The Rectory and view. Church of the Ascension, Upper Sarnac Lake.

The awesome view from the Rectory we lived in at the Church of the Ascension at Upper Saranac Lake NY. Thanks folks for another great summer!

Here is the sermon preached August 17, 2008 at the Church of the Ascension in Upper Saranac Lake New York. I will be preaching there again this coming Sunday August 24th as well.

Summer Theology 101

1. "Where Is God?"

2. "What Does God Do?"

Psalm 139

Phillipians 4:10-14

This morning I have two simple questions for you - they're simple only in how they're worded - they're as complex in their answer as each of us is complex. They're questions that I would encourage you to lift up with thoughtful imagination - as if you were running to lift a kite into the air. And if I lose you to even one of those thoughts - and you don't return back to planet earth for the duration of this whole sermon - thinking about these two questions will more than justify your "drift time".

So here's our questions:

1. Where is God in your life?

2. What does God do in your life?

Now set your mental kites flying while I explain.

First; where is God in your life? Social scientists are beginning to recognize that there is a very basic sense in the human spirit which acknowledges and even seeks out a "higher power". After all the arguments of the steadfast atheist - that he or she is it - that this is it - that my here and now and who is all there is - that what I can now touch and taste and smell is the full extent of life - when the atheist has fallen back into his or her chair breathless from making the point - there around in the corner of his or her mind are still those nagging questions - those powerful realities - of who created, of what created the stars in the sky - the fingers of a newborn baby - the delight of human love - and the frightening questions of what happens past the dark doorway of death. I believe the only difference between the thoughts of the atheist and a person of faith is the degree to which these questions are answered such as: where is God in your life?

A person who is convinced that God is not in their life or for that matter that God doesn't exist at all - still lives with the constant prick of the question - through all the experiences in life and let me be clear - I'm not talking about this view negatively. I respect other people's opinions and beliefs - and in fact - believe many atheistic thinkers where created by some very genuine responses to religious people. Contrary to a great deal of religious paranoia about things like teaching evolution in the classroom or school prayer - these are not the primary instigators of a person believing that God is nowhere. These sorts of thoughts are more commonly planted by dysfunctional religious practice. Things like claiming God is the creator of the earth and then watching God's created beings treat this creation like a trash heap. This sort of thing comes from watching those who claim to be religious and specifically claim to follow a God of love - act with bitterness and hatred. It comes from observing those who follow a compassionate savior, judging and criticizing the behavior of others - as if they were chosen as judge and jury on behalf of that savior. In other words - those of us who claim God is . . . somewhere and somehow hold an awesome responsibility to live lives consistent with our claim. And that those who claim to believe that God is not - have likely come to their answer because of the bad press so called "believers" have lived out in their lives. But even here I believe the door isn't completely shut but I warn - it also doesn't open wider simply by words - but by the witness of faithful lives.

Where is God in your life? Most of us gathered here obviously believe God is present somewhere within the universe of our lives. But where?

For some this is so very personal and for some this is so very abstract - again - one way isn't necessarily better than the other - they're just different in perspective. But where or how was it - or is it - that God has felt most real to you in your life?

There have been a number of occasions in my life where I have felt God quite present. I'd like to share one simple and quite innocent remembrance in order to set our kites flying a little higher.

It was a beautiful summer day when I was about 15 - full of idealism and still a little unsure of who I really was. That day I had just had my fill of my parents who didn't know anything [just the way I don't know anything these days]. We were camping for two weeks which for most families is a bit beyond the limit - and so after having had enough I decided to take the day and go for a hike. I needed my "space" and Mom and Dad didn't object [obviously they needed space from me as well]. In retrospect they were probably relieved! [not that I wasn't a model child mind you]. As I hiked I mulled over my annoyance - my anger - my frustration. The walking seemed to pump it all up with the physical exhaustion of climbing which that caught up with the mental exhaustion of my emotional churning.

I had already come to know those Catskill Mountain trails as old friends so that when mind and body began to rebel - I found a favorite ledge called Artist's Rock and there I dropped my day pack - leaned against a large boulder - sipped some water from my water bottle and drank in the absolutely gorgeous panoramic view which that ledge opened to me beyond the trees. I looked out to see other majestic mountains - the Hudson River snaking through the valley - small villages of homes which looked like they came from a Monopoly set. The sun was bright and the breeze was warm. My body began to relax. My mind began to let go of the small things which had been cluttering it. Slowly the thoughts began to progress - remorse - "I really do love Mom and Dad - even those two brothers [dumb as they are]." I began to let all of that go [any of this sound familiar?]. As I emptied myself [unintentional as it was] new thoughts began to emerge. I thought: "My God, how awesome this world is."

