Grow Where You are Planted

God spoke to God’s people through the prophet Jeremiah. And what Jeremiah told these people was to grow where they are planted. And at this particular time in history where the Israelites were planted was in exile. About that forced captivity the people cried out: By the rivers of Babylon— there we sat down and there we wept when we remembered Zion. 2 On the willows* there we hung up our harps. 3 For there our captors asked us for songs, and our tormentors asked for mirth, saying, ‘Sing us one of the songs of Zion!’ 4 How could we sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land? How indeed? Captives of the enemy-- taken from the land you believe God ordained to be yours. That land the place you call home destroyed burned to the ground. Hating what is (exile) - grieving what was (Jerusalem) and knowing that life as you know it...life as your knew it...hoped it to be would never be the same. That powerless, helpless state of mind can and will render a person and a community paralyzed...unsettled...stuck in limbo. Healing from the loss feels impossible - just as imagining a new and different future is unthinkable. Can’t go back, no direction on how to go forward...but still the human spirit tells you === you must find a way....and like it always is...it is not you, but God who makes a way. Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat what they produce. 6Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. In short - grow where you are planted. Beyond Maxwelton, USA - where has God planted you? Sometimes in life we find ourselves planted in bright sunny places filled with smiles and contentment and that all-around-feeling of good. And O it’s so easy to grow in those places. Not so easy to grow in those places and times in life when there are downpours and droughts, blazing heat, soul-shattering winds, times and places where the ground is so hard and frozen you believe it is all but impossible for anything in your life to take root. And though it is not, it may very well feel like exile. But God is relentless- and still God says: Build houses, put in a garden, make friends, build families...try something new...learn something new, think out of the box, be inventive, imaginative, search and find and put to use your God-given gifts, adapt to your new reality ....in short - grow where you are planted. Babylonian exile; our personal life situations put aside for a moment....and Since it is Sunday morning - I would be remiss if I did not ask: - when it comes to the church - where are you planted - or are you planted at all? There are generations of plantings in this place. Like a grape vine, Clifton family roots run deep in this West Virginia soil. Some of you have been here since birth - as have your parents and grand parents and great grandparents. Others of us - first generation-ers have come seeking and made Clifton your church home. And like every home there are expectations. It is expected that as Christ’s church, we extend Christian hospitality to visitors and strangers; expected that we love one another; expected that we put no dividing walls between us; that we serve; that we welcome, extend mercy, share the good news...living every day -in such a way - that they will know we are Christians. And like every home there are responsibilities. To participate in the life of the church - in worship, in the care of the congregation, in the governance of the church, in giving our time, sharing our gifts - musical gifts, teaching gifts, leadership gifts, visitation gifts -- gifts that nurture and encourage children, gifts of organizing and repairing and decorating, gifts of service, mission, evangelism, preaching. Do you have a dream, a hope, a vision for the present-day Clifton Presbyterian Church....Do you have a dream, a hope, a vision for her future? What do you want this church to offer you, offer others - and how can we make that happen? What do you want from me, and the leaders you elected? What exactly is it that God is calling you to do for this church? Where exactly is it here in Clifton that God wants you to put down some roots? What will we as a community of faith, as a congregation be able to do to ensure our present and our future? Especially at this time in our history, these are questions we must continually ask ourselves as members of Christ’s church. And yes, what this is - is a Stewardship sermon - perhaps one of more than a few this year. Clifton needs your physical presence, your involvement in our programs, your hands, your hearts, your willing spirits, your imagination, your prayers, and yes your financial support...because I believe --- and I hope you believe --- that Clifton church --- planted in Maxwelton USA more than 100 years ago --- still has an important mission. This past Spring we planted new grass up at the park. But before we could do that we needed dirt. Dirt delivered, grass planted and it grew - just as planned and just as hoped. And in that new dirt and grass we now have wild flowers. Sprinkled over that whole area are tiny daisy like flowers. And one more. Hibiscus trionum. I have never seen this flower before - because it doesn’t grow in WV. I’ve been told it grows in the Piedmont area, and the internet tells me that it is common in Central and Northern Illinois. Hibiscus trionum - commonly called Flower of an Hour - rightly named because each flower blooms during a single sunny day, and remains open for only a few hours. Hibiscus trionum is an exile in this land - whose roots are now firmly planted in our park. Jesus said we are in the world but not of the world....Paul told us that our citizenship is now in heaven. True exiles are we. Planted here on earth - given the gift of bloom and flower - able to share that gift - but only for a short time. What is your gift, what is it that will allow you and Clifton to glorify God and enjoy him forever. We are called to be the church in the world, in this time and in this place, and hopefully to be the church in the world for those who come after us. So let us grow where we are planted.