Lent 2 - Free Falling

(I am not sure why the font keeps changing between the paragraphs) 

Free Falling

Lent 2 / March 1, 2015

There was once small plane with 5 passengers on it. Halfway to their destination, the engines started sputtering and failing. The pilot came out from behind the curtain wearing a parachute pack on his back.

He said, "Friends, I have some bad new and some good news. The bad news is we have an engine malfunction and we're going down. The good news is there are several parachutes here along the wall. The bad news is that there are 5 of you and only 4 of them. So you'll have to work it out among yourselves.

"I know you have many choices in air travel and so I'd like to thank you for choosing our airline and wish you a very pleasant evening -- wherever your final destination may be."

With that, he was out the door.

A woman leaped up. "I am one of the most prominent brain surgeons in the northeast. My patients depend on me." She grabbed a parachute pack and leaped out.

A man stood up and said, "I am a partner in a large law practice and the office would fall to pieces without me." He grabbed a parachute pack and leaped out.

Another man stood up and said, "I am purported to be the smartest man in the world. My IQ is so high I don't even want to mention it -- it would make you feel bad. But surely you understand that I must have a parachute." He grabbed a pack and leaped out.

There were only two people left on the plane now, an elderly grandfather and a teenage boy.

"Son, said the grandfather, "you take the last parachute. You're young. You have your whole life ahead of you. I've had a good run, and I'll take the fall on this one. God bless you and safe landing."

The teenager looked up at the older man. "Thanks, so much sir. That means a lot to me, really. But there are still two parachutes left. The smartest man in the world just grabbed my knapsack!"

Ah we laugh!  – but imagine what the smartest man in the world is thinking as he hurtles towards the earth – pulling on the teenagers ipod cord thinking it is a rip cord and nothing happens –

·       how long do you think it took him to realized that he had grabbed the wrong pack? –

·       what do you think goes through his head when he realizes it is the wrong pack? –

·       I wonder how much life reflection happens in the few seconds it takes to hurtle towards the ground –

o   how much smart does not matter?,

o   how many times in his life has made other wrong choices? –

o   how many times he has made right ones? –

o   who and what he leaves behind?

I think that we are in some way we have all been in that place  - midair – free falling towards the ground – grabbing onto to  something for a kind of sense of identity and purpose in life, as if our lives depended on it

·       hoping we made the right choice!  That we actually have parachute and it will open at the right time.

·       hoping that when we committed to the path we are walking on we made the right choice –

·       hoping that we  grabbed the right packsack to take with us.

Our stories today are mid- air stories – happening right in the middle of the things – Abram and Sari – in the middle of the desert, at the late stages of their lives trying to live the covenant that they have made with God – even when it seems so likely that it will not come to pass, this promise of a child– so much so that Sari had taken matters into her own hands and convinced her husband that a child by someone else would be just as good – and without fully understanding the complexities of human relationship and jealousy and envy she convinced her husband that creating a child with her servant woman Hagar would be a good substitute for a child of her own – and so he did – and Ishmael was born –

and it was then that Sari began to understand the complexities of relationship – and because of her jealousy and envy of Hagar and the boy, Ishmeal, she banishes them from the camp – sends them out into the desert to fend for themselves–  

A out of sight out of mind solution – at least for Sari

I can imagine that she feels like she grabbed the wrong backpack – she never imagined how much pain a child of her husband’s born to another woman could cause her.
But God is not done with them yet –and God comes yet again to Abram – comes to him and re-states the covenant – reaffirms the commitment and reminds Abram of the promise of descendants like the stars of the sky, the sands of the desert –

