Open Hearts

Each week Pastor Keith stands here in this pulpit and asks us to remember what it means to be United Methodists. It means to practice Open Hearts, Open Minds and Open Doors. As a person who was not raised in the United Methodist tradition, I have to admit that these six words seemed to me nothing more than a catchy slogan. I have since changed my mind. After some digging, I’ve grown to understand that the United Methodist Church created this promise in an attempt to both unify congregations and make the denomination more visible in the public eye. Today and in the two weeks that follow, we will explore these six words together. Beyond trying to figure out what it means to have “Open Hearts, Open Minds and Open doors” as united Methodists, we will discuss what it means to have these things here at Court Street and in Rockford, Il. You’ll might notice that we’ve strayed away from the “lectionary” texts for the next couple of weeks, as I have chosen to use passages from scripture that don’t usually get included in the cycle of readings but have something to say to the issue of Open Hearts Open Minds and Open doors.

So today, we will be discussing open hearts. What does it mean to have an open heart? How does this change our lives in some way? What is expected of an “open hearted person”? An open heart loves. An open heart forgives. An open heart serves. An open heart is vulnerable. And most of all an open heart is open to God and to Christ.

An open heart is loving. This would seem the most obvious statement involving the human heart. Of course it loves…isn’t that the purpose of the heart? To be loving? But love is more than just saying the words, “I love you”. Love is showing that love in every moment possible. It is the one thing that should guide us above all else, and it is part of having an open heart. Love is the ultimate guideline. Love is patient, gentle and humble. But love also cares, whether we like it or not. Mary was dying. The cancer was winning. As she lay in her hospital bed, her eyes often gazed at the portrait of Jesus on the wall. As people filtered in and out of the house, Mary would ask, “Have you met my friend?” and point to the picture. The response was usually, “I’m not here for that, I’m here to help you.” Mary would inevitably say, “I’m dying here, so shut up and let me show you how much I care”. She proceeded to use her cancer as a way of witnessing to others. She knew when to say, “Shut up and let me show you how much I care.” Love is knowing when to be assertive: gently, patiently and humbly assertive. God used Mary’s death to show a few precious people how much they are loved. God used Christ’s death to show ALL of us just how much we are loved. Christ died on the cross for our salvation, putting our well being above his own. Christ was the ultimate example of “Shut up and let me show you how I care”. Christ is the ultimate example of love. Yes, love is gentle, humble and patient, but love also gives us a reason for everything we do, including being assertive in showing how we care. Love is saying “Shut up and let me show you how much I care”. An open heart shows care and compassion in ways that go beyond words and beyond trite gestures. An open heart puts itself second and others first. There are no restrictions in it’s affections. An open heart is above all, a loving heart. An open heart is loving.

An open heart is forgiving. An open heart forgives the wrongs done to it and finds a way to move on within God’s grace. But this grace is a tricky thing, and so is forgiveness. This thing called Grace is a funny thing. It happens when we least expect it, and it happens to people who we don’t think deserve it. Think of all the times you’ve said, “Oh I forgive You”, all the while secretly hoping that God will “get ‘em” the next moment. We watch someone speed by us on the interstate and secretly hope that they get pulled over. We look at bad things that happen, and say “God could never forgive THOSE people”. Face it; we don’t like to forgive. For humanity, Grace is complicated and messy. Practicing it might mean opposing the death penalty, or forgiving terrorism. It might even mean letting go of hurt and anger that has fueled your life for so long.Certainly if we can’t forgive, we don’t want God to either. But, forgiveness is one of the hallmarks of an open heart. We can’t open our hearts to God’s grace if we are shutting off that very grace to others. Luckily, we CAN forgive and in doing so, we begin to practice grace in our own lives. Forgiveness takes time and effort, but it can be done. Maybe we can start small…start by Try to forgive those in your circle of influence who have wronged you. If you are able to forgive, then take another step. Forgive someone who wronged you long ago; forgive someone who wronged a member of your family. Practice random acts of kindness. Say please and thank you. If you do, you will find that your heart grows stronger. Mahatma Gandhi once said, “The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.” To forgive is not showing weakness, but is instead showing the great strength of a solid faith and an open heart. An open heart knows how to forgive and in doing so becomes more open. An open heart is forgiving.

