O the Places You'll Go

O The Places You Will Go

April 27/2014      John 20: 19-31

Did you know that Dr Suess would have been 100 years old this past March, a remarkable man Dr. Suess Very smart, very asutue, a prophet in of our era, full of wisdom and good sense, and even when he uses nonsense language the profound message in his writing has the ability to touch all ages of people.  generations.    In each of his prophetic books he had something wonderful to teach us

“You do not like green eggs and ham, try them and you may I say”  (Green Eggs and Ham)

“From here to there from there to here, funny things are everywhere.” (One Fish Two Fish)

“I meant what I said and I said what I meant, an elephant’s faithful 100%” (Horton Hears a Who)

“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, Nothing is going to get better. It's not.” The Lorax

Suess knew that the prophets voice gets lost in the loudness of the cultures chaos, Horton the Elephant to Betty Lou Who, and of course the Lorax, all prophets in their own countries who voice is lost in the chaos of the culture – Jesus too knew about messages not being heard and understood and ignored – as we just witnessed to the deafness of his culture as they arrested, tried and crucified him for his attempts to share God’s message of love with his generation. 

We are here today to celebrate your congregations 60 of service and I think the most fitting Suess quote for this auspicious occasion comes from lines of Dr Suess book of journey and inspiration.  O, The Places You’ll Go reminds us that our journey is an opportunity for a life filled with possibility. And as a congregation you have lived a life filled with many possibilities.

“Congratulations!  Today is your day.  You are off to great places! You’re off and away!  You have brains in your head.  You have feet in your shoes.  You can steer yourself any direction you choose.  You are on your own.  And you know what you know.  And you are the guy who’ll decide where you go…”[1]

60 years ago this community began that journey – you were off and away with brains in your head and feet in your shoes – you came together with a common purpose and sense of vision. 

·       You knew who you were and your purpose for being,

·       you knew why you were and what made you unique

·        you knew what you were and why what you were doing was important 

You came to build a church, a building and more importantly gather a community who under the banner of the United Church of Canada would worship together, fellowship together, care for your children, share meals, nurture each other, learn together about God in Jesus and how your relationship with God in Jesus, the community and the church all worked together.  You built a building, a physical structure that let the community know you were here and they were welcome.   You built a bigger building as you numbers grew and your need for more space increased, and over the decades your building and community expanded to meet the needs of each subsequent generation.  Look at all the place you have gone to.  Look at all the ministry you have accomplished, how many children have been nurtured, how many families had celebrated new members and began matrimonial journeys and mourned the passing of a special member? 

And here you are in the middle of your journey, this journey this community choose to take with Jesus as it’s guide walking a pathway that your belive has been forged by God.  It has not always been easy – there have been struggles and conflicts and times of darkness and disillusionment.  There have been moments when some in your midst have said ‘no more’ and went off to find another path to follow.  You have lost people along the way as they have lived to their end of their life journey and departed from your midst – you have gained people along the way – friends have moved in to your community, and merged into your culture and joined in along the way.  They have brought new life and light and energy to the journey, and so here we are in this building celebrating where we have been and looking forward to where we are going to.  We are in the waiting place – the disciples are looking forward to – to who they are without Jesus, to what they should be doing, to where their journey will take them now.  They too are in the waiting place.

It is evening on the Sunday after the Friday crucifixion and most of Jesus disciples, at least most of the men – minus Judas of course, are back in the room where they had shared the bread and the cup just a few short days ago – the door is locked.  Even though they had seen the empty tomb, even though they had heard the story of Mary’s encounter with Jesus in the garden, even though – they are still hold up inside a locked room – not sure what to do, where to go, how to continue or even if they should continue at all!  In spite of witnessing to Mary’s encounter with the Christ – fear is still the pervasive emotion and doors are locked bared against the anger and hate that had nailed Jesus to the cross – maybe if they keep lying low the incidents of the past few days will be forgotten about and they can continue on with their lives as if nothing had ever happened.  Fear is a large lock on any door

I also wonder if the disciples may not have also been afraid of Jesus – if he had indeed returned as Mary suggested – would he not be just a little peeved – maybe a lot peeved at Peter who denied him an deserted with them all who had abandoned them – after promising on Thursday evening as he was washing their feet that they were with him to the end – just a few hours later – all (except perhaps the beloved disciple) had laid low enough that he could not see them from his vantage point high up on the cross.  Perhaps the last person the disciples wanted to meet on that evening was Jesus, risen from the dead to confront them with their failures.  Seems to me that it is more than enough reason to lock a door and lay low for a couple of days. 