·       and then in simple language tells Abram that he and Sari will have a child together

o   – in spite of their age,

o   in spite of their former meddling in God’s plan with Hagar,

o   in spite of the their wandering away from God –

God is there to reaffirm the promise,

·       to reassert his commitment to Abram and Sari – and with that he gives them new names –

new names in their old age, Abraham and Sarah

new names showing how even in our later years, even in the midst of endings –

God is there offering new beginnings –

new names, a new baby, and a new life for this old couple –

and then remember the rest of the story – where it goes from here – a son is born – Isaac – and still God is not done with Abraham and covenant and the testing and the challenging.  Until the last breath is breathed, until the last shovel of dirt is placed on his graves – God is not done with Abraham and Sarah – and even beyond – the covenant continues. The commitment that God makes, is fulfilled over and over and over again and it becomes more than we can ever imagine.
Fast forward a few hundred years to another desert, and another person who has entered into a covenant relationship with God.  We are mid –air right now – midway through Jesus three year teaching, preaching, healing, journey to the cross.   And over the past few days just before we join this part of the story, Jesus has taken bread and fish and blessed it and fed thousands of people – and his disciples watched and witnessed and participated.  And then he another altercation with some scribes and Pharisees – where once again Jesus came out the victor in their war of words– and then, they met a blind man on the road – and with only his hands and some spit – Jesus made this man see again. And through it all there was his disciples – watching, witnessing, wondering – and then Jesus turns to his disciples and says
“you know what my friends – you need to prepare yourself, for the road that I am on leads to my destruction, and the journey that we go on heads toward suffering – for I will be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes – and I will be killed – but on the third day – I will rise.”
Here is Peter’s mid-air, the plane is going down moment – and here he is having to choose the backpack or the parachute!
He reaches for the backpack and says:  “What do you mean you will die – what do you mean you will suffer – what do you mean – years ago, I left all I know, I ceased to be a fisherman so that I could follow you and fish for people – what do you mean – Jesus?  How dare you change course mid stream – this is not what I signed on for – this is not what I agreed to.  
How many of us have been there with Peter – right in the midst of life, and wham! Smack!  OHHHH!  The carpet has been ripped from beneath our feet and we are on an airplane going down without enough parachutes.

·       I am sorry sir, your child is in jail

·       Mam, it’s cancer

·       Your fired

·       I want a divorce

·       You will need to declare bankruptcy

·       Your partner is developing demensia

How many times have we been in that place that feels like a free fall out of an airplane without a parachute?  This is not what I signed on for!  This is not what I committed to!  This is not what I planned!  This is not how I wanted it to go!
But God is not done with us yet – as God was not done with Abraham and Sarah – as God was not done with Peter. 

God was there offering new beginnings – So, as Jesus completes the covenant promise of his life on this earth – Peter life and Peter’s commitment from God, also shifts gears and he becomes the rock in which the church is built

and remember the rest of the story – where it goes from here – Peter walks with Jesus up that mountain and witnesses the transfiguration and then walks beside Jesus into Jerusalem – and witnesses to the events of the last week of Jesus life on earth –

·       and in spite of the denial,

·       in spite of falling asleep in the garden,

·       in spite of being scared and frightened during it all

God does not give up on Peter and even though the way is fraught with many difficulties, and there is testing and challenging times, the church is formed, and the memory of the Christ on earth is kept, and Peter was the Rock.  God was not done with Peter – not until his last breath was breathed, until the last shovel of dirt was placed on his grave – God was not done with Peter – and even beyond. The commitment that God made, was fulfilled – this is what covenant promise is – God is not done, God is never done - and Peter’s life became more than he ever imagined.
As it is for Abraham and Sarah and Isaac too– as it is for Peter and the burgeoning church – it is for us – God continues to honour God’s covenant promise to God’s beloved people - us - until the last breath is breathed, until the last shovel of dirt is placed on our graves – God is not done with us – and even beyond. The commitment that God makes, is fulfilled and it becomes more than we can ever imagine.

