Overcoming Obstacles

This message was first delivered at Court Street United Methodist Church in Lynchburg, Virginia on June 24, 2018. It is based on the lectionary texts of 1 Samuel 17, 2 Corinthians 6:1-13 and Mark 4:35-41. 

Overcoming Obstacles

“On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” And leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. Other boats were with him. A great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him up and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm. He said to them, “Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?” And they were filled with great awe and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”

Teacher, don't you care that we are perishing? Does he care? Oh disciples, do we even need to ask? He cares deeply and mourns with us as we struggle but he asks us – why are you afraid? Have you forgotten my promises so quickly? Do you still have no faith?

Obstacles, trials, hardships, struggles – they come in so many shapes and sizes. But in the midst of the storm, problems seem 10 feet tall and mockingly impossible. I'm glad that I've never had to be in battle against a literal giant...I'm not much of a fighter. I took some karate classes in my twenties and managed to break my own finger so bad that I had to have surgery to put it back together. There are two tiny screws in my left pinky.

Physical battles are rarely the struggles that most of us go through, but our battles are no less real. Today's lectionary scripture from 2 Corinthians includes a list of challenges that Paul knew the early church was dealing with: beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights and hunger. We know that globally people face persecution, abuse and horrors we can scarcely imagine...much less imagine how to endure. In our country there are people suffering from unemployment, family strife, medical issues, financial worries. We do not have to look far to see Goliaths all around us. Somebody wake up Jesus! How can he be sleeping at a time like this?

Saul and the Israelites were feeling defeated. They've been in a stalemate for 40 days while this huge Philistine came out daily to mock and challenge them. It was so bad that Saul had offered a great ransom, including his daughter to anyone who could rid them of Goliath. The army of Israel, the people of God had lost all hope.

I think we can all relate the the feeling of hopelessness. We have all faced our own Goliaths...maybe you've tackled a big one like an abusive spouse or parent, alcoholism, drug addiction or smoking! Maybe it is the collective pressure of a bunch of little Goliaths. I don't know if you've ever heard this particular question to ponder – but spend a moment to decide, “Would you rather face 1 horse-sized duck or 100 duck-sized horses?” Google that later to see what some other people have thought on the topic. My point is – even small challenges get overwhelming when that stack up all at once.

Maybe you haven't tackled what others would call BIG – I'm glad for all of us who haven't been homeless or divorced or lost a child – but all those duck-sized horses can wear you down until you are in the same hopeless state that Saul and his army were in. And the disciples in the boat were in. And we cry out...like Saul, “can't someone rise up against the Philistine? I'll reward you beyond your wildest dreams!” and we cry out like the disciples in the boat, “where are you God? Don't you even care?”

David was not in the army. He wasn't at the front – he was home tending to things there when his Dad told him to take some provisions up to his brothers and the king. When he gets there he is offended by this Goliath and wonders out loud why somebody hasn't done something...and his brothers basically tell him to stop bothering the important soldiers and go home. But David has another idea – why not him?

And here we hit on the first step in tackling our Goliath – we've got to be willing to make a start. To step out and change things. To stand up against some form of evil or oppression. To stand up for what is right even when it isn't easy or comfortable to do so. David was willing and he went to Saul to tell him he was ready to go up against the Philistine. And Saul said, you can't do it...you're too inexperienced, you're too young, you can't accomplish this. Look how big that guy is! He's been at this for longer than you've been alive. You shouldn't even try. Saul may think that he's doing the right thing – this kid doesn't know what he's up against.

Yep...when you try to affect change in the world or in your life, you're going to run into some Sauls. Maybe you're excited that you've decided to start going to the gym on Monday and you tell your friend but the first thing he says is, “well, we'll see how long that lasts.” Or you finally decide you'll step out on faith and begin a new Bible study and you talk about it in a church council meeting and you hear, “nobody will come out on that day” or “Bob tried that years ago and it fell flat” or “what makes you qualified to teach a Bible study?”