An open heart is serving. This is one of the primary intentions behind the "Open Hearts" part of the promise of Open Hearts, Open Minds, and Open Doors. According to igniting ministry (the branch of the United Methodist church responsible for this campaign), our open hearts are evident not only in our shared theology but also in our service to the world. Further, the Book of Discipline States:

Thus open hearts are hearts that are not only loving and forgiving, but open hearts are moved to acts of social action and service to the world. An open heart willingly serves others and does so with no regard for self, success, or profit. An open heart serves for the sake of serving. An open heart loves so deeply and forgives so fully that it is compelled to serve others. But in this service…

An open heart is also vulnerable. Being vulnerable doesn’t mean being weak, it means letting yourself experience the range of emotions the human heart is capable of. Being vulnerable often means being on the “other end” of service. It was Thursday at camp, the week was winding down and we were realizing that soon it would be time to say goodbye. As our group gathered again that evening, my co-counselor Joe Seeley met the group and told them that our activity for the evening would be completed in silence. He asked them to remove their shoes, pray with him, and walk silently to the small group shelter. The group walked to the shelter and sat down. No one spoke. In the silence, I slowly began to walk to each person and wash their feet. It was amazing to me to watch their faces as I carefully cleaned and dried each foot. Some wouldn’t meet my gaze, others stared at me in shock, still others sat quietly holding back the obvious tears. When I was finished, I sat down. Still not speaking, 2 of the young women in our group got up walked over to me and washed my feet. I couldn’t hold back the tears or the emotions as I let someone else do for me what I had done for them. In that moment I understood what must have been going through the heads of the disciples that night when Jesus knelt before them. Suddenly I realized the significance of that moment in a way that had never been clear to me before.

I learned that day that it is far easier to wash someone else’s feet than to let someone wash yours. I learned that serving is easy, but being served is much harder. I learned that true leadership is learning to let others take care of you the same way that you are taking care of them. I learned that grace comes in all forms, and that having someone wash your feet really can change your life I realize now that words are a pitiful way to try to describe to you what happened that day. But somehow in that moment, we were all changed. Realizing the vulnerability of one another somehow made us all stronger. I truly believe that the lesson my small group learned is what Jesus was trying to teach the disciples the night he washed their feet—he was trying to teach them the importance of learning to be served by others. He wanted them to understand how to be vulnerable and through that vulnerability comes a greater strength. He wanted to teach them the power of serving others and the grace of accepting help. Jesus showed the disciples that if they wanted to truly be leaders—to truly make a difference in their world—that they had to learn to serve others and allow others to serve them. An open heart serves others, but an open heart is also vulnerable enough to accept service from others when it is offered. An open heart is serving. An open heart is vulnerable.

When we become open hearted through love, forgiveness, service and vulnerability, then and only then can we open ourselves fully to a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. When our hearts are open, we can fully experience the love of God through the life of Jesus and in relationship with each other. When our hearts are fully open, then we can have a full relationship with God. When our hearts are closed off, we begin to miss out on the fullness of life in Christ. This brings us back to the gospel lesson today. Jesus is with the disciples out on the water and they find themselves without bread. They forget for a moment who they are with and grow discouraged. Jesus admonishes them saying, Do you not understand? Are your hearts hardened? This notion of a hardened heart appears not only here but in the story of the exodus when Pharaoh’s heart is hardened. A hardened heart cannot hear God’s word, cannot act out in love or service, and cannot develop a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. A hardened heart cannot see the blessings that surround it. Just as the disciples could not see past their apparent lack of bread, a person with a hardened heart cannot see past the things they are missing in life. It is this danger Jesus cautions the disciples against. He reminds them of the importance of an open heart. Closed hearts are a dangerous business. Once we start closing our hearts, we start shutting God out of our lives. Imagine that the heart is like a jewelry box with a variety of doors and locks. Once something is locked away in the box nothing else can be placed inside. Each time a door of the heart closes, the opportunity for Christ to enter closes as well. The more times a heart is closed to those in need…the more times a heart is closed by fear or disbelief, the less Christ is present in our every day lives. An open heart is a requirement for a relationship with God and for our relationships with each other. An open heart is open to all that God can offer. An open heart sees the possibilities. An open heart is available for the work of the holy spirit.

