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Let me know what you think. The church Email is: SLUMC@att.net, Phone: 480.895.8766

February 3, 2002
Sermon: "Unstuffed"
Micah 6: 1-8
Reverend Larry M. Gerber

How would our lives change if we cleaned out our garages, closets and spiritual basements? We might discover a stuffless spirituality focused on doing justice, loving kindness and walking humbly with God.

"Home is where your dog is." It's a lesson author Megan Edwards learned living life on the road. Her adventure began when a firestorm roared out of the hills above Pasadena, California, in October 1993. Her "nice house in a nice neighborhood full of nice stuff" was one of the first to burn to ashes.

One morning it was pajamas, bathrobes and coffee in the kitchen, family photos on the wall, grandma's piano in the living room and the daily commute - and the next morning it was gone. No coffee mugs, no family silver, no socks in the dresser drawer and for that matter, no dresser, either. Everything had literally, absolutely and completely turned to cinders and dust.

Suddenly and utterly "stuffless," Megan, her husband Mark and dog Marvin seized opportunity from catastrophe to change their lives. They replaced zilch. They didn't rebuild. They took a chance. They hit the road aboard the Phoenix One, an eye-catching, custom-built, four-wheel drive motor home that "rose from the ashes."

Here's a story of a sabbatical that began with no itinerary and no return date. Believing she could disappear without disconnecting, Megan bought a cutting-edge, blazingly fast 486mhz laptop, a speedy 14,000 baud modem, a mysterious black box which allowed her cell phone to talk to her modem, discarded her security and hit the road.

Before the fire, Megan had let what she owned define who she was: She was nice, with nice stuff. Only when her life was "un-stuffed" did she discover a richer life.

How would our lives change if we chose, or suddenly found, our lives "un-stuffed"? With Megan, as with Micah, becoming a stuffless soul is the key to a meaningful life.

Even George Carlin, the irreverent observer of moral customs and America's curmudgeon laureate, agrees. In his classic routine on "stuff" he notes:

That's all I want, that's all you need in life, is a little place for your stuff, ya know? Everybody's got a little place for their stuff. This is my stuff, that's your stuff, that'll be his stuff over there. That's all you need in life, a little place for your stuff.

That's all your house is: a place to keep your stuff. If you didn't have so much stuff, you wouldn't need a house. You could just walk around all the time. A house is just a pile of stuff with a cover on it. You can see that when you're taking off in an airplane. You look down, you see everybody's got a little pile of stuff.

Not that our souls should be empty, cold and lifeless. Micah's message is that our souls should not be possessed of possessions. If we're going to have "stuff" it ought to be the "stuff" of doing justice, the "stuff" of loving kindness and the "stuff" of walking humbly with God.

Doing Justice: We do not exalt ourselves above others. We put the golden rule into practice. We neither approve of nor promote systems that disenfranchise others, even though we ourselves might not be affected.

Loving Kindness: We actively seek ways to show mercy and love toward others, especially those who have been flattened under the thumb of oppression.

Walk Humbly With God: We do not exalt ourselves above God. We live in obedience and service to the God who has called us to ministry.

So important are the principles of this text that Jimmy Carter, known for his emphasis on human rights and his work with Habitat for Humanity, had his swearing-in Bible opened to this text when he became president in January 1977. A network of churches now is trying to put the principles of Micah 6 into action. They're participating in what is called The Micah 6 Project. The Micah 6 Project is a "bold and exciting new direction in ministry for churches yearning to be faithful to Jesus Christ. Developed by the Economic Justice and Domestic Hunger Program of the National Council of Churches of Christ, the project extends an invitation to churches who yearn for a new commitment to faithfulness at the turn of the millennium. Becoming more actively engaged in the work of justice within the community; developing a heart of compassion, love, and mercy for others; walking daily in intimate friendship with the God of all creation - those are the three dimensions that define the life of faith, according to Micah."

It's a question, then, of having the right stuff. Most of us have tried to "un-stuff" ourselves. We've tossed, pitched, flung and chucked the stuff that collects dust, takes up space, seldom gets used and actually gets in the way of good and Godly living.

Micah's point is that God cares about the clutter in our spiritual closets. He's concerned about the space in our souls.

We tend to make discipleship a complicated, stuff-filled fixation. We've got creeds, doctrines, dogmas, rituals, denominational stances, liturgical dances, observances, saints, feast days, committee meetings, liturgies, political turf, pipe organs, worship bulletins, newsletters and stained glass. Christian life habitually amounts to heaps of stuff, which is fine, if it's usable, if it helps. Otherwise, it's stuff obscuring our vision of God and our suffering neighbors.

A letter that I received from Jackie Taylor, Executive Director of United Outreach Ministry says it all: In the weeks before Christmas, we received so many calls from people wanting to donate toys, blankets, and other needed items. during that time I received a call like this from a woman named Karen, who manages a gift store. She wanted to donate several boxes of items to us for Christmas. (What made this call unique was that, five years ago, Karen lived here at the New Day Center with her family.)

Karen came to the New Day Center with her husband, Ken, and their two sons, after a traumatic situation in their lives. They had moved from California to Phoenix when the company Ken worked for shut down and he lost his job.

They came to Phoenix to live with Karen's sister who had been diagnosed with leukemia. The wanted to help her with her illness while Ken found a job.

But sadly and unexpectedly, just a few days after their move, her sister's health took a turn for the worse and she died.

On a very short notice, Karen, Ken, and the children had to move out of the house. They knew no one in Phoenix, so they had nowhere to go. Their only choice was to sleep in their truck. They had no home, and no stuff, but they had each other.

They began to search for a place they could stay for a time while they got back on their feet. They heard about UMOM'S New Day Center shelter, and were able to move in right away.

With no money, Karen was afraid that she couldn't go back to California where her sister's funeral was to take place. She was so grateful when we told her that we could help her get a bus ticket. Our counselors also helped Karen deal with the depression she experienced after her sister's death.

When we talked, Karen told me that "we knew we were in a bad situation and that we needed help to get on our feet. We were emotionally worn out from everything we had gone through, but living at the New Day Center relieved us from worrying about having a roof over our heads and having food to eat or how we would provide for our two boys.

Karen and her family started out in our emergency shelter program and shortly after were able to move to our two-year transitional program. This allowed them the time they needed to become stabilized. They accomplished a lot during their months at the Center.

Karen said: "I never had to work before because my husband made good money. We were used to having what we needed." (they had a lot of stuff).

Just five years ago, they lived at a shelter; they had no stuff; they had no home; they had nothing. And now, they are in a position to help others. They can help others, because they got help when they were down and out. They had lost all their stuff, with the exception of hope and fortitude.

The prophet announces to Judah, well acquainted with complicated religiosity - sacrifices, incense, oil, fruits - a new stuffless spirituality: do justice, love kindness and live humbly. That's what's good. That's what God wanted then. It is what God wants now.

We are about ready to break bread together, to recieve the love of Christ, through his brokeness. It is time to get rid of some of "our stuff" that holds us back from following Him, and take Holy Communion as if it has an impact on our lives.
Let us prepare for the breaking of the bread, and the drinking of the cup.

Let me know what you think. The church Email is: SLUMC@att.net, Phone: 480.895.8766