David is stronger than I think I would have been – he just looks at Saul and says, “I can do this.” And he backs up his claim with some of his experiences as a shepherd. Which is a much more challenging job than the pastoral picture in my mind. I always thought I'd like to be a shepherd. Sitting around in a field with sheep, getting my tan on...reading some books or playing my lyre...learning to play the lyre.... Sheep softly baa'ing while I take a nap under a tree. Uh yeah... Apparently shepherding is nothing like that! You've got to keep these stubborn and stupid creatures from wandering off cliffs, moving them around to fresh grass that needs to be someplace near fresh water, and it gets hot during the day and super cold at night...and I expect that the sheep don't just softly baa. I expect that it is like having a herd of 5 year old kids – all wanting to go in different directions, somebody needing a bandaid and another needing a juice box and we won't even get into what the smell would be like (herd of kids OR sheep!). On top of that David explains to Saul that there are predators that attack like lions and bears! Nope, not for me.

David says that he's faced tough stuff before and that God-of-the-Angel-Armies has always delivered him. He's not afraid of the lion or the bear and he's not going to let this pig continue to disrespect his God. Bring it on. And Saul agrees.

So, the first step was to be willing to make a change. The next step is going to be telling the Sauls to step aside. And sometimes the voice of Saul is coming from inside our own head. David was faithful and strong – he is ready. When I face my Goliaths...sometimes I'm bringing the voice of Saul right along with me. And sometimes he's telling me that I'd better be careful.

Saul puts his very own armor on David. Saul says, “if you're gonna do this, you'd better do it this way.” And David gives it a try. But it isn't a good fit. With this big bronze helmet and the armor and Saul's own sword...David can barely move. He's going at the problem the wrong way for him – he's got to say to Saul, “this isn't for me.”

How often have we face problems or tough situations to have others say, “here is how I would fix that” and “I went through something similar and this is the way to come through it.” Or, how often have WE been the Saul in someone else's storm?

My brother is a wise man (well, only sometimes) who has told me more than once, “sometimes people just need to tell you their problems.”

I'm a natural born troubleshooter. I worked for a number of years as a video engineer for a VHS duplication house. Parents, explain to the kids what a VCR is later. We ran 300 tapes at a time and my job was to keep signals going to all 300 machines. I approach all problems with the same process – start at one and and work your way to the other and you'll find the source of the difficulty along the path. That's my process. My suit of armor.

David couldn't fight Goliath in the same way that Saul would. And not everyone will quit smoking the same way or cope with loneliness the same way or deal with the loss of a beloved pet the same way. We all want to be so helpful...oh, the best way to get over the loss of your cat is to throw away all her toys and stuff so you don't have to face them. No, the best way is to get another cat. No, you should...

You get the point. We've got to put on our own armor and stop trying to put our armor on others. Doesn't mean we don't love and support and grieve and brainstorm and cope together – just going to have to respect that my way isn't the only way. It's not even necessarily the better way, no matter what I think!

So David takes off Saul's armor. And he takes his staff and sling and five smooth stones from a nearby brook and he heads out. Despite the warnings. Despite the doubts. Despite the lack of military might. David keeps on going. Some would call it determination. Others would call it foolhardy. I can tell you what Goliath thought. He thinks this is hilarious and insulting.

“Am I a dog that you come after me with a stick?” he sneers. He curses him and basically says he's going to feed him to the buzzards and field mice. I've faced problems like that – I walk toward them with the confidence of someone who wants to make a change. And the problem looks at me and says, “determination? Is that all you got?”

But determination isn't all David has. He's got some ammunition. He's got some weapons against this problem. Along the way he's picked up five smooth stones, five instruments – not defensive but offensive! What are your stones – your tools against the challenges? I'll suggest a few, but you'll have to get your own stones from the stream.

My first stone is Courage. David was not afraid to face the enemy. I am almost always afraid to face the enemy, continuing to face those fears is the definition of courage. You're going to need that to face the giants in your life. Where do we find courage though? Unlike the lion in the Wizard of Oz, I don't think that just pinning a medal to my chest will give me courage. But what I learned from that furry example is that if you keep going even when fear tells you to turn around and run...you have found courage. And every time you do it, your courage builds.