But locked doors and frightened disciples do not deter Jesus

Jesus comes – Jesus comes into the room and says “peace be with you’ Jesus offers peace to his disciples, not condemnation, not recrimination, not accusation but – peace.  Jesus shows his wounds and then breathes on them – shares the Spirit of God in his very breath, and sends them out to continue the ministry that Jesus had started three years before – sends them out to share the Good News.

And here we are – just like those first century disciples in this room waiting for the Christ to show up and breathe on us and send us out into the next 60 years of ministry –it is a frightening place to be - because in this day and age when we witness to churches all around us struggling to survive, watching their numbers shrink, their finances dwindle, and the heads getting greyer…it may be hard to imagine just where God is calling us to go now, what God is calling us to do now! What God wishes us to be now.  Sixty years is a long time from the excitement that gathered the folks at the beginning to find the energy and resources to build the building and vision the ministry.  A lot has happened in that 60 years.

But maybe we need to not get too ahead of ourselves – maybe we need to instead like the disciples focus on the next day – the next week – how do we let go of the fear and unlock the door?  how do we share the good news? – how are we inspired by the breath of Christ?  We need to trust in the same thing that our charter members trusted, we need to rely on what the disciples in the locked room relied on – we need to remember that this church and these people are gathered here because God called us here and God is not done with us yet.  We need to remember that we are an Easter people, that Jesus is alive, and with Christ all things are possible.

We have to be willing to open our hearts and our minds to the world and to God and how God wants us to live and love in this world. And that… is scary. When we leave things open, anything can happen.

Remember where the disciples go to when they finally leave the room – after being holed up for over a week in the upper room,  I imagine they were glad to finally get out into the fresh air – going back to the lakeshore and returning to the fishing boats must have felt like a breath of fresh air after all the fear and unknowing in the upper room.  It is good to return to what they know – but Jesus meets them here as well…Jesus comes to them in the midst of the fishing trip – as a voice from the shoreline calling out to them to change what they are doing – to fish from the other side, to throw their nets in a different direction.

I wonder how hard that was for them to do – to cast their nets from left to right instead of right to left – but when they did – a full net so many fish they could hardly haul them up. 

·       What do you think we are being called to do here? –

·       What do the fish look like in the waters of Kitchener/Waterloo? –

·       When Jesus asks us throw the net of the other side, how hard is that for us to do? 

·       What are we fishing for? 

·       What do we hope to catch? 

·       Where and what is God calling us to now? 

·       This time, 2014 – 60 years since you started – what does the road look like that we travel on now?

I wonder how it is will be for us to do – to throw our nets from left to right instead of right to left?  To turn our focus onto other opportunities and new ways of looking at things – what will ministry for the next few years look like?

I suspect it will not be couples club, and messengers and CGIT – although wonderful ministries in their time, finding leadership and energy for such groups has become harder and harder to do.  Our net may also not fill up with young families to populate our Sunday School and volunteer to serve on church boards and tithe 10% of their hard earned salaries to the church coffers – wouldn’t it be wonderful it were that easy – and things could be like they used to when people just showed up, and the pews were full and so were the offering plates – but they are not – but you know – this is where Jesus meets us today – here in this room, breathing on us the breath of the spirit – reminding us that we are the ones who are sent as the Father sent him.  That we are the ones who have brains in our heads and feet in our shoes.

Together, we are the ones who are called to walk this road of the next few years of ministry for St.James~Rosemount United Church.  I can pretty much guarantee you that it is not going to be easy – there will be things we may need to end and much more that we may need to pick up – the road is harder to distinguish these days, and our culture moves farther away from understanding and tolerating what we do in order to live our faith.  But I can also guarantee that we are not alone, and as long as we remember why we do what we do and in whose name we do it – God will be with us every further step we go on our journey of faith both as individuals and as a congregation. 

