union avenue christian church |
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No Room For Hope Acts 3:12 – 19; Luke 24:36b – 48 A new pastor of a small congregation set as her goal to meet every family early in her ministry. When she asked about one family that was not visible in worship, others told the pastor “don’t bother, they haven’t been here in two years. They will not be coming back.” Instead of taking that advice, she drove to their home one afternoon. The woman of the family treated her cordially. They had coffee and chatted — about this, about that, and then about it. Previously she had been home with her young son. Vacuuming, she had not checked on him for a while. Then she went into the den and didn’t find him. She followed his trail through the patio door, to the swimming pool, where she found him. “At the funeral,” the woman said, “our church friends were very kind. They told us it was God’s will.” The minister put her cup down and said slowly, “Your friends meant well, I am sure. But they were wrong. God does not will the death of children!” The woman’s face reddened and her jaw set. “Then do you blame me?” The pastor again, gently and quietly, spoke, “I certainly don’t blame you. But I don’t want to blame God either. I do not know how to explain it or understand it. All I know is that when your heart broke, God’s heart was also breaking.” The woman had crossed her arms and it was clear this conversation was over. The young pastor left, kicking herself for meddling into the situation and knowing that her call was in vain. Several days later when the phone rang, the woman said to the pastor: “We don’t know where this is going, but would you come out and talk with my husband and me? We have assumed that God was angry with us. Maybe it’s the other way around.” (Thomas Long, Whispering the Lyrics: Sermons for Lent and Easter. Lima, OH: CSS Publishing Co., 1995) Anger and fear are two basic human responses to life — life that is not controllable; life that is sometimes hurtful; life that sometimes takes away something dear to us; life that seomtimes does not allow us freedom; life that constricts us, inhibits us, does not encourage, empower, and energize us. And when anger and fear take over our lives there is absolutely no room for hope. Without hope, there is little good life. Our Gospel passage today tells of a time when there was little hope, lots of fear, and undoubtedly plenty of anger. Jesus had given his followers hope. He had assured them of a new life. He had brought them into a ministry that would encourage others, that would provide meaning to lives. He had constantly shared with them the love of God. It all shattered with his death. It all crumbled when the tide had turned against not only Jesus but also those who had been in his party. Hope had given way to fear. Love had been replaced with anger. Possibilities of life – good life – were fleeting at best. Jesus’ response to these terrified folks was as follows:
His tactics must have worked. History informs us that soon the church came alive. The fears had been replaced by lots of work, enthusiasm and faithfulness. Hope was generated and the Gospel spread around the world. Anger at Jesus and God about Jesus’ death was replaced with awareness that God’s presence and love could overcome anything and everything. Fear, however, is very much alive today.
When those are the fears, it is no wonder that anger rears its ugly head when the message comes that God loves the world and all those in it. If God so loves the world, why does God obviously NOT love those who must live with daily fears? God must be angry with those who have nothing in this life! Where is Jesus now? We need him to bring understanding, clarity and peace. We are the body of Christ — the Church of Jesus Christ is his body in the world today. Therefore, we are the ones who will do what he taught before in meeting the fears of those in the world. We must present him (Jesus Christ) in the flesh — eating, living, and being a part of life with those who live in fear — just as Jesus did. We must open up the scriptures and the traditions of the church. Find ways to celebrate the mission and teachings, the honorable and exemplary acts through which the faithful have impacted the world through the ages. Give expression to vision and possibilities. Celebrate how faith is intertwined with historic and present meaningfulness. We must combat so-called faith messages that hurt or mimic people or compromise God. We must teach the truth about God and work against such ideas as: It is God’s will that any child dies, or that God wants anyone to live in poverty, or that God would inflict any disease, or that God is on “the side” of any way, or that God hates or favors any ethnicity, color of skin, gender or sexual orientation. Communicating the true message of the Christian faith is vital in a time where there is such a mish-mash of God talk in the world. And we must draw people (as Jesus drew) into the ministry so that his message will be proclaimed and reach the ends of the earth. Jesus met the fear and anger through those three ways:
Through those he brought his disciples from fear and anger to hope and incredible witness. Those three ways are still needed by the world’s people who are full of fear and anger — Jesus Christ’s presence, the teaching of faith and its historic witness, and the invitation for involvement. We can offer that to the world. And we can start here on the corner of Union and Enright. We can present the body of Jesus Christ by being visible on these streets and getting to know our neighbors. We can be available to our schools’ needs, and work along side those in the community garden. Today we have the opportunity (after worship) to meet young artists of Soldan High School. Their artwork now hangs in the Brigham Gallery and we will have a reception in their honor. Talk to them; find out their interests; probe their passions; BE the presence of Jesus Christ to them – today. In May, hundreds of children from our elementary schools will fill this sanctuary to hear and have fun with Bobby Norfolk – a well-known storyteller. Volunteer (to Carla Duncan) to be here, to be a host, to let the children and staff of the schools know that this isn’t just a building we share, but we are a people – a congregation – a faith community – the body of Christ – who want these children to have life. We have some ambassadors in our schools — Gretchen Seidel at Mitchell and Johnathan Loesch at Cole — both northside elementary schools filled with children whose lives have little hope. Unruly behavior eats at the patience and instruction time of the teachers. Perhaps you have ideas, or time, or offerings to share and hope to provide. Talk to them! We can listen to our neighbors’ expressed concerns about property — its use and abuse. We can listen to our neighbors' concerns about drugs and the destruction of lives because of them. We can listen to our neighbors' expressed concerns about injustice in city politics. We can listen to our neighbors' concerns about jobs and job training needs, healthcare and the lack thereof. Beyond listening we can support our Core Team as they try to act with our neighbors on the issues that are affecting their lives — providing a power base to change institutionalized injustice. See Roger Duncan to find out when and how. We can offer our talents, our passions, and our abilities to the new Technical Assistance Center that Mike Reid told us about last week as its links gifts with needs. We can be ready to help the crew clean up Ivory Perry Park and then be present for concerts and good neighborhood fun. We are the body of Christ – present today – that will come to those living in fear. We are the body of Christ – present today – that is able to say “peace be with you.” But then we have to do our work of making sure we are holding onto a faith that we can share…we can explain…we can live. We can preach and teach, availing ourselves of educational opportunities, spiritual deepening classes and conversations, reading and understanding. Because then we will be able to invite others into this ministry we love. Brentan Dodge stands ready to enlist anyone to be a part of the inviting team of this congregation — the team that takes seriously the importance of being in a community of faith so that each persons’ ministry can be realized. All of that will bring us (and the world) to hope, my friends. It worked with the disciples. It will work today. Fear and anger can consume a person…a community…the world…and leave no room for hope. The good news of Jesus Christ’s ministry — when fully engaged — stands against that fear…brings peace…encouragement…love and hope to the world. SW |
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