My second stone is Confidence. Which I had to dig out of a deep muddy hole of self-doubt. But I'm learning that being confident in my abilities isn't the same as the sin of pride – so now I'm learning to embrace my abilities.

Most of us have encountered people who turn away every compliment. You tell them, “gosh, I really appreciated the way you explained that” and they say “oh, it was nothing.” “You look so great today!” “oh, you need an eye exam.” Stop it. False humility robs others of the chance to encourage you and robs you of the confidence building power of having accomplishments. I'm going to build my confidence later by just saying thank you when people tell me what a great job I did leading worship today!

My third stone is Preparation. If we are going into battle with our courage and confidence, we'll have more impact if we know what we are up against. If I'm going to quit drinking then I need to know what I'm going to face emotionally and physically. I'm going to prepare by communicating with others who have faced the same Goliath. I'm going to recognize the storm ahead and go into prepared. Just like I don't come into the sanctuary today and just say, “well, God will provide the words...so I'll just open my mouth and see what comes out.” Maybe that is YOUR set of armor, it doesn't fit me. I'm going into this battle with my eyes open but willing to let go of my battle plan if God so guides.

Because my fourth stone is Trust. At some point, I've got to let go of my plan and trust God. Sometimes I keep that stone behind glass and I'm reluctant to pull out the little hammer and break it out. I want to run around and keep all the plates spinning myself! I got this God!! You worry about the other people, I'll call on my Trust rock when I really, really, really need it. I'm so foolish.

David didn't trust in his own ability to slay the giant. When Goliath shouted at David, cursed him and was ready to kill him, David said, “You come at me with a sword and a spear, but I come to you in the name of the Lord God Almighty.” He trusted God to fulfill his promise to be with him through all the trials of life. He knew this God had delivered him before and would not abandon him now.

So David steps out confidently and announces that he has come in the name of the Lord and that God hand Goliath over to him. He states with confidence what he is about to do – I'm about to kill you, cut off your head and serve up your body (and the bodies of your pals) to crows and coyotes. Hello, my name is David, you mocked my God...prepare to die.

He goes on to tell this Goliath that his death will be a sign to the whole Earth that this God, the God of Israel is extraordinary. And Goliath is done with this pest. Enough with your sticks and stones, little boy. And he lunges for David. And as crazy as it sounds – while Goliath is running at David, David starts running at the Philistine!!

And he reaches in and pulls out a stone, loads it in the sling, and lets it fly.

The rock embeds itself in Goliath's forehead and he falls facedown in the dirt. As quickly as the battle began, it is over. David is the victor and Goliath is defeated. I can imagine stunned silence followed by gasps then cheers!

How about us? Who or what are our Goliaths? Maybe you cope with one of those “big” obstacles or a hundred duck-sized horses. Perhaps your giants are fear, insecurity, loneliness or failure. Maybe you want to make a change but you aren't even sure where to start!

Start by deciding to start. Figure out that you don't want things to continue the way that they are. Maybe you want to find ways to be kinder to yourself. Maybe you want to make a big impact in the community. Maybe you want closer relationships. Identify your Goliath and say, “I'm coming after you.”

Then you'll face your Sauls and at some point you may even have to hand their armor and advice back and say “thanks, but this just doesn't fit me.” And then you'll set out to begin the battle.

Go armed, find your five smooth stones. But make sure that at least one of them is grounded in God. Maybe they all are... trusting in God to see you through the storm. Knowing that he DOES care about your struggles. He cares enough about you as a person to allow you to grow through challenges and strife – but that through it all he is right there. He CAN calm the storm. When you turn toward God, you will find that he has been there all along, supporting and guiding you as you grow. As you change yourself and the world around you. Don't get lost in hopelessness. Embrace the God who stilled the storm...and then step back in wonder and awe as you witness his power in every situation. Thanks be to God.

Unshakeable

This message was first delivered at Court Street United Methodist Church in Lynchburg, Virginia on August 21, 2016. It is based on the lectionary text of Hebrews 12:18-29.