 “On and on (we)you will hike.  And I know (we) you’ll hike far and face up to your problems whatever they are.  You’ll get mixed up of course, as you already know.  You’ll get mixed up with many strange birds as you go.  So be sure when you step.  Step with care and great tact and remember life’s a great balancing act.  Just never forget to be dexterous and deft.  And never mix up your right foot with your left.  And will you succeed?  Yes!  You, will indeed! (98 and ¾ percent guaranteed.)  Kid you’ll move mountains!  So…be your name Buxbaum, or Bixby or Bray or Mordecai Ali Van Allen O’Shay, your’re off to great places!  Today is your day!  Your mountain is waiting.  So get on your way.”[2]  So be our name St James, remember no fear, we are off to great places with God who will steer.”

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[1] Dr. Suess:  O the Places You’ll Go, Random House, New York; 1990 pg 1

[2] Ibid.

An Easter Sermon

Fear and Joy

A Easter Message – 2014

I have been attempting this week to come to an Easter place – to let go of the gloom of Good Friday and embrace this new day – the new life of Easter morning.  It has been a struggle – for an Easter place is a place of joy, of hope of glory and hallelujah’s – Easter is energy and courage and freedom, it’s about fully embracing the wonderful possibility of life and all it has to offer – it is a pretty tall order with still so much snow on the ground this late in April and the chill in the wind and the ice in the harbour.  Our spring like conditions have been a bit scarce this year and winter’s hold is slow to let go.  And I bet I am not the only one.  – I bet that there are a few of us here today – who wish all the hoopla and celebrating would just pass us by – and today could be a day just like any other.  And we can wander back home like the disciples and pull the blankets up over our head – and ignore the calls for hallelujah and rejoicing.  

I also think that there are also some in our midst who are so far away from Easter rejoicing because life may be quite difficult in this time – some may be caught up in worrying about family members - or concerned about health issues – or struggling in their relationships or – grieving the loss of a beloved partner – or anxious with the end of rewarding career – or struggling financially - there are many reasons why we would like Easter to be put off until we are ready for it.  There are many of us who are not in the Easter mood.  And yet this day comes – this day comes every year, reminding us – ready or not – that God is doing a new thing – the tomb is empty, Jesus is alive – resurrection happened and new life begins.

And you know thank God that it does – because even if we are so far away from the Easter feeling – this story reminds us that it is out there and that Easter is possible and not only that – this story reminds us that it is in the midst of sorrow and grief and pain and confusion and despair that’s where Easter strikes us– it is in that blackness and bleakness, the entombment that the first Easter happened.  And really when we look at the characters in the story they too struggled in that moment to fully grasp what was goingon before they could move to that place of Easter joy.

It’s dark – still night almost – and the Sabbath, the day of rest, the day devoted to God as come and gone.  Dawn has yet to arrive – but the woman – the two Mary’s according to Matthew, have a task to complete.  When Jesus was buried, not all of the death rituals were finished as they needed to get him into the tomb and the stone rolled in front before the sundown on the Sabbath.  The Sabbath is a day of rest and even the task of preparing bodies for burials were not done on God’s day.  So there are still pieces in the preparation of the body that need to be accomplished and it has fallen on the Mary’s to complete it. 

When they arrived at the tomb – remarkable and scary things begin to happen – I can’t imagine what these woman went through – first they would have been consumed in grief as their beloved Jesus had just died.  They probably would have come in anxiety as they did not know how safe it was to be a Jesus follower after he had just been accused and executed for treason – what if they were painted with the same brush?  And it is dark and they are woman travelling without a male companion through the streets of Jerusalem, at a time when the city was full of strangers and visitors gathered to celebrate the Passover.  So, I imagine that these woman were already walking in fear

But, there is more – because Matthews account of the events of that day include not only an earthquake but also a sighting of an angel descending from heaven and rolling away the stone.  A sight so scary that the men – the soldiers who are guarding the tomb – froze and became rigid with fear.  

The woman on the other hand faced their fears, approached the angel listened to his message of hope and joy – that Jesus had been raised – that he was not a corpse inside the tomb – but instead had gone on ahead to Galilee – they hear the message – they see the evidence – the empty tomb and they go to share the good news….

