Luke 2:39-52
Rev. Dr. Deborah L. Clark
August 28, 2022
Bubble backpack blessings. Besides being really fun to say, bubble backpack blessings invite us to reflect more deeply on our hopes as we send our young people forth for a new school year, our hopes as well for the teachers, administrators, coaches and parents in our midst. In this time of uncertainty, when we worry about well-being and safety, it is tempting to long for bubbles that do not pop. It is tempting to want to encase our kids—and our adults– in indestructible spheres, to shield them from the realities of this complex world. Imagine them—us—floating through life, untouched by the pain and struggle around us, protected from hurt and harm.
It is tempting, and we know it is not possible. It is tempting, and we know it’s not desirable, for if we are untouched by the pain of the world, we never grow. It is tempting, and we know it is not how God works in the world. God does not create bubbles around us to protect us from life. God does bless us with rainbow bubbles of love that burst into our lives. These bubbles leave a hint of soapy water, a reminder that we are given a fresh start every time we need it, that we are loved just as we are. The bubbles bless us with the assurance that we are never alone, the promise that we are surrounded by companions to support and guide us. These bubble blessings set us free to learn and grow.
I imagine Mary and Joseph would have liked to have put Jesus into a protective bubble. As we join them in this scripture passage, they are in the midst of a frantic search for their missing son. Just before this event, in Luke’s gospel, Mary and Joseph encounter a wise old man and a wise old woman who predict that Jesus will change the world, and also that he and his mother will suffer. Later in the gospel, we hear of Jesus’ mother and brothers wanting to take Jesus home, to hide him away in a bubble. Still later we hear of their desire for him to live fully into his calling. Mary and Joseph and Jesus’ brothers are tempted, as we may be, to pray for a bubble that will not burst. In the end, they embrace the promise that God’s Spirit is blessing Jesus with love and the assurance he is never alone.
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Our worship theme for this summer has been, “Oh the places you’ll go.” Last Sunday, we took it local—beginning a journey through Framingham to visit a few of the 32 hearts installed as part of our public art project, “Many Cultures; One Heart.” Today we continue that journey, visiting four hearts that offer insight into what it means to learn and grow.
Travel with me downtown to the public library, where we will find a heart called “Love to learn; learn to grow,” created by artist Brian Roche. On one side, there is a building with many windows. Through each window you see a person reading. It is a nighttime scene, with light radiating from the windows—the light of knowledge. On the other side there are many people from many backgrounds, each of them dreaming. One dreams of being a doctor, another an astronaut, another a musician. There’s a tree with a cardinal’s nest filled with eggs, new life soon to emerge.
For me, this heart highlights the ever-expanding cycle of discovering and dreaming. Sometimes we start with a dream and that sets us on a path of discovery. Other times we start by learning something new, and that inspires us to dream. Discovery without dreams is just rote learning; dreams without discovery just float around in space. Together, discovering and dreaming feed each other in a glorious spiral of curiosity and creativity.
The library heart inspires our first backpack bubble blessing: may you discover new truths and dream new dreams. It is a blessing intended for all of us. No one is too young or too old to make new discoveries or dream new dreams. What about for you? What might you seek to learn, to discover, this year? Do you dare to dream?
Our journey through Framingham takes us next down Franklin Street to Greater Framingham Community Church. Their heart, created by church member Michael Talbot, is called, “New Growth, New Generations.” One side shows a sprouting seed, with its roots reaching into the soil, expanding in concentric circles. The other side depicts a new sprout growing out of the stump of a deep-rooted tree. The stump’s roots are still connected to an underground network of fungus and tree roots that share nourishment. The new sprout is drawing upon that rich, complex, ancient network. The artist writes, “The idea is to highlight the importance of planting and nurturing new seeds/individuals and encouraging that new growth within the community, while honoring and acknowledging the importance of one’s roots as well as previous generations, and how that also helps with developing and nurturing these new growths within individuals.”
Greater Framingham Community Church’s heart inspires our second Backpack Bubble Blessing: May you grow strong, nourished by deep roots of wisdom and love. How does this bubble bless your life? What new growth in you is nourished by deep roots?
Let’s continue our journey, across the railroad tracks, down to the old firehouse, now Amazing Things Art Center and also the new home of Out Metrowest. Out Metrowest’s heart was designed by Anna Francelli and Yesenia, with youth helping to complete the painting. The heart is called Amor Sin Fin—“love with no end.” Enfolding the heart are many flags, each representing a community identity: the pride flag, the progress pride flag, the transgender flag, and many more. The flags are all touching each other, a reminder that our identities are not fixed, but always evolving. This heart, they hope, invites us all into “an infinite journey of growth, love and self-acceptance.”
We often talk about adolescence as a time of exploring who we are. This heart reminds us that the journey does not have an end point. If we are open to the Spirit at work in our lives, we are always discovering new aspects of who we are. Our identities as God’s beloved are continually unfolding. Out Metrowest’s heart inspires our third Backpack Bubble Blessing, a blessing for your entire life: May you walk an infinite journey of growth, love, and self-acceptance.
Now we travel all the way up Concord Street, through downtown, across route 9, under the Pike, making a left at A Street, winding up at Framingham High School. There, in front of the main entrance, we find a heart entitled, “The Art of Living Together.” Designed by Zhonghe Li, this heart was created using the ancient Chinese art of paper cutting. It reflects her Daoist convictions—that all beings are connected, that each being has intrinsic value on its own and as part of a whole. She focuses on two creatures that represent the yin and yang of Daoist philosophy: frogs and butterflies. Both creatures, she points out, are endangered, reminding us of our responsibility to care for our planet. Both creatures go through metamorphosis, a period in which their fundamental nature and capabilities are transformed dramatically.
As tadpoles, frogs breathe through their skin and gills. As they transform, they lose their gills and develop lungs so they can breathe above water. There is continuity even amidst that drastic change: throughout their lives they continue to be able to breathe as well through their skin.
Butterflies begin as land creatures, tethered by gravity to the ground or the trees they climb. In their metamorphosis, they grow wings and have to learn to fly.
Zhonghe taught Framingham High School Learning Center students the ancient Chinese method of paper cutting. They meticulously cut out and painted frogs and butterflies. These frogs and butterflies hop and fly all over the heart, a reminder that as we learn and grow, we face times of dramatic change. The heart invites us to trust that we will learn how to breathe in new ways, to trust we can even learn to fly.
This heart shapes our fourth blessing: May you be blessed with courage to change and grow. When have you learned to breathe anew? What has given you courage for your own transformation?
Our journey comes full circle as we climb the Elm Street hill and return to our outdoor sanctuary and our altar scape of backpacks blessed by bubbles of the Holy Spirit. Whether you carry a backpack or a briefcase, a purse or a paint bucket, these blessings are for you. May you discover new truths and dream new dreams. May you grow strong, nourished by deep roots of wisdom and love. May you walk an infinite journey of growth, love, and self-acceptance. May you be blessed with courage to change and grow. Amen.