Title: “Written Upon Our Hearts”
Scripture: Jeremiah 31:31-34
4/2/06 Fifth Sunday in Lent Yr. B
Rev. Joy R. Haertig
When I was a young girl I loved to dance. Put on a little Motown and the moves came naturally to my body. The black girls in my Jr. High loved to dance with me at sock-hops, amazed that a white girl could know the moves so well.
But put me in a ballet class and I looked awkward and out-of-place. (I looked like the jolly-green-giant next to all those little budding ballerinas!)
When I was in college at Seattle Central I took a Modern Dance class. The teacher was a professional dancer who moved with great ease. Though I was older, things had not changed much - in class I was awkward and tense until the last day of class when we were invited to bring in our own music and dance freely. He said to me after class - “I did not recognize the woman as you on the dance floor today.”
It is one thing for me to dance from my insides - from my heart. It is quite another thing for me to try and dance with instruction, from a set of “rules” or expectations that come from the outside. (It's too much to remember, putting your feet here, holding your hands this way, keeping your back straight and tummy in, all at the same time!)
I remembered this experience as I studied the Prophet Jeremiah in today's reading as he spoke about God's covenant.
He tells us that God's first covenant with the people was written. It was a written document that acted like a dance teacher. Jeremiah said that it “took the people by the hand to guide them in what to do and how to live”.
Unfortunately, that covenant did not work - the people dropped the hand that sought to guide them - they could not follow an outside instructor. Now, Jeremiah tells us, God is going to make a new covenant with the people and it will be written upon our hearts, it will not come from the outside but from the inside.
I believe that each of us “dances” with God with amazing rhythm and grace when it comes from the inside - when we discover it as already written upon our hearts.
God has saturated our hearts with the capacity to love, to care, to serve. God has saturated our hearts with a deep knowledge of what is Truth and with the humble and glorious awareness that we are loved by this Mystery we call God.
Discovering and proclaiming what God has written upon our hearts can be a wonderful awakening. So this week I asked a variety of men and women in our congregation to respond to my question of, “What has God written upon your heart?” “What is the core of your inner self that you know/believe/depend on in your spiritual journey?” As I read their responses I felt like I was being allowed to hear the inner music of their hearts.
I have permission to share some of their thoughts:
I know in my heart that God loves me and those that I love and that he always will. His unconditional, non-judgmental love embraces all and challenges me daily to do the same.
What is written upon my heart?
Love, love, love. When I am in love with the world around me, I am in love with myself, with God, my family, everybody, even strangers. I am blessed with the feeling that God's love is being manifested through me to others. It is not always there, but it seems to be more present as the days go by as I work on it and become more and more receptive to being an instrument of God's love.
A pastor in a church I once attended said: “There is a God who made everything we see, who made us. He knows our name, knows who we are. And he says, “I love you! There's a purpose for your life now and forever. Let me show it to you.” Deep down I believe we are all looking for a place to belong, where we are needed and respected, where we feel meaningful, where somebody knows our name. What greater joy than to know that God fulfills this need at the highest level! With this knowledge, I am able to experience life boldly and with full confidence knowing that there is a God who is with me all the way.
One gentleman shared a story about his 7-year-old granddaughter who was asked by her own father what the meaning of life was, after much thought she said: 1. Love 2. Sharing 3. Enjoying each other 4. Being together and 5 Hugging my family
What is the core of my faith? A knowledge that no matter what, I am never alone. God is always with me. This belief took me years of soul searching to discover and to whole- heartedly acknowledge. I spend many miserable hours, days, even years thinking that I was all-alone. Feeling alone played in well with my biggest fear in life - being abandoned. But today, I know that I can never be truly abandoned and while I might occasionally feel lonely, I'm never alone because God is there for me. I also believe that everything happens for a reason - even when things go seemingly awry, and I don't like it or understand it, I know that there is always something to be learned…even if it is simply a lesson in pity, patience and tolerance.
To be really honest, my spirituality has had challenges during the entire journey; challenges that have caused me to ponder where is the God that maybe I had fantasized or was led to believe in “old time religion”. Spirituality can come to you in an instant or leave just as fast, but a nucleus must be there. Spirituality to me is something that I must have a conscious desire to pursue, and I guess could ignore. But once you open the door, it is difficult to close it. I know that it is always with me, but I have to knock on the door. I know that I must give thanks and then ask for assistance from Jesus.
And finally:
I am one of the lucky ones; I know where home is. I was awakened to the imprint God put upon my heart when I was quite young. One day while riding my bike through the familiar woods that surrounded our neighborhood; I stopped and looked up into the trees and sky. The clouds parted and the sun washed my body. As I basked in the delight of the sun something more happened, the light that was beyond the sun washed my core being, illuminating my true self, Soul…I can only describe it as true love, and the sensation that I was home, welcomed, I belonged.
As a troubled youth, from a dysfunctional family that experience was to be just one of several that saved me from eminent destruction…My faith journey has been one I have needed to work with pro-actively. It has shown me I have a choice: agonize in pain, which I now see as separation from my relationship with God, or to engage each day in intentional living…
In my prayer and meditation time I can feel the presence of the One, and be supported in the arms of its great, loving ocean. I am not sure if it is a being, but I know it is a consciousness, one that says to me “you belong to me”. When I feel it I know I am home.
God has written on all of our hearts, when we dance our lives from that core place it not only benefits us, it benefits all.
The Season of Lent is a wonderful time to ponder, “What has God written upon your heart?” I hope you might take the time to do so. Amen.