But on the way – on the way back to tell the disciples about this amazing  event that they have just witnessed to – there on the way – when they least expect it – they run into Jesus himself – I think that the reason the woman end up on the ground grasping at Jesus feet – is that this morning has been so full of so many surprises and they are so full of the emotions of fear and joy that when they encounter the Christ – all they can do is fall at his feet – they do not have any other energy for anything else.  Have you ever had a moment like that – when you are so overwhelmed with emotion – that all you can do is collapse – it happens in extreme grief – when suddenly without any warning a beloved partner or parent or child or friend is taken –it happens in extreme fear, when our life is threatened, it also happens to in extreme joy when someone we thought was gone returns unexpectedly, like Jesus appearing on the road in front of the woman.  Fear and joy drop us to Jesus feet.

“I wonder,” supposes David Lose:  “if that isn’t also our reality. I mean, don’t we also live lives tinged by both fear and joy. Fear of what may happen to our children in a dangerous world; joy at the blessing they are to us and, we pray, they will be to the world. Fear of whether we will have a job in the year to come; joy at the colleagues that surround us. Fear about the fate of a loved one struggling with illness; joy in the gift that person has been to us. Fear about the future amid problems both national and global; joy in the present moment surrounded by those we love. Or to come a bit closer to home, fear about the future of our congregation and church; joy in our opportunity to gather as God’s people to celebrate on this Easter morning.

I think it’s striking that the announcement of resurrection doesn’t take away all their fear. Rather, it enables them to keep faith amid their fears, to do their duty and share their good news in spite of their anxiety. This is the very definition of courage. And, I would argue, courage is precisely what Easter is about. For while some preach that coming to faith in Christ should smooth all the rough places of life and still the tremors of this world, I believe that the gospel gives us the ability to keep our feet amid the tremors and enables us not just to persevere but even to flourish when life is difficult.

“Do not be afraid.” This charge -- repeated by Jesus when he encounters the women -- gives us insight into the very nature of our lives in this world. For there is, indeed, much to fear in our mortal lives. And yet the resurrection of Christ creates the possibility for joy and hope and courage and so much more. Why? Because it changes everything. In the resurrection, you see, we have God’s promise that life is stronger than death, that love is greater than hate, that mercy overcomes judgment, and that all the sufferings and difficulties of this life are transient -- real and palpable and sometimes painful, for sure, but they do not have the last word and do not represent the final reality.
Fear and joy, despair and hope, doubt and faith, these are the two sides of our lives in this world. But in the end we have heard the resurrection promise that joy, hope, and faith will ultimately prevail.”[1]

The good news of Christ’s resurrection does not take away our fear -- though sometimes we wish desperately that it would -- but it does offer us courage and hope by anchoring us in the sure promise that God will have the last word, and that that word is one of light and life and grace and mercy and love and peace.

Brian McLaren reminds us that:

“death is not the last word.
Violence is not the last word.
Hate is not the last word.
Money is not the last word.
Intimidation is not the last word.
Political power is not the last word.
Condemnation is not the last word.
Betrayal and failure are not the last word.
No: each of them are left like rags in a tomb,
And from that tomb,
Arises Christ,
Alive.”

This is Easter – in the midst of the joy and the fear – whether we are ready or not – Easter comes, the stone is rolled away – the tomb is empty – and God does the impossible.

This is Easter and it is about what God is doing in the world right here, right now!

 

Kay Heuy writes:  but all this isn't just about things that happened a long time ago and far away to people we'll never know and can't relate to, Isaiah and Mary Magdalene and Peter…no, this  happens all the time in our lives, too, right here and now. We know we all fall short of the hope that God has for our lives, we fail – a lot – and God loves us anyway. We face loss and death struggle with sorrow, loneliness, suffering   and God promises us new life, healing and wholeness anyway. Our relationships crash and burn, our kids worry us, there's never enough money, and God reassures us anyway, God offers us peace and wholeness and reconciliation. We turn away from God, and God offers us grace, anyway. 

Isn't this really why we're here this morning? Don't we come here from our problems and struggles in our fear and in hope to hear that God can overcome death, that God’s plan for us and the world is larger and more creative and more abundant than anything we can plan for ourselves.  Isn't it God that sustain us in hospital beds and waiting rooms alike, at gravesites and in the longest night of deep agony, doesn't this God, this resurrected Christ comfort us and challenge us, guide us and surprise and delight us and bring us joy? Aren't we then experiencing the new life of resurrection in the new age, the new creation begun on the first Easter Sunday morning? Every time we come to this table where all are welcome, every time we share this meal as a sign of our hope for that new creation in all its fullness, not just in the glimpses and promises we have so far, we encounter the living God, the personal God who loves us and remembers us and will not let us be lost in hopelessness, no matter how things appear right now.  This is Easter – the stone is rolled away and Jesus lives – Hallelujah and Amen.

