LAKEWOOD UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST
2601 54th Avenue South St. Petersburg, FL 33712
On land originally inhabited by the Tocabaga
727-867-7961
lakewooducc.org
lakewooducc@gmail.com
Date: July 23, 2023
Scripture Lesson: Mark 1:21-39
Sermon: What Can We Do?
Pastor: Rev. Kim P. Wells
I’m not much of a movie person. And I rarely pay any attention to something like the Academy Awards. But this year, I was thrilled when “Everything Everywhere All At Once” won best picture. I actually did see this movie – 2 times at home and 3 times in the theater. As much as some people, many people, including people in my own family, thought this movie was horrible, a complete waste of time, I thought it was fantastic. I have no desire to change your opinion of the movie, if you even saw it, which I assume most of you did not. And I certainly doubt any of you saw it 5 times. But to me, it was filled with the themes of our faith, of Christianity: good overpowering evil, redemption, reconciliation, loving your enemy, being kind. There are many messages in the movie that echo the themes of Christianity.
Today, I am going to tell you about one scene in the movie that I absolutely love.
To give you a bit of background, the story involves a Chinese American family that owns a laundromat. The owners, a couple, are being audited by the IRS. They go to the intimidating IRS office to meet with an auditor. In the course of things, the husband and wife find themselves in a utility closet, think brooms and mops, and he tells her a ludicrous story about an evil villain trying to take over the worlds, and how he has come from another metaverse to tell her that after searching the universes, they landed on her as the one who needs to defeat the evil villain. They have chosen Evelyn, this unremarkable wife, mother, business owner, daughter, to vanquish the evil villain.
Evelyn is having none of this story. She thinks the man, who appears to be her husband, is crazy. She is worrying about the IRS audit. And the Chinese new year party that night at the laundromat. And her father who is visiting from China. And her daughter who has a girlfriend, and making sure the Chinese grandfather does not find out about that. And she is thinking about the laundry of the woman with the little dog in a stroller. An evil villain threatening the metaverses and she is to vanquish this evil character, who, by the way, turns out to be her daughter? She is having none of this.
After this preposterous situation has been revealed to Evelyn, in the broom closet at the IRS office building, the messenger from another metaverse, presenting as her husband, Waymond, pleads with her, begs her, implores her, WE NEED YOU! And she replies, “Very busy today. No time to help you.” And she dismisses him. I love that scene.
Even when presented with a far smaller mission, how many of us have thought, “Very busy today. No time to help you.”
We know about being busy. Time on hold calling a utility company. Time logging in and finding out about this and that. Time getting the car fixed at the garage. Time for the doctor’s appointments. What happened to all the leisure time we were supposed to have due to the many labor saving devices we have access to and the increased productivity of our work which would mean less time on the job? What happened to all that time we were supposed to have to pursue hobbies and re-creation? Many of us are barely staying afloat . . . trying to manage everyday life. We can sympathize with, “Very busy today. No time to help you.”
And while we may not get squirreled away into a broom closet and have the hard sell put on us to save the world, we are certainly inundated daily with the sufferings of the world. The trials and tribulations of people here in our own community, in our country, and all around the globe. Thanks to the marvels of technology, it’s sort of like living in the utility closet of the movie – we are constantly being confronted with the needs of the world, brought home to our screens large and small, ubiquitous, showing us in glaring visuals the ravages of suffering around us. Between the busyness that assaults us and the problems of the world that assault us, we can feel that we are under siege.
As followers of Jesus, we want to be good people. We want to serve others. We want to help to make the world a better place – on Earth as it is in heaven. We want to be compassionate. We want to be kind and loving, even to our enemies. We want to be generous. These things are important to us. We know that this is fundamentally who we are, created in the image of God. We know that our highest good and our deepest joy is found in following Jesus and living for others. But given our time constraints, our financial situations, our health issues, we face limitations.
The person who requested a sermon on this topic wrote: “I want to know that I’m fully living my personal ‘ministry’ to love and serve. That’s hard to know when surrounded by so much need.” Yes, it is!