Back tracking

 I realized when I posted this morning that I have all of lent to catch up with - here is a start - Transfiguration was a great service - a mountain was in the church which the kids were able to climb and see the word from a different perspective -  I shared the service and sermon so a couple of peices are missing in the following sermon

“I Have Been to the Mountain Top” (Joint Sermon with Teresa Carse)

Transfiguration – February 15 /15

Driving in today was crazy – the new snow from yesterday which was light and fluffy was being blown around by the winds in the frigid temperatures, and there were times where all of sudden I was driving with very little visibility, unsure of where I was going– I have lots of experience on roads such as these – this is the Bruce Peninsula in the winter - roads conditions.  What makes it worse up north is that there is more snow and the banks at the side of the road are much, much higher – sometimes taller than the car – so when it is a day like today and the wind is whistling and snow is swirling around – coming off of banks higher than the car - one moment all is clear and next you can barely see a thing except possibly the road right in front of your left tire – at that time you are very much praying that the plow has cleared the road sufficiently so that you can see the lines to keep you in the proper lane – for when you drive into a section of highway like that – you have keep on driving because in that place the stopping is way more dangerous than the keeping on going.  It is a very weird feeling – hurtling down the road at highway speed, than all of a sudden finding yourself enveloped in a blanket of snow, not being able to see much more than a foot or so in front of the windshield – slowing down but keeping on going because there is not much alternative, praying and hoping that you are in your own lane, that you are not going to run into something up ahead, or that the someone from behind is going to run into you – and just waiting to get out of the snow blindness – to see clear roads ahead.

I wonder how much time in our lives we feel like we are living like that? -  going forward because stopping is harder than continuing – seeing only a fraction beyond ourselves, hoping that we are in our own lane on the right road headed in the correct direction, but keeping on going because – well what else can you do? …

And then all of a sudden – next thing you know – the wind stops, the air clears, the blue sky becomes appears and you can see all around you – and everything becomes clear – and you think, ‘oh’… ‘here I am’ –… ‘this is my path’ – …‘I recognize place’ -… ‘this makes sense now’… a transfiguration moment.

Transfiguration is the moment when something changes and what was unclear becomes clear – where there was no way – a way appears - when what was unseen becomes visible. Transfiguration are that  moment when you change your mind or have a new thought or your perspective changes, it could be when you forgive an old wound, or a value you cherished within yourself  alters, or you the point of view you have held on to so strongly shifts.  Transfiguration happens when suddenly something is revealed and it is never seen the same way again.

When we speak of having a mountaintop moment, we often mean any larger-than-life experience that reaches into our depths and radically changes our perspective.  We suddenly see beyond our usual capacity, our hearts open, our defenses fall. Everything we think we already know and understand is transfigured. 

 

Today in our Old Testament story as well – we witness a transfiguration – the Transfiguration of Elisha – The story is at the end of Elijah’s life – he is very close to being dead and Elisha knows it – but Elisha who is Elijah’s friend, student and the one to whom the responsibilities of prophet will fall after his death – Elisha is doing everything he can to not let this death happen.  He is following the prophet very closly, making sure that he never leaves his sight, and every time someone reminds him that the death is imminent – Elisha tries to shut them up – by saying – ‘I know – but don’t talk about it’.  Because he is afraid of what it means Elijah dies and because he feels he is not ready to become the prophet himself and because it is easier to pretend that this is not happen – Elisha continues to walk around in a cloud refusing to see what is right in front of his face – he is refusing to have a transfiguration moment – but eventually – and as we all know so well – death cannot be denied – and Elisha will have to face his fears and finally Elisha will be willing to witness to the death of Elijah – so he walks with him into the desert – and stands and watches that glorious moment that the old testament scribe describes as having fire and  chariots – and Elijah is carried up to heaven – Elisha’s transfiguration moment – Elisha picks up the mantle of his friend and teacher, his mentor and prophet and walks out of the desert to live a new life in a new way….transfiguration.