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[1] David Lose:  Dear Working Preacher

Easter Sunrise Reflection

A Carried Away Church

Wow!  Well here we are – the crazy people once again on a cold beach huddled around a fire while all the rest of the world are still in their warm beds – some sleeping, some just lounging, some watching the kids scurrying around seeking out the goodies the Easter Bunny left behind.

What brings you here?  What motivated you this morning? All of you are here voluntarily – it is your choice to freeze your buns on this beach….

I remember my first sunrise service – it was in my early twenties – and I was a seeker, trying to figure out this God stuff and trying to determine if it had any meaning in my life – I read about the worship in a bulletin and decided to go not knowing what I was walking into – I walked into the church – it was warmer than here – although not much as the heat was not on – it was an earlier Easter that year, and the sun had not risen – it was in the grey of dawn that I joined those gathered around the communion table at the front of the church – it felt strange to be standing around the table as it was a place that I had never been to before – all of my church experience to that time I was in the pews – we stood through the prayers and the music and the reflection – and towards the end of the service the bread and cup were shared – and it was then that I first experienced communion in a more personal way as the bread was broken from a loaf that was handed from person to person – and as I looked around at this small gathering of faithful followers, I noticed that the sun had risen – and the eastern window that was parallel to the communion table was ablaze in the glow of orange and yellow.  The sun had risen – the son had risen – and it pierced my heart and I got it – and something shifted and a veil was lifted, and in that moment – Hallelujah – Christ is risen, he had risen indeed!

There have been many Easter sunrise services since the last one – and ever since I have been in ministry the services have moved in the great outdoors – So, on a shore such as this one, on the north shore of Lake Huron the good people of Blind River are worshiping there right now – and they will all go back to the church hall and have a lavish ham breakfast prepared by the local pharmacist and his family (that is there Easter tradition)  On the banks of the Sauble River, in Tara another crew of faith-filled folks have already finished for they gathered at 6:30 and I am sure that they are all back at the church warming up and sharing breakfast together.  And here we are, – on this beach around this fire – entering into the resurrection mystery one more time.  

On that first Easter morning – before anyone had any idea what Easter even meant, while it was still dark – some of Jesus beloved disciples went to his tomb – he had not been gone for long – a few short days, but they ache because of losing him in such a tortuous way –  such a sudden way was way beyond belief – they were still in shock – for just a week ago they had come in celebration with such high hopes into the city of Jerusalem and here and now – it was over – Jesus was dead – arrested, tried, nailed to a cross and his body place in a dark tomb – and there he lies – or does he?

In the dark, the disciples come – to a tomb that held darkness… In the dark the disciples came, not understanding that they were going to be witnesses to God at work in a way that God had never worked before…that they would be the first witnesses to God changing the way we understand the world.  Into the dark the disciples came…

Resurrection begins in the dark - but out of that darkness comes a glimmer of something more – a flash of newness, a spark of hope, a radiance that only can come from God – and so regular ordinary people such as Mary and Peter and John and James lives are transformed – are resurrected to new life – and regular ordinary folks like you and me are standing on this cold beach on 20^th of April – Easter Sunday 2014 – anticipating the resurrection moment when God gets in and death has been conquered, and light shines out of darkness.  

Clarence Jordan writes:  “The proof that God raised Jesus from the dead is not the empty tomb,
but the full hearts of his transformed disciples.
The crowning evidence that he lives is not a vacant grave,
but a spirit-filled fellowship.
Not a rolled-away stone, but a carried-away church.”

We know that Jesus lives, that resurrection happened, that God triumphed over death not because the tomb was empty but because we are here – we showed up to this beach – we came out of the darkness to witness to the 2000 year old event – we know that Jesus lives and with God all things are possible and the light of God can penetrate even the darkest darkness not because the stone was rolled away, but because the people who first witnessed to these events were transformed and changed and their lives become about proclaiming this good news to the world.  We know that Jesus lives and God gets in and life comes from death not because an angel said so but because that the potential for transformation is as possible for us today as it was for Mary and Peter and John and James 2000 years ago.

This is Easter morning – and Jesus is alive – the resurrection happened – Thanks be to God.  Amen