“Chosen” by Rosie Best (with an assist by Kurt Young)

    It’s really lovely to be with you today, when Cheri asked me if I would come and preach I felt honored to be CHOSEN to step in. Then she told me it was because she was going to be in Florida this week, and I tried not to be jealous!

    Last week Cheri was talking about the book, Life of the Beloved, by Henri Nouwen. She spoke about what it means to be the Beloved, the subject of that book. I hadn’t read this book before preparing for today, and I found it really helpful in understanding something that I believe all of us need to understand. It was helpful to me in a dry place, but more on that later…

    Nouwen uses the analogy of the communion to talk about what it means to be BELOVED. In the communion service, the pastor or priest will take the bread and wine and they are TAKEN, BLESSED, BROKEN and then SHARED. If we are to understand what it means to be BELOVED, then we have to understand that God has done the same thing with us… Cheri in the rest of the series is going to talk about the other aspects of this, but for today, we are going to concentrate on the idea of being TAKEN.

    When God gets a hold on our lives, we are taken… all of us. It’s essential for us to know this in a very deep place in our lives. It’s kind of hard to relate to the idea of being TAKEN or chosen , so Nouwen immediately uses, what he considers a warmer way of thinking of this: “As children of God, we are God’s chosen ones.” (51)

    In Kenneth Grahame’s book, The Wind in the Willows there is a beautiful chapter called Dulce Domum (chapter 5). It tells the story of Mole, who steps out of his house for the first time.  After a long adventure, he suddenly realizes he is close to home and recognizing it as a place long forgotten. I believe that in this way, we have a sense of God’s truth in our inner being… and that sometimes we feel so very far away from God that we feel flooded with despair … Today is about reclaiming our chosen-ness and about coming home… Having that realness of being chosen to be close to God.

    CHOSEN  You have been CHOSEN…

    There are, of course, circumstances where we’d rather not be chosen – a Tax audit, or as the subject for a bully, for example. That isn’t the kind of chosen I mean.  The Scooter Store & AARP haven chosen me for spam emails and I don’t really want that.   It’s the being picked out of a crowd chosen. That is an idea that most of us like. It brings with it the idea of being special… of being something… of being unique… of being wanted. Somehow, being chosen can help us get through the humdrum of daily life… I want to show you a cartoon (and we did in worship but can’t on the net due to copyright issues) that I came across just after I knew I was going to be speaking on this subject.  But in it’s three frames, a rabbit is at a computer working when it asks “God all I do is sit behind a computer all day.  Surely my life has some greater purpose than this.  A light comes down from heaven, centered on the rabbit, followed by the trumpets of heaven. 

    Oh boy, isn’t that sometimes how the day to day existence seems to be… we are going about our day… maybe thinking, “I’d rather sandpaper my armpits than put up with this!” and we hope, pray, yearn for the heavens to open up, and the trumpet to proclaim that what we are doing MATTERS! We want to feel special! Loved! Chosen!

    Okay, so I want to acknowledge that the cartoon came from MthruF.com and that the third frame isn’t the last frame… There’s one more, where the booming voice of God announces “Actually . . . No - This is not for you”.   Please tell me I am not the only one who worries that this is what the real answer is going to be!

    CHOSEN… it’s not a trick. God has chosen us and that doesn’t change.   Let me tell you I believe that God does not make junk.

    I need to tell a personal story here. I came to this country in 1993 and joined a church in town. I was a Youth Pastor and Children’s minister for several years. I was loved! I was considered to be an intelligent, caring, enthusiastic, and creative member of the team. Then after nine years, something changed. All my life been looking to marry a 6’4” Rugby playing Prince, shining armor and trusty steed optional, however, I had started working at a local school and I met a 5’3” Jewish American Princess and I finally understood what it meant to lose your heart to someone! I wasn’t planning to be gay, I didn’t want to be gay… but sometimes GAY happens!