 

Transfiguration – The sermon title “I have been to the mountain top” is a quote from a from a Martin Luther King Jr speech – he too was man who understood and experienced transfiguration – very early on in his ministry – when he was questioning his call from God because things as a preacher was becoming difficult and discouraging in Montgomery, Alabama – and Dr. King had moment of transfiguration when he heard the voice of God which said to him:  “Martin, stand up for righteousness. Stand up for justice. Stand up for truth. And lo, I will be with you even until the end of the world”. It was the crystallizing moment of his life – it transfigured him.  

And even three nights later, when a bomb exploded on his front porch, Martin never forgot the power of those words, the reassurance of that Voice, and that voice is what sustained him time and time again in his ministry of equal rights. 

And it has happened to me too, once on the floor of General Council of all place – in an auditorium at York University in Toronto – It was a pretty contentious time – there were many hurting people, and we were in conversations about residential schools and the United Churches complicity in the damage to our native brothers and sisters, things were heated in that meeting and we had many getting up to the mic who seemed to be talking but not helping the conversation in any way – and then I saw an old white man start to shuffle towards the mic – and I remember thinking to myself – “here we go again” and this man began to talk – and it was like the light shone out of the darkness and the clutter and the chaos in the room cleared – and I heard such pearls of wisdom that I never looked upon the residential school issues the same again – and more than that – I learned that appearances are deceiving and old white men often have much wisdom to share.  The man’s name was Right Reverend George Tuttle and I will never forget the man or that moment because I was transfigured.

Mountain top moments are happening all the time – I about heard two more yesterday on the radio as our family drove home from Perth. 

The first happened to Andrew Ferris – Edmonton Oiler – he was once asked in a Toronto Star interview who he would most like to have dinner with – his answer was David Suzuki – Canada’s leader on the Environmental Front – the Suzuki Foundation contacted Andrew three days later and set up a breakfast meeting – it was there when David asked Andrew what he was doing environmentally that David challenged him to speak up and speak out because as a sports star he had a responsibility to share his concern and love for the environment – because of that conversation – that moment of transfiguration when Andrew shifted from inward to outward focus – there are over 500 NHL players who have pledged to be carbon neutral and contribute to the Suzuki foundation’s carbon offset program.

Another story of transfiguration I heard on the radio yesterday was told by Timothy Taylor author and short story writer and cook from Vancouver – He walked the Camino with a close friend a few years ago, they went the northern route through Basque country.  After a particularly grueling day, they stopped at their bed and breakfast and with much hunger and exhaustion sat down for dinner in a simple restaurant with a limited menu – Timothy was in the mood for a substantial meal and was disappointed when what he ordered was less than appetizing – what happened next for him was a transfiguration moment for when he ate the simple food of the Basque region, he realized that he was eating – and this is a quote – “the most perfect food in the moment” and his whole attitude towards food shifted in that instance – and he was transfigured – and it was never the same again. 

 

 

 Because our scriptures record often only the big spectacular moments – it is hard to remember that more often than not it is in our every day and ordinary moments of life that transfiguration happens and God gets in and our worlds change.  It is also good to remember too that our mountain top moments don’t have to happen on a mountain either – they can happen in the desert like they did for Elisha or the floor of General Council in Toronto at York University in the year 2000 like they did for me, or in a eating breakfast with David Suzuki for Andrew Ferris or in a café restaurant in the Basque region of Spain like it did for Timothy Taylor or where – where have your moments of Transfiguration happen?

And remember, mountaintop moments NEVER EVER happen for their sake alone. They are ALWAYS tied to what happens down below. I am convinced that Jesus took Peter, James and John to the mountain because he would soon be taking them with him to the Garden of Gethsemane. The mountain experience and the Garden experience are divinely intertwined in that these unsuspecting disciples come face to face with the two sides of Jesus' glory - the ecstasy of divinity and the agony of humanity. They witness the joy - and the cost - of the Chosen One's servanthood.

