, it makes a difference. it’s also the only time that the Greek adjective eucharistoi shows up in the entire new testament where it says, let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts and be thankful. The word thankful is eucharistos and it’s connected to a word we use today- eucharist which means the bread and cup. Every single Sunday in this room we eucharisteo- we give thanks, we gather together with lives that are strong and serene and with lives that are falling apart and we give thanks because no matter what we face, no matter what is waiting for us outside of those doors- we will never face it alone and when we let the word of Christ live in us, dwell richly in us, it gives us a peace that can make all the difference. Verse 15 says, let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts and I love this because the Greek word for peace is Eirene which is connected to the Hebrew word shalom so the word peace here doesn’t mean you’re cool as a cucumber, that you’re chill- it means to be in a right relationship with the people around you, with the earth, with creation around you and to be at peace with yourself. So it’s more than just not freaking out at stuff, it’s being able to breathe through it and lean into those connections that will continue to sustain you and, as the verse says, you let that peace rule in your hearts. The word for rule is another rare one in the new testament, it’s the Greek word
βραβεύω
And it means to sit and act as umpire so when you know this story and when you let it move you into a right and healthy relationship with God, others, yourself and creation, when you have peace then you let that peace be the umpire of your life- not the anxiety, not the insecurity, not the fear of the unknown- let the peace of Christ keep you focused and on track and the most amazing and remarkable things will happen. You’ll have faith like Benetta, to walk into a church and, only knowing folks for one year you let them into your life as you face some hurdles and challenges. Like Benetta, you love your son for the gift that he is as you fight for his health and wholeness. Benetta and Julian are a remarkable couple, Nathaniel is an amazing kid and God will continue to work out his story of peace and hope in their lives and in our lives if we let him. Thanks be to God, amen!