Hebrews 12:18-29 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

You have not come to something that can be touched, a blazing fire, and darkness, and gloom, and a tempest, and the sound of a trumpet, and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that not another word be spoken to them. (For they could not endure the order that was given, “If even an animal touches the mountain, it shall be stoned to death.” Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I tremble with fear.”)

But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

See that you do not refuse the one who is speaking; for if they did not escape when they refused the one who warned them on earth, how much less will we escape if we reject the one who warns from heaven! At that time his voice shook the earth; but now he has promised, “Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heaven.” This phrase, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of what is shaken—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us give thanks, by which we offer to God an acceptable worship with reverence and awe; for indeed our God is a consuming fire. (the word of God for the people of God...)

I have always enjoyed watching thunderstorms. From my early years I liked to sit at the window and see the lightning, counting until the thunder sounded so I could tell how far away the lightning strike was. The only problem is, I could never keep straight whether it was one second per mile or one second per quarter mile...so the best I could usually tell you was that the storm was about 4 or 12 miles from us. I was clearly not born to be a meteorologist! But there was something incredibly wild and powerful that drew me to enjoy watching thunder and lightning.

I recall one trip to the beach with some of the ladies of Centenary – this has been about 20 years ago. The house we had rented had a large screen porch and late one night, a storm blew in and I took my pillow and blanket to the screen porch and spent a glorious hour enjoying God's spectacular show. With a light mist blowing in from the steady rain – I finally decided to go inside to sleep. When I started downstairs to my air mattress on the floor – I discovered four or five of the ladies sitting on the stairs clutching their purses. They were horrified to hear that I had been “out in that terrible storm” and I was shocked that they were horrified. I tried to explain the thrill of the wind and the beauty of the lightning. They tried to explain how I nearly died. We had to agree to disagree. Although I have a great deal of respect for the power of nature...I find it incredibly exciting and inspiring.

But I know that such storms can also bring devastation and destruction. I have seen images in this past week of the situation in Louisiana. I had friends affected by the storms in West Virginia. I recall the wild chaos a few years back when a derecho hit Lynchburg.

It's complicated. Our God, the God we worship and adore, who made the heavens and the earth, and who placed the sun and the moon in the sky and set the stars in their courses, and who separated the water from the dry land, and who filled creation with all manner of living things, including giant trees and cats and people I love, and who came to this earth in Jesus Christ to teach us how to love one another — this same God, the Bible tells us, also relates to creation in ways that are nothing short of terrifying.

Remember the passage in 1 Kings 19 when Elijah met God at Mt. Horeb? He said, “Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.” Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was splitting mountains and breaking rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake;and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of sheer silence. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave.

Recall how Jacob was attacked by the angels of the Lord in the night and wrestled with them until dawn and prevailed because he was such a powerful man, but bore the marks of that terrible victory the rest of his life, walking with a limp and having a hollow place on his thigh. Such an intense encounter that he named the place Peniel (which means the face of God) saying, “For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life is preserved.”

Recall the still, small voice that spoke to Moses spoke out of a bush that burned and burned, and was never consumed, and what the voice said: "Take your shoes off! You are standing on holy ground!"

Recall when God gave the original commandments to Moses on the mountain that there was a fire and smoke and darkness, and when Moses finally came down, bearing the commandments on stone tablets, his face was all lit up from being in the presence of God, and the people could not bear to look at him.

Many of us prefer not to think of God as powerful, demanding, and vindictive. Maybe we would rather imagine God mostly as an over-indulgent grandparent figure with only good intentions for us. We’d rather remember that “(t)he Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.” I confess that I prefer the God I see in Jesus Christ over the God who demands righteousness from God’s people and who dispenses sometimes painful justice with the wave of a mighty hand.

But we must recognize that the God we see in Hebrews is the very same God whose grace we have come to know in Jesus Christ. Because God has had mercy on us, he sent Jesus Christ to save us. We would be wise to remember that we should not expect God to be merciful to us over and over again, without any accountability on our part. We would be wise not to take God’s mercy for granted. Gratitude for the gift of grace is a critical point of living as a Christian. When Jesus was hung up on the cross to die, God did not intervene to stop his death.

