Luke 3:15-17, 21-22 and Excerpts from Life of the Beloved: Spiritual Living
in a Secular World by Henri J.M. Nouwen
Welcome again however you are joining us whether here in the room or
worshiping with us online. We are so glad that you are here! May you
receive whatever it is that you need to today. As you are moved, I invite you
to join me in this prayer from Psalm 19. God may the words of my mouth
and the meditations of all our hearts be acceptable in your sight, our Rock
and our Redeemer. Amen.
“Move fast and break things.” That was the motto for the small group of
college students who in 2004 launched what? That’s right, Facebook. And
as Facebook was preparing to go public in 2012, Mark Zuckerberg told
investors that moving fast was still one of the five core values of the
company. He wrote “moving fast enables us to build more things and learn
faster.”
He went on, “However, as most companies grow, they slow down too much
because they're more afraid of making mistakes than they are of losing
opportunities by moving too slowly.” He said, “We have a saying: 'Move fast
and break things.' The idea is that if you never break anything, you're
probably not moving fast enough.”
Originally this slogan or so-called value, was only intended to inform
internal design processes, but it came to appropriately capture the mindset
of many in the world of technology, business and other fields, infusing
popular culture with the idea that breaking things is just part of progress,
that what matters is winning, dominating, whatever the cost. Both our
economic system and our culture have affirmed these ideas, taking and
taking, winning and not worrying about harm, the hurt, the breaking.
In a piece by historian Heather Cox Richardson, she examined the two
letters found on a phone inside the remains of the Tesla Cybertruck that
active-duty Green Beret Master Sergeant Matthew Alan Livelsberger had
rented before he drove it to Las Vegas to explode it. In addition to his need
to deal with the violence he faced and what he experienced in combat, from
his personal need to forget about the violence of his military career,
Livelsberger wrote that he wanted to “WAKE UP” service members,
veterans, and all Americans and his solution to all of America’s problems
“was to [focus on strength and winning. Masculinity is good and men must
be leaders,” he wrote. “Strength is a deterrent and fear is the product.” He
called for “[weeding] out those in our government and military who do not
idealize” that masculinity and strength, and urged military personnel,
veterans, and militias to “move on DC starting now.”
This was a performance of his idea of masculinity and strength. This
summer, as part of my exploration of the Divine Feminine and healing the
world from the wounds of patriarchy, I had the privilege of learning from the
writing and teaching of Dr. Christina Cleveland and she got me thinking
about how this intersects with race, economics and more. Recently she
wrote about colonialism and our devotion to a controlling whitemalegod
who needs performance, continues to drive Western culture, programing us
in a kind of mastery culture that tell us that our job is to rule and win, even
over the natural world. She writes, “master and subdue everything: each
other, the earth, and ourselves. In a mastery culture, it's all about the “next
frontier.” We are never satisfied with our current knowledge; we are
compelled to forge on to the next discovery. In a mastery culture…Our
bodies and personalities are not divine as-is. We must constantly improve
them, “grow” and “be on a journey” in order to be worthy. Rather than
standing in awe of the masterpieces that we intrinsically are, we are taught
to control, contort and subdue ourselves. In a mastery culture, it's all about
becoming an “expert,” and dominating others; communication is often
about dominance rather than connection.”
Move fast, be strong, win, master, subdue, take, break.
As Charisse R. Tucker writes, “so much of our energy is spent on getting
ahead, getting respect, getting more money, getting recognized, getting
connected, getting clout, getting, getting, getting—and “Maybe this is just
what life has become. But what if its roots stretch down into our most
hidden, guarded, and settled beliefs about ourselves? What if the core
issue is not that we don’t have enough or do enough, but that we are afraid
that who we are at the center of our being isn’t enough?”
So today, here is what I want to make sure that each of you know. You are
enough. You are loved, even if you don’t move fast and come up with the
greatest invention. You are valued and worth being here without any
achievement. You don’t need to win or master anything to be loved. It’s
okay to be in need to make mistakes, to feel weak. That’s not failing, that’s
being human. I know this might seem like an odd question after a year of
exploring the Divine Feminine, but today I wonder do our men know that
you are enough? Because you are still in most of the positions of power,
this feels important for you to know. And because men are causing most of
the harm right now. So I wonder, do you men, feel like you are enough? Do
you know that we love you even when you move slow, and don’t come up
with the next greatest invention? Do you know that you are valued and
worth being here, without producing or achieving or creating anything? Do
you know you don’t need to blow things up to show how strong you are?
Do you know it’s okay to be in need, to make mistakes, to feel weak?
That’s not failing, that’s being human. You are enough.
And this is so for all of us.
As I read the news and see that not one woman will lead a house
committee for the first time in two decades and as I look at the pictures of
the devastation in California and hear word from people I love, I believe
that the era of moving fast and breaking things should be declared done,
the era of believing that success is about getting what you want, regardless
of what is broken, is done, the era of treating Mother Earth not as the host
of our life, but as something to subdue and master, is done, the era of
masculinity being about needing to be in charge or win at all costs is done.
Enough.
The text you heard in the Gospel of Luke is a core story in our tradition and
with all that is being revealed right now, it feels like perfect timing for us to
hear this again now. Because I noticed something this time that I hadn’t
before. At this point in Jesus’ ministry, he hasn’t really done much of
anything. He has yet to do healings or feedings or influencing the weather.
He has yet to invent a movement or to challenge an Empire. This story
comes before all of it. No, this story comes before any of this. God doesn’t
give the blessing before Jesus achieves, produces, creates. It comes
before. It comes before any fancy declarations about who he is or what he
will do, or what it will mean, before he is seen as remarkable, he is told by
the Universe that he is beloved. As Charisse R. Tucker says, “He
possesses no credits to show for such a miraculous moment, nor does he
have a noteworthy curriculum vitae to justify such recognition and
announcement that God is pleased. He is a man being baptized and
praying along with others. Simple moments. Regular observances.
Ordinary acts of faithfulness that open him up to hear heaven’s embrace.”
Jesus does nothing to earn this moment, it is not a transaction. Nothing is
expected in return. The Spirit descended upon him and he hears: "You are
mine, the Beloved.” As if to say, you are enough.
As we heard from Henri Nouwen, “It certainly is not easy to hear that voice
in a world filled with voices that shout: You are no good, you are ugly; you
are worthless; you are despicable, you are nobody…” but “The truth, …that
(we are) the chosen child of God, precious in God's eyes, called the
Beloved from all eternity...”
What would be possible in our individual and collective lives if we lived our
belovedness? If we felt our enoughness? If we let go of the need to get
anything or master anything or prove anything?
Let us be a part of ending the era of moving fast and breaking things! Let
us be a part of a new era, the era of moving slow and making connections.
Let us be a part of the era of redefining strength and winning. Let this be
the era of enough! You are enough.
Communal Reflection
In a culture focused on individualism and human value connected to
achievement and possessions, how do you live your belovedness?
Beloved of God, this creation is beloved. It is enough. You are beloved. You
are enough. Called from all eternity, you are the beloved, do not forget this.
May it be so. Amen.
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