Wear Your (unfeignedly thankful) Heart on Your Sleeve

Last Sunday afternoon I officiated at a house blessing. I love doing house blessings. I wish I were asked more often. I wish more people sought to have their homes blessed. But after we had finished the liturgy of blessing, the conversation rambled around to the topic of mezuzahs. Many of you have probably seen a mezuzah, although like me you may not always remember the name. It is the small vial or box found on the doorposts of some Jewish homes and businesses. It contains a small scroll of parchment inscribed with the words of Deuteronomy 6:4-9 and Deuteronomy 11:13-21. We just heard a good portion of that second passage from Deuteronomy as our first reading this morning. "You shall put these words of mine in your heart and soul, and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and fix them as an emblem on your forehead. Teach them to your children, talking about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates…"

I feel very presumptuous speaking about religious practices or traditions other than my own. I know only what some very cursory reading has taught me. But as I understand it, for Jews the mezuzah signifies at least two things. It signifies a home or establishment that has been blessed. It is also a reminder to Jews to keep mitzvoth, to live according to the teaching and commandments of their faith, no matter where they may be… when they are at home or away, in their coming and going, when they lie down and when they rise, on the Sabbath or on a Tuesday… live according to the teaching and commandments of their faith. All of these chapters in Deuteronomy are all about establishing the covenant, defining the identity of the Jews as a people in relationship with God, setting out how the people are to live as God’s people.

The Christian church, of course, uses a great deal of symbolism to teach and convey the faith. But is there anything in our tradition like the mezuzah? It is not, in and of itself, an object of adoration. It does not symbolize any particular event in the history of the Hebrew people. It is a reminder that homes and places of commerce or learning can be blessed. And I feel like the next time I do a house blessing I ought to at least have some sort of a certificate (suitable for framing) commemorating the fact that a blessing has taken place. After all, a house doesn’t look any different before and after it is blessed. But it is different and it is helpful for us to have some tangible symbol or reminder of the presence of God’s blessing in that place.

But what about the mezuzah’s other role? A reminder to the Jew of who she is, whose she is. A reminder that being a Jew means living a certain way everywhere, all the time. Most of us could use a symbol like that. Something to remind us that we are still Christians when we leave God’s house, and as Christians, we are called to live a certain way. For some people, wearing a cross serves this role. Although I think for many people, wearing a cross is sort of like wearing a birthstone… just jewelry but with a vaguely personal touch.

And I can’t help but think about the Episcopal shield decals that so many people use as bumper stickers. I don’t do bumper stickers, but I’ll admit it’s neat to attend an Episcopal convention and see a parking lot full of Episcopal cars. And there’s a lot to be said for proclaiming our Episcopal and Christian identities on the road, in the midst of all of the coming and going that characterize our secular society these days. But, remembering the mezuzah, do those bumper stickers remind us who we are or simply tell others who we are? Do they encourage us to behave like Christians when we’re on the road? That is what we’re looking for… something that keeps us "on task" in our daily vocations as Christians.

So much of what we wear and own is intended to send a message to those around us about who we are and what we value. Consciously or subconsciously we are always communicating our personalities and our values to others. Our tee shirts, our mugs, colored wristbands, the type of car we drive, the type of jewelry we wear… all these proclaim to the world who we are. This is a wonderful celebration of personality. And I hope that among the many various ways each of you publishes your personality that you do present symbols from time to time that reflect your identity as a Christian. A cross. An Episcopal bumper sticker. A Bible on the coffee table. It is good for the world to know that we are here.

But the more important challenge before us today and every day is to live as Christians. Not just to look like Christians, but to live as Christians. The mezuzah reminds the Jew to keep mitzvoth, all 613 commandments passed down from Scripture and the teaching of the Rabbis. A reminder to the Jew to live as a Jew.

I expect that a lot of those 613 commandments would be good for us to follow as well. But I would also like to go back and read for you Deuteronomy 6:4-9. That’s the first text that is placed in the mezuzah. Not the one we heard in our lection this morning. Deuteronomy 6 is the Shemah. "Hear, O Israel: The Lord, our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and with all your might."

Love. It’s all about love. Showing forth in our lives our love for God. It’s less about wearing a cross or a Christian tee shirt or a bumper sticker (though those are good things) and more about wearing our heart on our sleeve. Wear your heart on your sleeve. An odd and ancient idiom that means to let your feelings show. Act in a way so that others cannot help but know and recognize what you think and feel. Wear your heart on your sleeve. Some might argue that wearing your heart on your sleeve is not always a good thing—in human relationships, in human business transactions, in human poker games. But wearing a heart that loves God on your sleeve is always a good thing. It is the way a Christian lives. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your might. And you shall wear that love on your sleeve for all the world to see.

We still are left with the challenge of a means for reminding ourselves or motivating ourselves to live into our Christian identity as people who wear our love for God on our sleeves. One place to start is to remember that living and acting as God’s people is actually not something we are commanded to do. Despite the fact that we have the ten commandments, the 613 commandments of mitzvoth, or even the first and great commandment and the second that is like unto it. They are not commandments from God. They are responses to God. Responses of a thankful people to a loving God. God’s love, God’s mercy, God’s blessings are the starting point. These are the reminders, the motivators that should lead us to respond with love. God’s mercy, God’s love, God’s blessings in our lives. These remind us who we are. Thankfulness is our response.

Read Deuteronomy. The covenant and all of its "commandments" are set within the context of thankfulness for the Exodus, thanksgiving for God’s gifts of freedom and salvation. We are heirs of that tradition of thanksgiving as response. Remember that we gather every Sunday for the Holy Eucharist. "Eucharist" means thanksgiving.

There are several prayers that dyed in the wool, cradle Episcopalians tend to know. One of them is the General Thanksgiving from the Daily Office. "Almighty God, Father of all mercies, we thine unworthy servants do give thee most humble and hearty thanks for all thy goodness and loving-kindness to us and to all men. We bless thee for our creation, preservation, and all the blessings of this life… And, we beseech thee, give us that due sense of all thy mercies, that our hearts may be unfeignedly thankful; and that we show forth thy praise, not only with our lips, but in our lives…"

Mark that prayer, those words, in your prayer book (the one you keep by your bed). Say those words when you wake and when you go to sleep. Write those words on a post-it note and put them over the coffee machine or on the dashboard of your car. They are words of thanksgiving. Count your blessings—literally—when you sit down to eat or as you get dressed or before you click on the TV. Count your blessings and give thanks. Do whatever it takes to remind yourself of God’s mercies and blessings in your life. So that your hearts—all of our hearts—may be unfeignedly thankful. In every room in our homes, in every moment of our lives, in all that we do and all that we are, we are abundantly blessed by God’s love and mercy. Dear Lord, give us hearts that are unfeignedly thankful. And then let us wear our unfeignedly thankful hearts upon our sleeves. So that everyone around us cannot help but see and recognize that we are God’s people, blessed beyond all measure. Amen.

Sermon Index
Comments are welcome.  Send to krisorr@att.net