    Suddenly the church, which shall remain nameless, forgot everything about me, and as quick as you could say, “Oh no she di’nt!” I was no longer chosen… in fact I was asked to never step foot in the church again. It was a very GRACELESS act.
Some of you can relate to being unchosen…

    Cheri talked last week about parents who get excited about children being born. I’m the youngest of 5 children. My parents decided they were done with children when they had a daughter. Unfortunately she came in at number 4. I was described as “the shakings of the poke.” The “unexpected package,” the “surprise.” For all these words, you can begin, if you are a sensitive child, to think… unwanted, in the way, taking up space…

    Some of you can relate to being unwanted.  Let me it clear, I am not trying to shame my family.  I am an actor and director. One of the great things that people describe about theatre is the great feeling of family, community, standing in the spotlight feeling special. I wish this were the only story. But for every moment of the special feelings… Theatre is a world that can be spoiled by petty dramas, divas, and the rejection, of running to see when the cast list goes up with all the excitement of I did great in the audition, only to find that you got the role of TREE #17… AGAIN!!!!  Or understudy as someone cried out in worship.

     You can feel pretty dejected, and rejected when that happens. Even getting the lead doesn’t protect you from trouble… then you have to deal with the looks from others who think, “She didn’t deserve that role,” “He’s just the teacher’s favorite!” “She must think she’s all that.”

    Some of you can relate to being rejected…  But this isn’t Debbie Downer does the gospel. This is GOOD NEWS. YOU HAVE BEEN CHOSEN! Part of the mystery is this (quoting Nouwen):  “When love chooses, it chooses with a perfect sensitivity for the unique beauty of the chosen one, and it chooses without making anyone else excluded” (54)

    Hours could be spent telling stories of the lack… but the Gospel… or Good News is that we don’t have to live in the bad place anymore. This truth is in each and every moment we live and we have a choice to embrace this truth with every single ounce of our being…

    I don’t know what your story is… I know that there are many voices around you that would try to minimize who you are, or undermine your creativeness, or tell you that you are useless, worthless… fill in the gap with your favorite things that pull you down…

    It’s not the truth about who you REALLY are. YOU ARE CHOSEN!  You can let any number of people try to tell you who you are… BUT YOU ARE CHOSEN!

    God is about reclaiming what has been beaten, abused, rejected and outcast. God is about healing the broken hearted. Building up, restoring, recreating…and setting you free into what you are created to be.

    Nouwen has an action plan to help you embrace this reality.

·    Unmask the lies: Start believing the truth about you. Reject all things that diminish who you are. Expose those lies. Don’t give into the voices of doubt and destructiveness. “Let the word of God dwell in you richly.” You have to live in the truth - embrace your God-given dignity and chosen-ness. When I was really struggling to make this a reality in my life, several years ago, someone challenged me to ‘live’ in Ephesians 1-3 and to rewrite it as a personal letter to me from God. This is why I chose the scripture for today.
·   
·    Surround yourself with Truth: Look for people and places where truth is spoken and where you are reminded of who you are called to be.  The Church I was at before was not going to do that.  They were not going to set me free.  Because I was kicked out, I discovered what it was to be me.  God is like that.  God doesn’t cast you out, God uses that show you what God already knew about you.
·   
·    Celebrate your chosen-ness: Maintain an attitude of Gratitude. Live in thanks when truth is spoke, say “thank you” when someone acknowledges who you truly are. 

    You have been chosen, but you have a power to choose. You are chosen, and you can choose to live by these guidelines or not. I pray that you will. “Our lives are unique stones in the mosaic of human existence – priceless and irreplaceable.”   Or you can slough things off. 

    Each of us has had those experiences with the Church.  As the old saying goes “Jesus I love you, but I can’t stand your wife”.  You see the Church is called the bride of Jesus. There are so many who have been hurt and blinded by the church.   But there are places like The Village where this is something is being challenged, where people are trying to change this.  And I salute you for this.  This is a struggle for many.

    So, for today, I am going to invite you to make a choice in the right direction… If this has been a struggle of yours, or if you just want to be reminded today of the place you have as one of God’s chosen, then I am going to invite you to step forward for a blessing… by making the mark of the cross and affirming that you are God’s chosen.

    Do you have a place where you feel like this?  A group of friends and believers who affirm you?  If not, look, these places are out here.  If you are near the corner of Monroe & Central in Toledo through February, or The Anthony Wayne Trail and Conant Street in Maumee thereafter, come join us.   We believe you are chosen by God for something amazing and we’ll try to help you figure out what that is.