Here we turn to the story we heard today of a typical day in the life of Jesus. Let’s review his itinerary for that Sabbath day:
Go to weekly services and teach
Deal with the person with an unclean spirit who shows up at the service
Head to Simon and Andrew’s house
Heal Simon’s mother-in-law
Eat dinner, prepared by Simon’s mother-in-law
Cure all the people from the city who show up in the evening
In the morning, while it is still dark, go to a deserted place and pray
Be interrupted by the disciples who say, “Everyone is searching for you.”
Head to neighboring towns to teach and heal Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.
That’s quite a schedule! and Jesus didn’t have a day timer or a calendar app to keep him organized! He was truly busy. Did he manage to brush his teeth? Walk the dog? Call his mother? Do his PT exercises? We don’t know.
What insights do we get from this story about how we can figure out what we are to be doing as followers of Jesus, in the face of limited resources and unlimited needs and suffering?
One thing we see in this story is Jesus going to the synagogue and going off alone to pray. These are religious observances. By participating in the ritual of weekly gathering for worship, Jesus stays grounded in the Jewish tradition, in the stories, and prayers, and readings and teachings that root his identity and his ministry. So one part of being in touch with our ministry, who we are, and how we are called to serve, involves rooting ourselves in a faith community and engaging regularly in worship.
Another dimension of this connection to tradition which informs our identity and our activity is spending time in prayer. In quiet. Being. Not doing. Maybe this is a time of Bible reading and devotional reading followed by reflection each day. Maybe it is a walk in silence around the neighborhood. Maybe it is sitting quietly for a few moments each day in your car during your lunch hour. With the devices off. And books closed. Maybe the eyes closed, too. Creating space – for reflection. For things to settle. To become clear. To appear. To resolve. This can be a time to connect with reality beyond the minutiae of every day life which can be consuming. And with the twenty four hour news cycle, we can be constantly made aware of all the suffering, pain, tragedy, injustice, and loss that goes on around us, yes 24/7. Jesus shows us that we need take some time, each day, to step off the treadmill of life. To reground and reset ourselves.
Jesus routinely goes off alone to pray, to maintain his connection with God, with his true self, with his calling, so that he does not get derailed and detoured and distracted. Another example of this is the story of Jesus going to pray in the garden of Gethsemane the night before the crucifixion. He needs to center his spirit, shore up his purpose, ground his identity, so that he can face that ignominious death.
So we are shown that regular participation in our faith community and daily time in silence can help to keep us aligned with our ministry and purpose in life.
After Jesus heals Simon’s mother-in-law, we are told, they brought to him all who were sick or possessed with demons. And the whole city was gathered around the door. This sounds overwhelming. Everyone. That word is used on purpose, I believe. It is supposed to sound like an onslaught. The need is so great.
We, too, have the world and its troubles lined up at the doors of our awareness each and every day. And it is not just the village or city that we are in. With the advances of technology, it is literally the needs of the whole world. Well, if we are told the truth. . . And, yes, it is overwhelming.
Just this week, the cluster bombs, the heat, the fires. I finished reading the novel Demon Copperhead and that was an eye opener to suffering in our midst. And surely there was another mass shooting. Somewhere. This week.
It can make you just want to crawl under a rock. What can I do? How can I make a difference? How can I love and serve when the needs are so great? What is my drop of water in this ocean of despair going to do?
Again, let’s turn to Jesus to help us see how we can be making a difference, not only for others, but for our own lives because when we have purpose, we find our lives abundant and filled with joy. When we look at the tradition we have of the ministry of Jesus, we see Jesus over and over again dealing with the people that he encounters in the course of his day to day life. Someone comes up to him. They line up at the door of the house where he is staying. They appear where he is teaching like in the synagogue. And Jesus stops and responds to them. Regardless of his strategic plan, of his agenda, his schedule, he responds to those whom he encounters in the moment. This can help us in our discernment about fulfilling our ministry. Are we paying attention and responding to those who come across our path, literally, who are in need?
