A Living Sacrifice

Reading: Romans 12: 1-21

My parents were high school sweethearts, specifically high school band sweethearts. They fell in love in their love of music. As a newlywed couple, they were looking for something to get them involved in a community and they decided to join the choir. Six years later, they started a family and my siblings and I were born in choir robes. At the tender age of three months, I played Jesus in the church nativity play. Vacation Bible School and children’s choir were crucial to our development. And eventually, all three of us would enroll in band class and I went on to march in my college band. I joined a musical fraternity and was one of the leaders for an a cappella group. After college, I was the proud youngest member of our chancel choir. Music has always been something that has spoken to me. A year and a half ago, the choir was preparing a song by Craig Phillips titled I Beseech You Therefore, Brethren. It was a new song to us and we were struggling. The melody was different, the timing was weird, and the harmonies were not meshing as fifty people were muddling their way through. I wanted to write this song off. My thought process was “I’ll sing it and I’ll move on”. Even after a couple of weeks of working on it, I was not understanding what it was saying. The song repeats the first verse of this chapter. It seemed like words just strung together with no meaning. So I went to my Bible and read this chapter trying to gain context. And, I still didn’t get it. I was getting so frustrated. The next Wednesday though… the sopranos hit the high, sustained note. The altos, tenors, and basses were all moving seamlessly underneath. Mmm. *chef’s kiss* Beautiful. And it hit me. The meaning. God’s calling radiated from my heart and filled my entire body. Several factors had been brewing in my life and in the church in the early months of 2019 and when God sang to me through this song, I knew I couldn’t ignore it anymore.

The chapter opens with “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship”. Paul, the author of this letter, spends several chapters previous writing to the Romans exploring elements of God’s relationship with humanity and how God keeps calling out to us but we keep resisting. If you read the Old Testament, the pattern of God calling out and humanity resisting repeats for generations and those cycles have not gone away. So this part of Paul’s letter is a plea to humanity – a plea to the church in Rome – a plea to me to re enter a covenant with God as a new Creation through the love and sacrifice of Jesus Christ. God’s mercies are endless: we have an identity through Jesus, the law was fulfilled and now we live through grace, connected by the Holy Spirit flowing through all of us. In light of this, the best we can do is give it all to God. God has given us everything and in exchange… Paul writes about a living sacrifice. This phrase resonates with me. The word sacrifice brings to mind the burnt offerings on an altar. Sacrifices, offerings, and tithes are different categories of giving to God. Sacrifices were brought in the form of lamb or dove to be killed but a living sacrifice is different! The sacrifice we bring to God is alive, it is us! It is our time, our presence, our gifts, our service, our witness! It is living because this sacrifice stays alive at the altar. Living sacrifices make differences and have lasting, life-changing effects. What we have to offer God, God can use us to make our world better. I hear God calling me into a life of service, academic exploration, and love. I am in agreement with Paul when he says that this is an act of true and proper worship. Worship is translated in the Bible as laying one’s self before God. It is a physical act. I offer myself to leave the comfort of my home, to attend an academically rigorous university, stretch my theological muscles, and go be in ministry. That is my true and proper worship.

God is creative and has made humanity and Creation diverse. Worship for some looks different from what I am used to. And that’s what makes it beautiful. A colorful mixing and appreciation of others makes worship fun. Literally, song and dance and languages in worship keeps you on your toes and engaged wondering how God will be praised next. Verse four says “For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us.” How awesome is that. Everyone has something to offer. It may not look the same as your gift because these members do not all have the same function but every part is valid and cherished because in Christ, we form one. We belong to each other so it is our God-called and moral responsibility to raise up Black Lives and fight oppression. To value disabled bodies as good bodies and not broken. To declare that God made everyone to be who they are and love is love because God is love.

Paul writes that love must be sincere when put into action. Paul then gives guidance in what love in action looks like. Some of my favorites are: Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another. Be joyful in hope. Practice hospitality. These directions are some that I try to live by and they are qualities that I search for in the world at large. How did I see God in these qualities this summer?

I saw God on my secret trip before my internship started. I was hopeful and excited for what opportunities I might have to learn. My hope has not been driven away by the pandemic. My hope has just changed with every new opportunity and decision.