Mountaintop moments are meant to equip us for the Gethsemane moments of life. They empower us to
see beyond the hopelessness and trust when life seeks to undo us.  In the end it all comes down to: Jesus words to the disciples:  “get up and do not be afraid. Get up and trust that God goes with you and this moment of transfiguration will give you what you need to go on even when the road becomes hard to see and the journey gets tough again.  Get up and walk down the mountain and go about your ordinary days... but keep your eyes open... because God is coming to meet you in surprising and startling ways.  Amen.

I always struggle with Lent 5

Over the 16 years I have been in ministry, there is something about this particular Sunday that I struggle with - some years this has been one of the Sunday's I have taken off - I am not sure why - maybe it is because it is deep into Lent.  This sermon was really hard to get to by the time I got going I must have had six different beginnings at least two different middles and not an end in sight.  Finally yesterday afternoon - Rob talked me through it - ask some pointed questions about what I was trying to say and in the midst of that conversation I shifted from the Jeremiah reading to the Psalm and it all come together - or at least I hope it did...you tell me.

Breaking Hearts  (Psalm 51)

Lent 5 – March 22/2015 

      

Over 12 years ago now, I was in the midst of the ending of 15 year marriage.  We were living in Blind River and as the marriage ended it became clear that the congregation I was serving was dividing, kind of my side / his side scenario – so I moved.  My three teenage sons and I crossed Lake Huron and moved to a small town in Bruce County.  We began again, and for the first little while as we were busy transitioning into our new home and community things seemed fine.  Then Christmas came and for the first time as a divided family, and the boys spent time both with myself and their father separately.  After the boys left the house I realized that I was alone – the house which normally filled up with the noise and clatter of daily living was quiet and still and silent.  My first reaction was to escape the void and I hopped in my car and went to Owen Sound and went the first movie they had playing at the theatre.  It was a romantic comedy with Diane Keaton and Jack Nicholson called “Somethings Gotta Give”  I thought it would be a safe choice and I could spend a couple of hours at least wrapped up in another world so that I would not have to think about my own world.  Well, in hindsight, maybe it was not such a good idea – for in the midst of the movie, just as you begin to like the characters and see opportunities for them to be in a wonderful relationship – the other shoe drops and the Jack Nicolson character leave the Diane Keaton character just after she has fallen completely in love with him.  She is a writer and so to work through her pain she writes a play – so here she is, sitting in her beach house in front of a computer, typing away – and then crying – not silent tears running down her face crying – no – big huge weeping and wailing – and the audience love it – they are laughing so much it is hard to hear the dialogue and every time she starts to sob and sob and sob the audience laughs and laughs and laughs – and I sit there and sob along with her.  It was there in that darkened theatre that I realized that my heart was broken – as I sobbed along with Diane crying for my broken marriage and the sorrow and regret that come with divorce.  Where was God now?

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me.  Do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take your holy spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and sustain in me a willing spirit.

Every morning during the week my heart breaks.  Erica, my two and a half year old first morning sentence  usually is – they closed the daycare today.  She does not want to go, and no matter how much Rob and I talk up the daycare – no matter how we try to divert her attention with breakfast and getting dressed and welcoming the day – when the time comes for her to get on her coat and boots – she often runs the other way and says:  “stay home with Daddy” – and as we catch her and carry her to the car it is often in the midst of screams and protests and struggles to get her in the car seat and buckled in.  The daycare is another moment of protest where she begins to cry as she walks into room, clinging to my legs clambering to get up, and crying – so as I wretch her from my arms and hand her to the day care provider I am normally serenaded with “mommy don’t leave me”.  And even though I am assured that she only cries for a few minutes, and even though when ever we pick her up she is having a good time and fully engaged in the daycare activities – even though – every time I leave her it breaks my heart as I walk down the hall listening to my daughter cry.  Where is God now?

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me.  Do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take your holy spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and sustain in me a willing spirit.

Our hearts break:

·       When someone we love more than ourself gets sick, or dies leaves us or betrays us – betrayal by a trusted loved one wounds deep.

