“Being Reshaped” Text Jeremiah 18:1-6

Preached by Rev. James Murray at Dominion-Chalmers United Church Sept 8 2013

Where do you get your energy to face the day? Some people have to exercise before they can imagine facing the day. For others, they need to eat as soon as they get up. Some people let the radio coax them into the morning. Others need the television to jolt them into being alert. And then there is the question -is it tea or coffee. People are quite religious about their morning cuppa. We convince ourselves we cannot function without that first cup in the morning. Why is that? I think a lot of people when they wake up in the morning, what they are saying is “Oh God, I am tired.” When you wake up tired, you’re going to need a lot of help waking up. If you go through the whole day saying “Oh God, I am tired.”, there isn’t a Tim Hortons double double out there which is large enough to be able to help you. To say “Oh God, I am tired.” is to put a wall around you, which nothing can penetrate. You can end up spending the whole day feeling tired, because you haven’t allowed anything in to your life which can energize you.

Now imagine how things would be different if when you wake up in the morning, you open your eyes and say “Oh God thank you for this beautiful day.” How will your day be different? If you keep repeating “Oh God thank you for this beautiful day” as you progress through the day, you will have a very different kind of a day. Because you will be constantly noticing beautiful things and beautiful situations which touch your heart and energize your spirit. And that is something an extra large Tim Horton’s double double is never going to be able to do for you.

A lot of times we just waste the day we’ve been given. We think we’re having a bad hair day, so we don’t want to go out. What wondrous opportunities to observe God at work in the world have we missed by saying that. Something bad happens, and we are in a bad mood for the rest of the day. We think it’s a rainy day, so it can’t be a good day. What a waste of God’s gift. The key to finding the energy we need to live this life is our attitude. The energy we need to live this life is not found in a coffee cup or a pill bottle. It is found in an attitude of gratitude for the gift of life. God’s Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Life. The Holy Spirit came as a mighty wind on Pentecost Sunday. This same Spirit of Life comes as part of each breath we take today. It is expressed in the simple belief that it is God who shapes our day, just as the potter shapes the clay. The question is if you are willing to let God reshape your life in this way.

I know a lot of people are making a big deal about the amount of time people are spending on their smartphones. These powerful little hand held computers allow us to be in touch with family and friends all over the world. There is no gap between us when we can be in constant contact. Some people are upset that folks are spending more time connecting with people using their smart phones instead of connecting with the world which is all around us. So who do you connect with? Is it all about the job? Is it family, the community groups you are part of, or is it mostly your friends? Who we take time to connect with says a lot about who we are. The fact you are here this morning says a lot about who you are. You have chosen to spend this hour with these people, in this place, seeking to become better connected with God. For this reason, the timing of this worship service is very significant. This is the first day of a new week, and you are spending this first hour of it being focussed on God. Today you are making God the focus of your week, so that God may be a part of your whole week.

While we tend to make a big deal out of the Sunday habit of being a Christian, how we start the other six days of the week is just as important. It doesn’t have to be an hour like it is on Sunday.

It can be as short as five minutes spent in prayer or singing spiritual songs. It can be a daily discipline like half an hour spent in meditation. It can be as simple as saying a bedtime prayer which reflects on the gifts of the day. It can be a prayer you say as you read through the morning newspaper. It is important to take the time each and every day to connect with God. These simple acts of prayer, of meditation, of singing spiritual songs can put us into God’s hands who shapes our day, just as the potter shapes the clay. The question is if you are willing to let God reshape your life in this way.

September marks the beginning of the programming year for us. This is when we sign up for school, for sports, for programs. This is when we make our choices which will shape the next ten months of our lives. Will it be Tai Chi or Scouts on Wednesday nights? Badminton or Bible Study on Tuesdays? Scottish Country dancing or computers on Thursdays for the grown-ups and hockey or curling for the kids? These activities can enrich our lives. They can also quickly fill up our calendar so we don’t have a free moment to rest. Some of these activities can teach valuable skills. Others are just pleasant diversions. The challenge is to know which is which. A lot of what happens in our life are really just diversions, which are not of ultimate importance. We spend a lot of our emotional energy worrying about them, but they don’t really matter. Will the Senators make the playoffs this year? Will it really make a difference in our lives if they don't win the Stanley Cup? As pleasant as those things are, they really aren’t that important.

What does matter is our relationship with God. This relationship is new every morning. Each day we are given the opportunity to see this world through God’s eyes. If we want to, we can behold the magnificent beauty of the world which is all around us. Each day we are given the opportunity to love the world, just as Christ loves this world. If we want to, we can experience the depths of compassion for our fellow human beings. We can experience the exhilaration of passion as this love is lived out in a spirit of merciful justice for all living things.

If we want to, we can be in the world the way the Holy Spirit is in this world. We can live life to the fullest, as each God-given possibility is celebrated. When the spirit of life is fully realized in us, we can experience a joy which is greater than any other emotion we have ever experienced. The question is if you are willing to let God reshape your life in this way.

All we have to be, is fully present in the living of this day. All too often we spend our days remembering how what went on the past was so much better than today. Of course it was better. Back then we were young. But that shouldn’t prevent us from enjoying what God is doing in our life here today. A lot of the time, we also spend our day dreaming about what might be. These dreams are also powerful, because in our dreams we get what we want. Such dreams should not be allowed to prevent us from enjoying the blessings we do have here today.

We need to learn how to experience the gift of this day as the most precious gift of all, for this is the only day we get to live. The question is if you are willing to let God reshape your life in this way. For it is God who shapes this day, just as the potter shapes the clay. Amen.