What Matters Most
A Year-Long Opportunity for Spiritual Growth
The first words that Jesus used to describe his purpose made it clear what mattered most to him. “Seek first the kingdom of God.”
For the next year, we will focus our attention at Round Hill Community Church on “what matters most” for love, compassion, and justice to thrive and flourish in our own lives and beyond. We will demonstrate our commitment to that kind of faith by delving deeply into twelve values that we cherish and plan to teach to the generations that will follow us. Values like imagination, love, justice, and humility. We will take one month to explore each value and will use our preaching, teaching, podcast, music, and online resources to help us make this exploration come alive.
—The Rev. Dr. Ed Horstmann
April: Hope
Optimism is when imagination gets into play and says, well, it could be better.
And then hope is saying: we can make it better.
There are so many things to discover about humility… let's start with what it's not!.
March: Humility
With what shall I come before the Lord and bow myself before God on high?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old?
Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil?
Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?”
He has told you, O mortal, what is good, and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice and to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God?
—Micah 6:6-8
Why This Practice May Be For You
Often we are propelled into the struggle for justice when we experience an injustice ourselves; we are not treated fairly at work or our friendship is exploited by an associate. One day while reading the newspaper, we may be shocked to learn of the treatment of certain groups in our society. Or we may step back and realize that we have been ignoring what are clearly injustices around us. Our very lack of concern can wake us up to the need for justice.
There is also a "shadow" side to this spiritual practice. Sometimes in our fervor for justice we decide that we can ignore the rights and dignity of those who oppose us. Instead of being justice seekers, then, we become fanatics.
Prayer of the Month:
Grant us, Lord God, a vision
of your world as your love would have it:
a world where the weak are
protected, and none go hungry or poor;
a world where the riches of
creation are shared, and everyone can enjoy them;
a world where different races
and cultures live in harmony and mutual respect;
a world where peace is built
with justice, and justice is guided by love.
Give us the inspiration and
courage to build it, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Further Reading:
Grace in Action by Richard Rohr
Richard Rohr on the difference between justice and charity and the virtue of justice.
Daily Cue, Reminder, Vow, Blessing
Taking money out of my wallet is my cue to practice justice.
Whenever I see a poor person, I am reminded of the need for justice.
Watching a street demonstration, I vow to wage my own fight for justice.
Blessed is the Great Liberator who calls us to be just in a world of inequality, oppression, and suffering
February: Justice
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.”
—Matthew 5:9
Peace is built on the foundations of other spiritual practices: connections, compassion, justice, unity. It is a goal of all spiritual people. Peace is an inner state of well-being and calm. It is also an outer project of promoting nonviolence, conflict resolution, and cooperation in the world. The root of the Hebrew word for peace, "shalom," means "whole" and points to this twofold meaning: peace within oneself and peace between people.
Practice peace by refusing to participate in violence either directly or indirectly. Try to stay composed no matter how agitated the people around you become. Meet conflict with equanimity. Disarm yourself — lower your guard — as a first step in disarming the world.
Why This Practice May Be For You
The inner mirrors the outer. Those conditions that upset the equilibrium of the world — anger, aggression, discord — upset our inner peace as well. You need to deal with them on both levels. Encounters with violence — a contrast to peace — invariably demonstrate the importance of this practice.
Feeling worried, upset, or "crazed" can also get you started doing peace. These states often signify that your emotions have gotten the best of you, and a practice to restore your equanimity is needed. Being even-tempered creates a feeling of serenity. And whereas being agitated can drain your energy, inner calm increases your stamina so that you can sustain your efforts to make the world a more peaceful place. This time the inner supports the outer.
Prayer of the Month:
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Amen.
Prayer for Peace: St. Francis of Assisi
Further Reading:
Letter from Birmingham City Jail by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Colman McCarthy I’d Rather Teach Peace
Daily Cue, Reminder, Vow, Blessing
Hearing voices raised in strident and hostile tones is a cue for me to be a peacemaker.
When I see a map or a globe, I am reminded of the importance of working for peace in our time.
Whenever I get angry, I vow not to add to the sum total of violence in the world.
Blessed is the Peacemaker who guides our steps in the way of peace.
January: Peace
When the heart opens, we forget ourselves and the world pours in: this world, and also the invisible world of meaning that sustains everything that was and ever shall be. When the heart opens, everything matters, and this world and the next become one and the same.
— Roger Housden, Ten Poems To Open Your Heart
Mother Teresa: No Greater Love brings us the words of this century's most visible saint. Here is one of her stories:
"I will never forget one day in Venezuela when I went to visit a family who had given us a lamb. I went to thank them and there I found out that they had a badly crippled child. I asked the mother, 'What is the child's name?' The mother gave me a most beautiful answer. 'We call him "Teacher of Love," because he keeps on teaching us how to love. Everything we do for him is our love for God in action.' "
Prayer of the Month:
Energy of life, alive and at large in the world, nourish us with your love. Shape our passions into purposes and increase in a longing for that day when your goodness shall soak into every corner of the universe.
December: Love
“Resentment and gratitude cannot coexist since resentment blocks the perception and experience of life as a gift. My resentment tells me that I don't receive what I deserve. It always manifests itself in envy.
Gratitude, however, goes beyond the "mine" and "thine" and claims the truth that all life is a pure gift. In the past, I always thought of gratitude as a spontaneous response to the awareness of gifts received, but now I realize that gratitude can also be lived as a discipline. The discipline of gratitude is the explicit effort to acknowledge that all I am and have is given to me as a gift of love, a gift to be celebrated with joy.”
— Henri J. M. Nouwen, The Dance of Life by Henri J. M. Nouwen, Michael Ford
We can transform our lives and the life of the world through a consistent, thoughtful practice of gratitude. To be grateful is to move beyond resentment, and to approach daily life with deep reverence and appreciation. In these ways, we honor the gift of life and establish a foundation of humility and respect as a basis of life for future generations.
Prayer of the Month:
Generous God, we give thanks for your energy and grace that work through us for the common good, and which give us the strength we need to be a sign of your peace on earth.
November: Gratitude
“That's what I consider true generosity: you give your all, and yet you always feel as if it costs you nothing.”
— Simone de Beauvoir
Prayer of the Month:
Generous God, the source of our being and the goal of all our longing: we believe and trust in you. The whole earth is alive with your glory, and all that has life is sustained you. We commit ourselves to cherish your world, and to work with you in the renewal of the creation. Amen.
October: Generosity
“Imagining is perhaps as close as humans get to creating something out of nothing the way God is said to. It is a power that to one degree or another everybody has or can develop, like whistling. Like muscles, it can be strengthened through practice and exercise.”
— Frederick Buechner, Whistling in the Dark
Whenever I feel especially anxious about the future, I summon three words to my aid: “Imagination, not desperation!”
When we exercise the power of imagination as a force for good, we are tapping into a spiritual energy that is the gift of God for all people. I think that the human imagination is one of our truly inexhaustible resources, and with it we can conceive of futures that are more beneficial for humankind and the entire creation. Not only that: we can also create, invent, and design the means by which a sustainable future is possible. The current revolution underway in green energy is a perfect example of human imagination at work for the good of all.
In September we are turning our attention to the practice of imagination as a spiritual practice. We’ll read stories and sing songs that connect us with the creative power of God. We’ll gather our children for educational experiences that draw forth from their imaginative energy. And we’ll learn how congregations near and far are discovering that innovation is our new, great common calling. Come with us on the journey of imagination and let’s live toward the future that God wants us to imagine for the good of all humankind.
—The Rev. Dr. Ed Horstmann
September: Imagination