·       Our hearts break when our children are hurting, or have made poor choices, or get caught up in activities that scare us – imagine being the parents of a child who leave to go and fight with ISIS.

·       Our hearts break when something we have depended on be it our work, our government, or our church let us down, when something we rely on that has been an anchor for us suddenly or gradually causes us to drift – we become disillusioned.

·       Our hearts break when life does not meet our expectations – I bet you each of us have had this moment in our lives at one time or another – when what we thought our lives was about was not when everything became hard and nothing was easy.

·       Our hearts break when we are faced with a chronic painful illness or a cancer diagnosis or the deep dark hole of depression when it feels like our own body or our own mind has betrayed us.

·       So anytime we feel like the pins have been knocked out from beneath us and there is no firm footing to be found – then my friends our hearts break and life as we know it changes – and we question,

o   how come this is happening to me?

o   what did I do to deserve this?

o   where is God now?

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me.  Do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take your holy spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and sustain in me a willing spirit. 

The people of Jeremiah’s time know only too well the pain of a broken heart – they are broken hearted over the loss of their country, their culture, their community and their church.  They have been conquered by the Babylonians and life as they once knew it has ceased to be – their temple - the centre piece of their culture and community has been knocked over razed to the ground.  Their king has been led away in chains – and where is God now?  

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me.  Do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take your holy spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and sustain in me a willing spirit.

When David was king of the Land of Judah and Israel and most people felt like it  and everything was good and all was going well and God was present and pleased– one day as David surveyed his kingdom from the top of his castle – he spied a woman on the next roof having a bath – and instead of turning away and giving her privacy he watched and lusted and trampled over every marriage vow he had made with is queen and she had made with her husband – Burak – the general in David’s army – where was God now?

Your faith was strong but you needed proof
You saw her bathing on the roof
Her beauty and the moonlight overthrew her
She tied you
To a kitchen chair
She broke your throne, and she cut your hair
And from your lips she drew the Hallelujah[1]

And next thing you know David began to plot about how to make this wrong right – and with some sort of twisted logic and egocentric thinking David sent his General out to fight the battle insisting that the General be at the head of the army – and as anyone could have predicted the General was killed in  battle and now Bathsheba, the roof bather – General Baruk’s wife was free to be with King David.  Where was God now?

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me.  Do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take your holy spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and sustain in me a willing spirit. 

One day Nathan, the King’s Prophet seeks an audience with David and while in the throne room Nathan tells this story:

  

Once there was a man who had one sheep that he loved dearly, he cared for it faithfully and even let it sleep in the house with his children.  Next door to this man lives a wealthier man who had many sheep.  One day the wealthier man had a visitor and planned a great feast in order to honour his visitor.  He sent his servants next door to the poorer man and demanded his sheep, which he slaughtered and fed to the guest. 

As King David listened to the story he became enraged and when Nathan finished talking he demanded that the wealthier man restore the sheep to the poorer man – and Nathan said – “you are that man” and David heard the truth of his words – and he withdrew and he began to pray and this is what he prayed –

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me.  Do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take your holy spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and sustain in me a willing spirit. 

Psalm 51 is David’s prayer set into these circumstances of broken hearts and broken trust – of broken people and a God that was there even in brokenness.  God was there offering hope to the David and Bathsheba and all the broken people. God offers promise and presence and faithfulness to the people.  God offering yet another covenant promise into our broken lives, into our broken hearts.

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me.  Do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take your holy spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and sustain in me a willing spirit. 

God forgives, and restores and God has written on our hearts – reminding us that we are God’s people – no matter what we do, no matter what situation we are living in – no matter how broken our hearts are:  God is there, God has written into our hearts.  This is the new covenant – that we will be God’s people and God will be our God, in live and death, in brokenness and fear – God is with us – we are never alone…thanks be to God – Amen.

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[1] Lenard Cohen:  “Hallelujah” http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/leonardcohen/hallelujah.html