Because I am a Christian, I have never had to stand directly in the presence of God. I have always had Jesus to stand between myself and the wholly otherness of my creator. This brings us to the comparison that the writer of Hebrews makes in today's scripture lesson.

I'll highlight the comparisons between the Mount Sinai experience of God (the old covenant) and the Mount Zion experience of God (the new covenant) by reading verses from Eugene Peterson's The Message (18-23): you didn’t come to Mount Sinai—all that volcanic blaze and earthshaking rumble—to hear God speak. The earsplitting words and soul-shaking message terrified them and they begged him to stop. When they heard the words—“If an animal touches the Mountain, it’s as good as dead”—they were afraid to move. Even Moses was terrified.

No, that’s not your experience at all. You’ve come to Mount Zion, the city where the living God resides. The invisible Jerusalem is populated by throngs of festive angels and Christian citizens. It is the city where God is Judge, with judgments that make us just.

In the book of Hebrews, the old covenant is not the whole Old Testament – the whole history before Christ. It is, specifically, the Mosaic covenant or the covenant God made with Israel at Sinai. This is clear because whenever the author of Hebrews describes the old covenant, it’s always with reference to the institutions and stipulations of the Mosaic covenant or “the law.” The writer isn’t contrasting the whole Old Testament history with New Testament, but, rather, the situation of Old Testament Israel, under the Law of Moses, with the situation of New Testament believers under the new covenant. That old covenant emphasized the law of God and the holiness and justice of God. It was under this covenant that the law of God was written as the Ten Commandments. Sin was more clearly defined as a transgression of God’s law. Taken by itself, the law of God is terrifying and condemning. It proclaimed the standard of God’s holiness and pronounced judgment and wrath on those who would violate that standard, but provided no place for help or forgiveness. Hence, it’s fitting that Israel’s experience at Mt. Sinai was one of fear and trembling, as God thundered forth His moral commands.

Because of the fearsome display of God’s power and holiness, the Israelites shrank back in fear from the presence of God. When the people heard the voice of God, the last thing they wanted to do was go up the mountain. They wanted to go the other direction. They wanted to escape from the presence of God back into their camp and into the tents. All of this emphasizes the distance between God and man. When God appears in His holiness as Law-giver and judge, no sinner can come near, and no sinner would even want to. So, the old covenant emphasized this law and this distance between man and God. The law, in the old covenant, reminded people of their sinfulness and God holiness and of the need for a sacrifice to make one fit to stand before God.

But, in verse 22, we see the other mountain, Mt. Zion. In the Old Testament Scriptures, Mt. Zion is the place of God’s throne, for God rules on earth over His people through King David and his sons. This rule is destined to be extended over all the earth. Now, the writer to the Hebrews says that we have come to Mt. Zion, we have come to the heavenly Jerusalem. The place where God rules over His people from David’s royal throne and where He dwells among His people permanently and blesses them, is no longer a hill in the Middle East. It is now a heavenly Jerusalem. We have come to Jesus, who presents a new covenant – a fresh charter from God.

It is a whole new ball game. We now have the opportunity to move from a position of fear and trembling to seizing the gift of reconciliation to God through Jesus. We can be a part of the unshakeable kingdom.

Think back to today's Gospel lesson from Luke. To help you connect to the lesson, I want everyone to stand up. Stand nice and straight. Now, bend at your waist until you are looking straight down at the floor. That isn't extremely uncomfortable, is it? You could easily stay bent over like that for a few minutes, but what if you had to stay bent over like that all the time? What if you had to stay bent over like that day after day and year after year for eighteen years? That would be quite a different story, wouldn't it? What if you went to the store and you needed something from the top shelf? You could not even see the top shelf, much less reach the items on that shelf! You would have to depend on someone to find and get the items you needed. (you can be seated)

Jesus was teaching in the synagogue on the Sabbath when he saw a woman who was crippled. She had been bent over double for eighteen years and was unable to stand up straight. When Jesus saw her, he called her over to him, touched her and said, "Woman, you are healed!" Instantly she could stand up straight. She was so happy that she began to praise God!

