Every once in a while it is important to sit at the feet of your own body and take inventory of your whole person wellness.
I think one framework to go about this is to go through Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs,
The sort of fundamental psychological principle that has been built upon year after year after year.
And so now,
If you will,
I'd like to invite you into an exam and an opportunity to take inventory to reflect on your whole person wellness.
And so as we begin,
Take a deep breath in and out.
Ground yourself in your location.
Maybe that's putting your feet on the ground.
Maybe that means sitting up straight.
Maybe that means putting headphones in.
And as we go through this exam and Maslow's fundamental human needs,
Again it is an opportunity for you to be honest and vulnerable with yourself,
To ask are my needs being met?
Because oftentimes when our needs are not being met,
When we are living out of a place of scarcity or lack or wanting,
We are pulled out of being our best selves.
So we move forward by looking at the beginning of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs,
Which starts with food,
Water,
Warmth,
And rest.
If you look back on your week or your month or the season that you're in,
How have you been eating?
Have you had enough food?
Have you had enough water?
Have you experienced a safe,
Comfortable place to rest your head at night?
And when you do rest your head at night,
Are you getting a good night rest?
Are you getting the hours that you need to recharge,
To wake up in the morning and get up and go?
And I know life circumstances may not always allow for this.
Parenting young kids would be an example.
But it is important to start at the very baseline and say,
Am I getting my fundamental needs in food,
Water,
Warmth,
And rest?
As we move forward,
We look at security and safety.
This is our stress level.
Job insecurity,
Insecurity around finances,
Sometimes a family situation or maybe big,
Big picture,
Climate change,
These things that can weigh on our mind.
Has anything been threatening your sense of security and safety?
Has anything been weighing on your mind and creating extra stress?
As we continue to move forward,
We look at our connection,
Our human relationships,
These trusted life giving relationships that affirm our belonging,
Our love,
Our acceptance,
That combat the loneliness in our life.
Have you been filling your life with these types of relationships?
Have you been prioritizing the relationships that lead you to be the best self,
Your best self,
To lead you to being a more whole,
True person?
And if not,
How come?
And how might you be able to reschedule,
Reprioritize so that these people may be in your life again?
Next,
We look at esteem,
This concept of feeling accomplishment,
Of having your purposes fulfilled.
And these could be everyday goal setting or long term goals.
It's surrounded by this idea of having your dignity reaffirmed,
Having achievements so that you can be an independent person,
Moving in life,
Growing and succeeding in what you do.
Sometimes this involves going to school to learn more.
Other times it means practicing.
And other times it means surrounding yourself with people who can help you grow and shift and learn.
Finally,
We move to self-actualization,
Which is a big term that essentially means you are confident in becoming the best whole,
True self.
As someone rooted in the Christian tradition,
I start as my baseline,
Knowing that I am a beloved child of God.
That is my identity.
And from that I move and breathe in the world,
Seeking to be transformed into the image of Jesus for the sake of others.
And I have to ask myself once in a while,
Is this my main goal?
Is this my main purpose in life that forms and informs all the other decisions that I make?
So that in the good times and in the bad times,
This reality can be my anchor.
Wholeness is at the heart of Jesus' blessings that he pronounces over the crowds in the Gospel according to Matthew and the Gospel according to Luke.
I think of the blessing that Jesus pronounces that says,
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
For they will be satisfied.
Those who hunger and thirst.
Have you ever been so desperate for a drink of water that you can't even think?
This idea of being thirsty informs this blessing because as we think about our own lives and the times where we have craved for a drink,
A cold drink of water on a hot day,
We move into this blessing and realize that Jesus is talking about people who are craving for the world to be made right.
They look out in the world and they see that it is fragmented.
They see that it is not whole.
That there is no shalom.
There is no peace.
There is no sense of completeness.
That this is right and this is good.
They look out in the world both in their own lives and the lives of others and the corporate life and they say something's wrong.
And the blessing from Jesus is that they will be satisfied.
They will be satisfied.
When Jesus speaks of God's kingdom,
Jesus is speaking about something that is breaking into the world.
God's way of life.
God's vision.
God's dream.
And Jesus is saying this way of life is breaking into the world and making what is wrong right.
And primarily the way that God does this is inspiring individuals to step forward and to start creating and cultivating a world of wholeness both in their own individual selves but also in their spheres of influence.
I think of the blessing that Jesus gives for the peacemakers.
Blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called children of God.
Peacemakers are individuals who look at the world around them either their friends or their spheres of influence and when there is something fragmented,
When there is something not right,
When there is a lack of peace,
Where there's a lack of wholeness and completeness,
They actively engage in trying to make it right.
My little kids love to step into our big shoes and walk around the house.
And it's quite funny as my one and a half year old will step into my shoes and she can barely lift them but she clunks and clangs and does her best to operate as me in my shoes.
And that is what Jesus is getting at.
As we step into God's shoes as a peacemaker,
As the one who desires wholeness and beauty in the world,
We operate as God's children,
Stumbling and clanging forward,
Making wholeness,
Making peace.
We exemplify what God has called us to be as his children.
And so this is a blessing.
As we operate in this,
May we know that God is near,
That he is with us and that he is for us.
Amen.
