Walk the Labyrinth with Me.

So many stars aligned for me to preach the Gospel in a room full of many people who have watched me grow, inspired me, mentored  me, and supported me in the Rocky Mountain Synod.  I'm grateful to share these words and continue to ruminate on how powerful it is when we come together as a community to envision what God is already up to in our lives.

Ephesians 4:1-16 (I'm attaching only a snippet, 1-6, of the text)

I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called,  with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love,  making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Parent of all, who is above all and through all and in all.

Have you ever walked a labyrinth? Raise your hand if you have.

Labyrinths- ancient Christian tradition of walking a path that leads to a center and then out again.

For anyone that has not experienced a labyrinth, let me take us all into one.

Mercy Center labyrinth, photo credit Connie Winter-Eulberg

Imagine your feet firmly planted on solid ground, with a slight spring breeze swishing on your skin.

A path lined by stones lies at your feet, the path looks to be winding back and forth as if it is a maze.

You can see the center of this maze from where you stand and you long to plant your feet on that patch of dirt.

Take a breath, and lift one foot to take a step into this path.

Feel the crunch of gravel as you continue to weave your way on this path of twists and turns.

You aren't thinking of the to do lists that are waiting but are focused on placing one foot in front of the other to reach the center.

Labyrinth walks often seem to represent the path that we are on in our lives; we enter this path focused in on the center and continuing to weave around, sometimes so far from the center that we can't even see the point of being on the path. Sometimes the path turns in a way that makes us feel like we are going backward and getting farther away than where we are meant to be.

In this Ephesians text, we hear this letter from Paul who is urging a community to lead a life that is worthy of the calling that they have as a people of faith. In this we can feel Paul's fervent hope that each of us will live out and use the gifts that God has given us. Paul speaks to this journey that we are each individually on as we walk our labyrinths while calling us to see the ways that we as a community are called to be unified in the Spirit of God.

Now this community part of this labyrinth, in which we are all walking on paths that are leading us to the core of God's calling for us, is the tricky part. Because it's not just us walking the labyrinth; we share this path towards the center of God's vision with many others. Sometimes we get hung up on comparing where we are on our own journey to someone else that seems to be farther ahead then us, or worrying that we are walking the path wrong. Or there might be someone next to you who tells you to be on another path entirely and you find yourself trying to walk on a path not meant for you in order to fit into expectations.

I walked a labyrinth this past month and as soon as I stepped in it, I realized that during my day-to-day life I had been praying so hard to be anywhere but the path that I'm meant to be on. The further I stepped into that maze of walkways, I realized that there is only one life and one path to live into and that's to keep walking on the path God meant for me.

God is calling us unto the path that is for us in which our spiritual gifts shine. But life isn't like being in a labyrinth where you can see the path curving and shifting towards the center.

How do you can you discern where God is calling you?

Because God is calling us; in this Ephesians text we hear that Christ has filled all things with grace and calling, including us.

What does God's calling feel like? It might be whisper, it could be a shout, but the way that I would describe it is a buzzing in my soul.

Have you ever had that feeling? A moment that stands out to you as one that is precious, exciting, gave you the goosebumps, or made you feel like crying?

I've had many of those moments.

Hearing young women voice their prayers and questions about God as a camp counselor at Sky Ranch Lutheran Camp and leading a day camp at Luther Academy of the Rockies.

Or being nominated and chosen to have a full tuition scholarship to seminary with the Fund for Leaders.

Or preaching my first sermon on Maundy Thursday to the supportive community of Bethlehem Lutheran in Los Alamos.

Or voicing out loud that God can be described as a Divine Mother for the first time.

Or being in this room, on this stage, proclaiming the Gospel in a worship service that includes my father's liturgy and witnessing the next leader, Pastor Paul Judson, be installed to a call at Lutheran Campus Ministry, my home faith community.

What do a few of your soul abuzz moments look like?

When you feel that tingle or that buzz, that is the call of God showing you that you are on your path.

