Sun. Jan. 31, 2010 (Laura Ericsson)

Laura Eriksson spoke on the theme, “What do we know by heart?” Exploring the possibility that we may be profoundly influenced by our childhood memories, Laura recalled that her earliest memories included worshipping in church, prayer and a yearning for beauty. What are our articulated memories? What has shaped us since birth? Jeremiah, for example, wrote that his life’s purpose was known even before he was born (Jer. 1.4-) and that he had already been appointed by God to be a prophet. His was an affirmed beginning, even though it moved him well away from his comfort zone. . The N.T. lectionary, Luke 4.18 (quoting the Jeremiah passage) tells of Jesus claimed a similar early calling from God, something we surmise he had sensed among his very earliest memories. His call was that of discrediting Judaism’s practices which ignored the love of God and made some practicing Jews feel superior to others. In this context, Jesus reminded his hometown listeners in the synagogue that God’s love is for everyone, even non-Jews such as Naaman. Jesus quite possibly knew this by heart from childhood, for it seems to echo his mother’s poem, the Magnificat, which proclaims economic justice for all and God’s love extending beyond Jewish borders. The epistle reading from 1 Cor. 13, heard primarily at weddings, was actually addressed to a small congregation that was rife with personality conflicts and deep divisions on many seemingly insurmountable issues. Paul told these troubled believers that their religion is essentially about love. This recalls what Jesus once said: “By this will people know you are my disciples, if you love one another.” Many of us have likely known this teaching and others like it by heart since childhood. How does this shape our daily lives? [JEK] Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, Jan. 31st, 2010 using your browser's preferred media player.