The last time I went to visit someone in Bayfront Hospital, I went out to the parking garage to drive back to church. I had the windows open on the car to let the heat out. When I got to the exit of the garage, I stopped for a pedestrian walking down the sidewalk in front of the garage. As she walked in front of the car, she called out to me and asked if I was going past the McDonald’s on 4th St. I said I was, and she proceeded to open the passenger door and get into the car telling me that it was hot and she needed a ride. To be honest, she really didn’t give me an opportunity to reflect on whether I wanted to do this or not, so there really wasn’t much discernment on my part. She was in the car. I really couldn’t ask her to get out. So I introduced myself and told her I was the pastor of Lakewood United Church of Christ on 54th Ave. S. She had heard of our church. She told me her cousin was a pastor and she went to his church. When we got to McDonald’s she told me where to go, a few blocks into the neighborhood, and she asked me to stop, and she thanked me and got out. Well, that was interesting.
But we can become so caught up in our plans and schemes and schedules that we neglect the need that is right in front of us. Maybe is it a need that we have ourselves, that we aren’t paying attention to. So, one thing I would say is look at the example of Jesus, and deal with what is in front of you. Train your eyes, ears, and heart, to notice and respond to what comes your way, literally, in the course of your day.
Now, there is much that comes our way via the media and technology. How are we to deal with that? We can simply turn off our device. Power down. Shut out the need, the pain, the suffering. One way to navigate the media onslaught of need and trouble is to notice, what makes you want to cry? When you hear about something and it brings tears to your eyes, pay attention. Maybe that is something that you need to think about responding to or helping with. Maybe that is an issue that you could get involved with.
Last week after church someone came up to me and told me about something on National Public Radio about the earth entering a new era, the Anthropocene. And it is demarcated by the destructive impact of humans on the environment of the planet. When the person told me about this, the person had glassy eyes. Almost teary. That to me is an indicator that this is an issue that person may want to get involved with, making a difference.
So think about, what makes you cry? What breaks your heart? That may lead you to the ministry that is needed from you, and that you need to pursue for your highest good.
In the story we heard today, Jesus tells his disciples they are going to neighboring villages, to proclaim the Good News. “For that is what I came out to do.” That is what Jesus needed to do. This reminds us that we are to do what we are needed to do. To do our part. Which no one else can do. Fulfill our calling, make our contribution. And it is not to end suffering in the world. It is not to defeat evil for all time. It is not to stop all the pain and injustice in the world. It’s not to be everything to everyone everywhere all at once. No one can do that alone. Even Jesus needed disciples, followers, us, today, to work on all of that. So no one of us is here to do it all. We are here to do what we can do. In this moment. In this place.
At the United Church of Christ General Synod earlier this month in Indianapolis, the Rev. Dr. Karen Georgia Thompson was elected General Minister and President of the United Church of Christ, our highest office. Karen Georgia was a member of this church when she lived in St. Petersburg. At one point during the meeting there was a 2 hour long Q and A with Karen Georgia in a jam packed convention center meeting room. In response to one question she replied, First of all, I’m not interested in how big your church is, tell me about what you are doing. I LOVE that. We don’t have to make excuses or try to be everything to everyone everywhere all at once. Here. Now. Where we are. Who we are. What are we doing? Remember Jesus called a rag tag group of disciples with full confidence in what they would do even though they continually try to undermine his selection process with their density.
At the end of the movie, “Everything Everywhere All At Once,” after all the transporting to other realities, and other versions of herself, after confronting evil in its many guises, including her daughter, the main character, the mother, Evelyn, comes back to this life, to the parking lot at the laundromat, and a conversation with her daughter with whom she has a very strained relationship. She is there with her daughter. And after all the metaverses, and powers, and glory, and fame, she tells her daughter, “No matter what I still want to be here with you. I will always, always want to be here with you.” She has found what she needs to do, what will bring her life meaning and joy, (the daughter’s name is Joy), and it is enough.
We started with the question, Am I am fully living my personal ministry to love and serve? First, remember – No one is expected to be everything to everyone everywhere all at once. Then engage in discernment. You’ve come to church. That’s a good start right there. How can you know what you are supposed to be doing? Spend some time in quiet every day. Notice the needs around you and respond. Pay attention to what moves you, makes you cry, and find a way to make a difference. Then you will know that you are doing what you have been put on this precious beautiful Earth to do. And it is enough. Amen.
A reasonable effort has been made to appropriately cite materials referenced in this sermon. For additional information, please contact Lakewood United Church of Christ.
Lakewood United Church of Christ 
Wonderful message and very much needed! Thank you.
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