This morning I want to talk a bit about attitude. Not the parental “we need to talk about your attitude” kind of lecture, but about what an attitude really is – what it means.
The word attitude comes to us from the fields of science and engineering – it refers to an angle, a geometric positioning of something. For example, an airplane’s attitude is it’s tilt, the amount of turn it’s getting to guide us safely through our travels (ideally without spilling our coffee on our laps!). The attitude of a plane will help to direct it’s course.
So an attitude for a person is an abstract concept – it’s an angle, a way of perceiving things. And just like the attitude of a plane, it can tilt; it can change. And it definitely can direct how our lives are played out. We can have a bad attitude, which will lead us into trouble: negativity, anger, pessimism – the ‘grey days’ of our lives. Or we can have a good attitude which will lead us away from trouble, into positivity, happiness, optimism – the sunny days.
The important thing about our attitudes is that we get to choose. I am NOT suggesting that difficult times don’t happen. Turbulance is a reality for airplanes; it’s also a reality for our lives. But we can decide how to cope with that turbulence based on our attitudes. It’s how we react in turbulent times (bad situations) that really shows us what our attitude is. It’s easy to be positive when things are going well – but when things are shaky and we can still do our best to be positive, it shows that we want our planes to be as stable and safe as possible. When things get shaky and we focus on the negative attitude, well, our ‘plane’ starts to go down – fast.
So how do you think your attitude is? Wait, ignore that question, that gets back to the parent-lecturing-recalcitrant-teenager thing.
How do you think the attitude is within our parish? Now is the time to reflect on the past year. Where is our tilt? Why the past year? Well, it’s been one year since you welcomed me here as your rector. And so I’ve been giving a lot of thought to this time together. And I’d like to share some of my thoughts – not on specific, concrete examples – you’ve heard those in the AGMs, but on the abstract. We entered into this time of change, not fully knowing what to expect. But we came into this new reality with a good attitude. We had the attitude not to DO, but to BE.
We decided to cast aside the to-do list of what we’ve always done. I haven’t heard in this parish the seven words to kill a church - the “We’ve never done it that way before.” Instead I’ve heard ways to grow a community - “We can try it” and “We can do it” have been the responses to suggestions for change. Within our parish, there has been a lot of talk – not complaining about how great things used to be (well, we all get nostalgic at times!) but instead celebrating where we are now and continually re-focusing on the present and the future. We are realistic – which is a good thing – but we are a people full of hope and faith. Our positive attitude towards being a Christian community has allowed us to open up into our towns and to let others know just how we are BEING thing body of Christ.
Our worship services have been full of life and joy – and often laughter. We practice our faith not only with the words out of our lips on a church day, but with the actions of our lives every day of the week. I have seen people go out of their way to demonstrate their Christian beliefs with those they encounter. Maybe our liturgy wouldn’t win awards – we sometimes sing off-key, we fumble over some of those names in the scriptures, we drop our books. And that’s okay. Because what matters – the intention of our hearts to give praise and thanksgiving to God – is as good as it gets. Our attitude in worship is to not try to DO things perfectly, but to BE the Christians that God calls us to be.
I have challenged you to think about your faith in different ways this year, and those have been welcomed. In my service to the wider church through the PWRDF, we, as a community, are learning more about ways that Anglicans enact justice around the world. We have learned and acted on other justice initiatives like the Millennium Development Goals, thinking about how justice for all is an extension of our basic doctrinal beliefs, like the Micah Challenge that we heard again this morning. We have explored the possibility of how environmental stewardship is so basic to our existence, and therefore plays a key role in how we act on what we believe. There have been others, and there will continue to be others. This type of thinking and praying may not be how some folks DO their faith development, but our willingness to think outside the box allows us to BE the kind of Christians who embrace their faith in all aspects of our lives.
There are many ways in which Christ calls for us to BE, rather than to DO. Because, when we have a BE attitude, rather than DO checklist, what we accomplish will reflect that. Actions and skills can be taught to anyone; attitudes, however, will guide and direct actions and skills without the need for teaching. When we have the BE attitude about our faith, what we do will be blessed by the joy in the Lord that flows from within.
The Gospel reading today is called ‘the Beatitudes.’ This is because the latin word for the verb “to bless” is beati. So Jesus is encouraging people to work within a positive attitude, no matter what their situation, no matter what hardships they have endured. He is blessing those people who have decided to have a positive, BE-attitude toward life and faith and ministry. Christ is blessing those who will take action toward peace and justice as a result of their good attitudes. Christ is speaking to everyone, of all time and space, to remind them that although life isn’t fair or easy, it can be a chance to celebrate the simplicities that bring true joy: that we are loved as children of God. Blessed BE.
“Blessed are the poor – not the penniless, but those whose hearts are free.
Blessed are those who mourn – not those who wimper but those who raise their voices.
Blessed are the meek - not the soft but those who are patient and tolerant.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for justice – not those who whine but those who struggle.
Blessed are the merciful – not those who forget but those who forgive.
Blessed are the pure in heart – not those who act like angels but those whose life is transparent.
Blessed are the peace-makers – not those who shun conflict but those who face it squarely.
Blessed are those who are persecuted for justice – not because they suffer but because they love.”
*Prayer from “In God’s Hands: Common Prayer for the World”
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