I meant that literally: "My God - God who I had known - my God - creator of beauty - you made all of this."

I began to think about my thoughts: I always knew I believed in God - but I hadn't been thinking about it too much - too busy piecing an adolescent life together - but that afternoon - I was conscious of how solidly I believed God is.

In the gift of that beautiful view - which had inspired artists for generations before me - and in the gift of being alone - my thoughts drifted into prayer - prayer that was deeper than particular words - prayer that became communion - God was present - not physically - like the angel who wrestled with Jacob by the brook and not just present as a distant creator - the master artist of this glorious canvas before my eyes. God was present in a real and personal and unexplainable way - I knew God was there. I felt heard and known - kept and comforted. I knew then - God was and is and ever shall be present in my life.

This is what the Psalmist wanted us to know. He or she was trying to express this kind of experience of God - not to convince someone who would later read this poem - but simply because it was an experience to be told - to be shared. I think it's why Allison chose this Psalm.

"Where ever I go - O Lord - you know me - sitting - sleeping - arguing - hiking - crying - praying - you are there - you created me - you walk with me through the dark times - and through the pleasant places. It's an awesome thought. You - O God - not only exist - but you are active in my life.

Our question: where is God in your life?

Our second question: what does God do in your life and mine is? - by it's nature - dependent upon the answer to our first question. Only as we recognize God as present. When our eyes and hearts recognize God's presence - then we can see God's activity.

Come back to that mountain ledge. I slowly began to physically feel uncomfortable. The rock backrest began to feel like rock - my hindquarters began to feel numb from the hard seat. It was clearly time to get up and move. So I did. The walking felt good. My thoughts had changed. There was this strange eagerness to see my family again. The other - deeper thoughts - which weighed on my teenage mind - began to lighten. I felt better about myself. Some of the worry and doubts receded. I felt a bit like the Apostle Paul when he wrote [also Allison's choice] in his letter to the Phillipians 4:13: "I can do all things through him who strengthens me". He knew what tough times were like - and he knew what being in the presence of God was like - and Paul knew that even the toughest of times and circumstances would not hold back the power of life which we come to know through God's presence - especially God's presence in the person and spirit of Jesus.

Where is God in your life?

What does God do in your life?

Keep those kites flying - those hearts open - those minds thinking - those spiritspraying - and may your landing be graceful, comforting and empowering. Amen.

The Sundays of August 17 and 24 I have been invited to be the guest preacher at the Church of the Ascension in Upper Saranac Lake. Its one of the most beautiful spots in the Adirondacks. plans are to spend part of each day writing. My thanks to folks here for their warm and welcoming hospitality. I hope to have each sermon posted by the following Monday of Tuesday stay tuned.
Harold

“You Can’t Make Me”

Matthew 28: 16-20

The Commissioning of the Disciples

16 Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. ¹⁷When they saw him, they worshipped him; but some doubted. ¹⁸And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’^* Matthew 28:16-20

This is a true story. When I was in college my parent’s life together seemed to fall apart at the seams. My mother was diagnosed with cancer and then months latter the oil company my father worked for was bought out by a less than reputable consortium of men in dark glasses and black limousines – now you do the figuring of who they were and remember it was New Jersey!

Dad found himself in a moral dilemma in which he knew he couldn’t work with the new owners and yet he had a good job and this just wasn’t the best time to make a change with a wife needing medical insurance and his undivided attention. To this day I feel badly that I was as un-involved in providing support to them living in Michigan at the time.

It didn’t take Dad long to realize he would have to leave the company. One lunch time after giving notice and the previous employer not wanting him around a minute longer Dad took a walk up the street to an old friend who ran an insurance company. The old friend though well of my Dad and offered him what he could – a sales job at the bottom rung. Dad had to take it. Two kids still at home a sick wife and a kid in college – a father has to do what he can and he did.

The company he went to work for thought of itself as THE ROCK in people’s lives and had a highly social scientifically engineered way to convince people that they really needed them as the ROK in their lives – there was sales training that at times felt like corporate brain washing. Dad endured it with grace and clear perspective and he went on to quickly re-climb the ladder and was a great success.

Years latter when I would struggle with vocational challenges I asked Dad to tell me about his journey and the key to his success. He took his time to reflect on how he always believed that his work must be shaped ultimately by his faith more than the company line or the bottom line. He talked about how rewarding it was to sell a family the right type and amount of insurance. He told me of a most memorable occasion when a family he had sold a policy to had lost her husband – he was the sole bread winner and she would be financially lost with out his income. He said: “Son – I can’t tell you how fulfilling it was to drive to that woman’s home and to hand her a check that will provide for her with the loss of her husband. That’s what your work should be all about – you need to have a higher purpose than a paycheck.”