So how do we get this open heart? What do we do to open ourselves up to the fullness of God’s love as expressed in Jesus Christ?

We Love.

We forgive.

We Serve.

We become vulnerable.

We love. To have an open heart, we must love. We love our families, our friends, our neighbors. We do not let hate enter our vocabularies. We do not close ourselves off from the love of others. We love each other. Of all the things I experienced on my recent vacation to South Carolina, it was the love of family that really made the week wonderful. Even though there were those “typical family vacation moments”, they paled in comparison to the moments of family closeness we felt when sharing our big meals together, hanging out at the beach house, and exploring the sights together. Love isn’t always the easiest thing to do, but it is ALWAYS the right thing to do. Of all of the commandments in the bible, we are told again and again that the greatest commandment is to Love God above all and love our neighbors as ourselves. We read that without love we are nothing, and we learn that love is what put Jesus on that cross for us. Love is the key to an open heart. An open heart is loving. To have an open heart, we must love.

We forgive. To have an open heart, we must forgive. Admittedly this is probably one of the hardest parts of having an open heart. It’s so much easier to keep past hurts in our hearts and to use those experiences to barricade the doors of our hearts so no one, including God, can get in. When we don’t forgive we harden our hearts to God and to those around us who can offer us comfort and love. I know it’s hard, but like I said before, when we start small it gets easier and easier. But even harder than forgiving others is the act of forgiving ourselves. This is the thing that keeps our hearts hardened and barricade’s God’s action in our hearts more than anything. We hold ourselves accountable for past misdeeds far too long and far to harshly and when we do so, we fill up our hearts with so much regret and hurt that we fail to leave room for God. In order to have an open heart, we not only have to forgive others, but we have to be willing to forgive ourselves. An open heart is forgiving. To have an open heart, we must forgive.

We serve. To have an open heart, we must serve. Service is one of those things that everyone is called to do, but everyone does in different ways. Service is something that is more than just “doing your part” however. Showing up for a service or mission activity isn’t truly service if you are “showing up for the sake of showing up”. It’s not serving God or others, if you are doing it with any motive other than giving to someone else. Service opportunities abound, and it doesn’t mean just serving here at church, although some of you are amazingly dedicated to doing so. Some of you volunteer with Hospice, or as tutors, or through neighborhood ministries. Some of you serve in ways that we might not even know about, but you serve lovingly and with great dedication. Everyone serves differently, but we are all called to serve. Serving is simply the act of doing for another with no concern for self, it is giving of the self and the spirit in such a way that the act of giving takes on power of its own. It is this type of service, true and humble service to God or to others that opens one’s heart. An open heart is serving. To have an open heart, we must serve.

We allow ourselves to be vulnerable. To have an open heart, we must become vulnerable. This to me is the hardest part of opening ourselves to God and to others. Becoming vulnerable means we have to let others into our lives in such a way that we can be loved, forgiven and served by them. Vulnerability takes great humility and a lot of strength, but if we are willing to set aside our pride and fear for a little bit, amazing things can happen. See, it’s really easy to close our hearts when we are not vulnerable. By not being willing to let others, and God, into our deepest selves, we are not only shutting our hearts, but we are padlocking our hearts and throwing away the key. When we allow our defenses to crumble, we give friends, family, and faith a chance to enter our hearts and we therefore open our hearts to God. An open heart, then, is vulnerable. To have an open heart, we must become vulnerable.

If we can do all of these things… love, forgive, serve, and become vulnerable, we become open hearted. Our hearts are opened to all of the beauty and grace God can offer. We are open to Christ. We are open to the workings of the holy spirit. Individually, open hearts are deep and powerful things, but when a whole congregation commits to becoming “open hearted” that is a deeper and more powerful thing indeed. As a community of faith, if we can find ways to truly love, forgive, serve, and open ourselves up to what can be offered to us by our community, we can demonstrate Open Hearts in a way that not only blesses us, but blesses our community, the United Methodist Church as a whole, and possibly the world. A church with a truly open heart is capable of all of that and much more. May God give us the strength to truly have Open Hearts.

Amen.