Reforming Saturday

This week began with some sad news from Hollywood.  Actor Robin Williams was found dead.  At 63 he falls into the age category with Mindy’s and my parents, which means we grew up with him.  We watched Mork and Mindy episodes, Mrs. Doubtfire, Good Will Hunting, and a few side projects that I have in my personal collection. Robin Williams was so gifted in providing so many of us with joy and laughter.  Even young kids enjoyed his unique and iconic role of the Genie in Aladdin.  Yet, behind closed doors, Robin Williams had to confront many demons.  Many of his problems seem to have come from mental illness.  He battled various addictions and certainly struggled with them daily.  It’s difficult to believe that a man whose career consisted of making other people happy, had to fight an ongoing, daily sadness.  Robin Williams is exactly what this series is all about.  I don’t know where Robin’s faith life stood, but I do know that this reformation is key to growth.

Most of us normally move forward; yet, sometime we may be faced with a struggle that freezes us or puts us into a bad place.  We all have demons like Robin; we have sins that plague us and hold us back from using the gifts God gives us.  This is the drive of understanding this series.  Because in our weekly routine we cover up those things, and we pretend that they don’t exist.  In the quiet moments on Saturdays we cash in, and live in our sin.  It paralyzes us and holds us back from what God wants our stories to be.  And no one is exempt from this.  You look at the Noahs, Davids, and Goliaths of the Bible, and you see their demons.  It is through reforming their Saturdays that they are able to move out of their battles as they intentionally think about being disciples of Christ everyday.

The very foundation of our Church also went through this.  Mt. Calvary is part of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod.  A long time ago Martin Luther came to the Church to challenge some of its ways of handling things.  At that time, the Church was making people feel guilty instead of giving them the freedom to leave their lives of sin.  It was not shaping them to create Saturday Stories, but rather a life of constantly figuring out how to rid themselves of all their sins, and even the sins of their families.  It was in the reforming process that they began to see the truth, which resulted in the Church that knows grace today.  But it was painful.  People were challenged as they experienced change in the Church.  Even the people who were constantly struggling with their sins had a hard time embracing a new reality. They only knew it one way.

The same will be true for us in the next couple of weeks.  No matter what you uncover you will find that God has a new story for you.  He has places for you to live out your life, and gifts that may be hidden behind selfish desires, sins, or just a lack of intentional living.  It is through grace that we find freedom, and through the gift of the Holy Spirit we find that God will shape our Saturday story into a story we can’t wait to tell.