The music planning team connected through song. One of the lines in my music fraternity’s chorale is Music is a kind and truthful speech; In a language out of mere word’s reach. And that is so true. God sang to us this summer and will continue to sing as we might hear the words in a new way.

I saw God in the pandemic response team and in church council. Sometimes, the Lord’s work is in tough calls and uncertain futures but the care in which decisions are made shows that with God’s help, we are all trying our best.

The lay mentoring team gave me the space to learn and I appreciate what they had to say to me as representatives of God’s word and congregation. Each suggestion and kind critique was an opportunity for God to build my foundation.

My Thursday morning Bible study gave me new ideas about old concepts. Perspectives I had not considered gave me new ways to explore being a follower of Jesus Christ.

One whirlwind 18 hour timeframe gave me the opportunity to meet some of y’all in person. I am very grateful for that time I met people at the river. Being close to the water, underneath a tree of life at the labyrinth, gave me such a thrill to be connected to nature and new friends. By the water, I took time to remember my baptism and ponder the importance of relationships in Christ.

That same day, I had the opportunity to help record worship. It was the first time I had been in a sanctuary since early March and it gave me a new appreciation for holy spaces both in a traditional building and in new arenas of worship such as my home, my backyard, my place of work, and wherever else I might be connected to God.

This summer I went to my first Reconciling Ministries meeting and it affirmed that the future of the church is love. 

To Ben Sims, I just want to say: Here at the rock! Obey all rules! I assume that means the commandment to love God and your neighbor.

To Pastor Anne, thank you. Thank you for your mentorship and guidance. I appreciate your tips and suggestions and your model of being a woman in ministry. Thank you for your friendship, your stories, and your love of fantasy novels and musicals. 

To my Duke cohort: We made it. Through a summer of changing expectations and unclear futures, I think it turned out alright. You showed me God in a variety of ways.

Jackie, we found God in the balance of ministry, work, play, and rest. 

Troy, what ease you approach life. You give it all to God to take care of.

Ian, you affirmed that church is about progress and moving forward.

Griffen, you exemplified structure and the importance of God as your foundation.

Treyvon, thank you for your testimony of truth and power.

Katie, you bring such joy, laughter, and fun. I can’t wait for what Duke and God has for us next.

Now, we all have seen God in different ways this summer. This beginning of a new era was unexpected and yet God has shown us great mercies. How will I offer myself? This semester, it will be by studying hard and learning new things. What will you do in return for the ways you have seen God this summer? I hope you’ll find new ways to worship and draw closer to God. I hope you will continue giving your time and your resources to offer aid for those who need help. I hope you will find ways to connect with others during this disconnected time. 

This has been a challenging, formative, and thrilling experience. God called me into ministry years ago and I finally answered. In a pandemic! Ministry is not a comfortable vocation and it is definitely not comfortable in a pandemic and yet here I am. Starting this journey at this moment in modern history has affirmed that I am strong willed yet flexible, outspoken, and kind. I started the application process before coronavirus was even heard of and soon after my acceptance, the world shut down. However, I knew that if I delayed one more year my stubbornness would become a detriment to my calling and not a benefit. Once I made my mind up, nothing could stop me from pursuing my calling even if I have had to change the stepping stones along the way. This summer experience has taught me how to deal with disappointment, slow decisions, and rapid change. Will I ever be good at dealing with disappointment? Probably not but, this has been a lesson in flexibility and searching for the positive outlook. I have had to adjust my expectations and I have tried to approach every situation with a smile.

Being in community with others is extremely valuable in a crisis where one is not allowed to be physically present. Making friends and relationships with others has been beneficial for my mental and emotional health. It seems that others are wanting the same thing. I have enjoyed getting to know my cohort. I have made some good connections with people in this congregation and I learned that everyone is searching for a connection with each other and the Divine Reflection within us all. 

God is everywhere. One Monday afternoon, during our cohort’s theological reflection time, we said the Lord’s Prayer together. Because Zoom has a slight lag, our voices were bouncing off of each other and it created an echo effect. It was messy but it was beautiful. At that moment, we were in different places: Greensboro, Arapahoe, Milwaukee, Birmingham, Durham, Morehead City but we were all together, connected by our God of Love. Thank you Oriental United Methodist for showing me that abundant love as well.