Now I know I should have saved this illustration for Father’s Day but I was thinking about that need for a higher purpose as I listened again to the Great Commission of Jesus: Go and do...he says. You have a purpose. Unfortunately the Christian Church has often taken this commission as a sales talk – purpose is lost as productivity is emphasized.

Let’s put this commission in perspective. In some ways we have our festivals backwards. Last week we celebrated Pentecost – the day Jesus sent us the empowerment to be his disciples in the world. And now this week were turned back to the last of the resurrection appearance stories of Jesus – before the Holy Spirit descends upon those frightened and anxious followers. Now I figure the reason the stories are set in the common lectionary this way is that following Pentecost the church has now experienced the third party of what we call the Trinity and that is what this Sunday is designated as; Trinity Sunday . This is the time when the church recognizes that we experience God in three different ways – as Creator or what we traditionally call Father and as Redeemer or what who we know as Jesus the Son and now the sanctifier or what we know to be the Holy Spirit. The church in its teaching through the ages has found this description to be essential to how it tells about God – and we can all appreciate that.

But this morning our story takes us to the commission – before the empowerment has come. Its like the your boss explaining your new job to you – and before she explains how to do it or before you get the training.

The commission is to Go out into the world and make disciples and to baptize them. Now that always sounded like a bad translation to me – perhaps because of the work make. The way we use that word in common language is to force some one to do something – like some school yard bully making the kid at the edge of the play ground to give up his lunch money. I don’t know about you but I’m not all that receptive to having anyone make me do anything. Its not very invitational to say the least. So what’s the point of what Jesus is saying to his new disciples then and now? Well I don’t think it’s to go out like they did on the Crusades and accumulate a large baptismal role or to forcible convert the neighboring heathen. In fact – I was helped when I finally traipsed back over to my office here in the church to dust off my Greek Bible to discover for the first time that the word make isn’t there. I don’t just mean there is another word in it place – as if we just translated it wrong – the words in the original don’t flow as nicely but what they say – literally is going there, disciple ye al the nations. Now you might think this is just a little bit of exegetical nit picking but in this one absent word I find the basis for a clearer understanding of what Jesus intends our whole purpose to be about. Consider this translation: Jesus says to us: All the authority – all the backing you need I give to you on behalf of the Lord of the Universe….there for go and help people live the life I have offered you.. to do that you will need to disciple them – that is you will need to prepare them and their children for baptism – the being of the journey and to do that you will need to teach them my teachings.

Now that translation would give my former Greek professor’s cardiac arrest – but I think it’s an important distinction. We don’t bring people into the life by try to make them believe. We bring people into the life we have come to know in Christ by invitation.

Allow me to go back to my father’s instruction to me; imagine a salesperson who is so intent on their quota – on accumulating a large sales record – now lets give them the benefit of the doubt – lets agree that they really believe that what they have to sell is truly important to people – they believe that the world will – in fact – be a better place if everyone has a big life insurance policy – so with all the passion and fervor of an evangelist on a mission they go out and sell tirelessly and unrelentingly – they preach a sales pitch of such urgency and instill such fear that each client begs for him to sell them the premium policy. Friends – sadly this is what the church has done through the ages – and this is what the church in many places still does – with the most sincere passion a` times – it goes out into the world with fear on its breath – urgently making disciples of anyone they can find – anywhere they can find them.

Imagine instead that you come to know – as you probably already do that the life Jesus calls us to is one filled with grace and love – acceptance and forgiveness – that this life speaks to your deepest needs and answers your deepest question – that this life gives purpose and meaning to your life. Now imagine that you love the people of this world – as I also know you do – so what do you do with this life that means so much to you? You share it – right? You offer it. I mean if it’s as good as you believe it is – well then it really ought to sell itself – and you know what – it does. We don’t have to make people be disciples – we simply share what has first been offered to us.

This anxious world with its end times prophets and worrisome evangelical urgency may accumulate followers – but have they in the process full embraced the grace and the acceptance this new life offers?

I had a woman say to me recently about funerals; I don’t know how you preachers do it – you get up there and tell everyone about the person who has dies and that they are going to heaven – when you know a lot of those people really didn’t have Jesus Christ as their personal savior. I replied to her – I don’t have to worry about that – that’s God’s work – the saving – my work it to share the Good news God has given me.

Friends – if we are ever looking for a purpose in these lives of ours – if we love the people of this world as much as we believe we do – and if we have - something to share with them – we have a purpose - we have a commission.

So lets not try and make anybody do anything – lets just share what we know and see what God can do.

Amen.

HMD 5.18, 2008