Most of these buzz moments for me include the people that supported me and acted as God's reminder of the calling that I'm being led to. It's almost like they act as the stones that mark out the path that God is calling us to.

One of those stones in my life is my great-aunt Darline, who I got to journey with in her last years of life. I would cook her dinner and tell her about my days or worries, and she would look at me and say, “Let go and Let God.” I will always appreciate her reminder to trust that God is leading me to the calling even when I cannot see it.

Who are some people in your life that have guided you?

Let's imagine that as we have been supported by those guides, we have now stepped into the center of this labyrinth. Pause to breathe in the core of God's grace.

Let's try on the call that God has envisioned for us. Here let's listen to the buzz that we feel in our souls. We thank those people who have said YES to us especially because those YESs are not the only piece of walking on the path.

There are certainly no's and opposition we come up against when we live into who we hope to be.

There are many times in this journey of answering God's call for me in which I have felt insecure or discouraged and wonder, “Is this worth it? Can I really do this? This calling is hard.”

And while we have come up against moments of worry and perhaps even people in power that say no, I think I've learned just as much from the no's and the rejections than I've learned from the people who have said yes.

Those no's have given me the opportunity to listen into the fear and the rejection and respond by trusting that God is calling and answer the buzz of the Divine in my soul.

Obstacles on the path that are just as much a part of our path and calling; together we trust into the path under our feet and step forward into what we cannot know, trusting that God is leading us.

One of the most powerful labyrinth's I have experienced is the one at Bethlehem Lutheran in Los Alamos. This labyrinth was created on the property after a forest fire moved through that town, destroying homes and even came close to reaching the church building. So this community built a pathway that weaves through trees that were scorched and blackened by this fire, as if to say that our path is one that has destruction and pain; we walk on this path to witness to that sorrow, knowing that in those dark moments, God is there.

I also want to share a story about an inspiring woman named Jess whom I've met while on internship in Seattle. Jess experienced the buzzing of her soul a year as she wondered what a young adult-led ministry could look like in the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle. As soon as she began to share this vision that God was tugging for her to do, there were some people who asked her why she didn't just drive 15 minutes to another ministry that was already happening or checking out a pastor-led ministry close by. Jess continued to follow that path where she felt God was leading her and now I can tell you that a group named Renewal, led by young adults, meets twice a month for worship, fellowship, service, and pub theology.  In this year of ministry, Jess discerned a call for ministry as a deaconness that enriches her passion for environmental justice.  When Jess began to tell people about her call to be a deaconness, one of the first questions she heard was: "Oh, but you'll soon get on the track to being a pastor?" Those questions don't stop Jess but rather affirm how vital her perspective is needed in this church.  I am so grateful to be one of the many stones on Jess' path that say yes to where God is calling her to grow and lead.

In this Ephesians text, Paul proclaims that some are called to be apostles, some preachers, some pastors, some teachers, and some evangelists. Today we hear that all of these roles are needed in our world and that Christ has filled all things with grace. No gift is better than the other; each of our paths is important and necessary.

Because Christ has filled us all with grace, I think there are a few more callings that can be added to this list. God calls some to be diaconal ministers, some to be on the altar guild, some to be protestors, some to be church council president, some to be communion assistants, some to be tenor in the choir, some to lead overnight lock-ins, some to be on the outreach committee, some to make the coffee, and the list could go on and on.

We are called here together at this assembly as a people of one united body that are each uniquely called to be on this path. As we have this time set apart to dwell on hard questions and listen to each other, let us heed Paul's proclamation to live a life worthy of our calling and pay attention to where God is moving within you.

Listen to the call. Listen for the buzz of God's word.

Some of us feel eager to run towards that call, some of us might feel lost and wondering how to even get on the path, and some of us are trudging through the call angrily. God is present in every piece of our calling.

Listen for the buzzing in your soul because it's time to pick up your feet. God is calling; the adventure awaits.