Not Funny – Out of the Comfort Zone

On Sunday we celebrated Holy Humour and it was wonderful. People are still stopping me to tell a joke or a funny story and many have reflected that we should do this more often. It was indeed a great day!

Breaking Some Unbreakable Rule – Not Funny

Since Sunday I have also been reflecting, not on humour, but on stepping outside ones comfort zone. You see, Sunday was one such experience for me – not necessarily the humour but the way I was dressed. That’s right, the way I was dressed. You see, in the tradition I grew up in Sunday was a holy day which meant that we spent the majority of it in church, in one fashion or another, and we always dressed a certain way. For me it meant always a dress or a skirt. Now that has been so ingrained in me that I feel very uncomfortable wearing dress pants/jeans for worship. You may think this in itself very funny, but let me tell you, it is not funny for me. I feel self conscious, there is an anxiety that builds up and (although it makes no sense) I feel like I am breaking some unbreakable rule.

For those of you who see me regularly, if you stop to think about it, you have never seen me in anything other than a skirt or dress for worship. I remember one year buying a pant suit for Christmas. It was beautiful and I was determined to wear it for Christmas eve celebrations. Well, I did – for the first service anyway.

It was horrible!

I changed back into my comfort clothes in between services and the rest of the night was much more enjoyable for me. So… this past Sunday as I put on my jeans, plaid shirt and rubber boots and headed off to worship I was really stretching it! Nothing horrible happened and, in the end, I did enter into the spirit of the day with joy.

Out of the Comfort Zone

What I have been reflecting on is that we all need to experience that “moving out” of our comfort zone once in a while. It doesn’t necessarily mean that we will stay there but there are things that we can experience along the way that just might open us up for something great.

I had reinforced for me this week that

it really doesn’t matter what we wear, worship is about being together in praise, celebration and community.

I also had highlighted for me, yet again:

what a wonderful faith community I am privileged to journey with.

There is a freedom and a joy that fills the soul and surrounds one in love. Jesus did this all the time. He encouraged people to rethink their “traditional way” of doing things – in particular, how the rules of the Sabbath might hinder life and faith instead of enhancing it.

Always he asked that people come first and that compassion and love be the guiding principle.

I think of how he broke the Sabbath rule of not working and told the disciples to pick grain so they could be fed; and the number of times he saw a person in need and administered a healing touch, also on the Sabbath. We also know that he broke many other religious laws. He did so, not just for the sake of breaking them, but to live out the ministry that had been entrusted to him.  We are empowered to do the same.

As you move through the rest of this week, my prayer is that you will step outside your comfort zone, that you will be stretched and be renewed.

Blessings
Valerie

© 2019 Rev. Valerie Peyton Kingsbury