You would think that everyone in the synagogue that day would be happy and join the woman in praising God. Not so! The leader in charge of the synagogue was very angry that Jesus had healed the woman on the Sabbath day. He told the crowd, "There are six days of the week for working. Come on those days and be healed, but not on the Sabbath."

Jesus answered the leader of the synagogue, "You hypocrite! All of you work on the Sabbath! Don't you untie your ox or your donkey and lead it out for water? Doesn't this dear woman deserve to be healed, even on the Sabbath?" The leader was shamed, but the other people were happy and rejoiced at all of the wonderful things that Jesus did.

Rules are important, but the needs of people are more important. Jesus came and the old covenant was replaced by a new covenant - this new covenant in Jesus requires not sacrifices of blood, but, sacrifices of “praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that confess his name” and to “not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.” Praise God, do good and share what you have.

In other words, our sacrifice is to give praise to God and to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. The blessings of Mt. Zion are unspeakably better than the terrors of Mt. Sinai. They give us confidence to draw NEAR to God and to serve the Lord with gladness instead of fear.

We are heirs to an unshakeable kingdom. But we will be wise to listen to the cautious advice from verses 25-29: don’t turn a deaf ear to these gracious words. If those who ignored earthly warnings didn’t get away with it, what will happen to us if we turn our backs on heavenly warnings? His voice that time shook the earth to its foundations; this time—he’s told us this quite plainly—he’ll also rock the heavens: “One last shaking, from top to bottom, stem to stern.” The phrase “one last shaking” means a thorough housecleaning, getting rid of all the historical and religious junk so that the unshakable essentials stand clear and uncluttered. Do you see what we’ve got? An unshakable kingdom! And do you see how thankful we must be? Not only thankful, but brimming with worship, deeply reverent before God. For God is not an indifferent bystander. He’s actively cleaning house, torching all that needs to burn, and he won’t quit until it’s all cleansed. God himself is Fire!

Can we embrace this new covenant? We have the wondrous gift of being in direct relationship with God – but the awesome responsibility of being followers of Jesus. We are called to be imitators of Christ. Following his example of unconditional love is a tall order. But this last shaking is going to toss out historical and religious junk...like determining who is worthy to be in the presence of God or deciding when healing can and can't take place. If we're going to avoid the shaking we are going to have to get to those unshakable essentials – love and gratitude.

In Matthew 22:36-40, Jesus is asked which is the greatest commandment. His response is that the whole law and prophets hang on two commandments – Love the Lord God with all your heart, soul and mind. And love your neighbor as yourself. After the Last Supper he simplified it once more – according to John 13:34 - I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.

The key is seeing every other human as being one of God's children. I'll close with this story from Father Greg Boyle's book Tattoos on the Heart. Father Greg, who began Homeboy Industries – a tremendous gang intervention, prison ministry and job training program – in the poorest parish in Los Angeles, takes two former rival gang members as part of a three state set of speaking gigs. They visit Atlanta, DC and are wrapping up the trip in Mobile, Alabama. A man named John invited Pastor G, Memo and Miguel to go with him to visit his ministry to a community in Pritchard, Alabama. I quote, “We take two hours to drive and walk around in what I think is about the poorest place I've ever seen in the US. Hovels and burned-out shacks and lots of people living in what people ought not to live in. Memo and Miguel are positively bug-eyed as they walk around, meet people, and see a kind of poverty quite different than the one they know.

We return to the house where we're staying and have half an hour to pack...I look up, and Memo is standing in my doorway, crying. He is a very big man, had been a shot caller for his barrio and has done things in and out of prison for which he feels great shame – harm as harm. The depth of his core wound is quite something to behold. Torture, unrivaled betrayal, chilling abandonment – there is little terror of which Memo would be unfamiliar.

He's weeping as he stands in my doorway and I ask him what's happening. “That visit, to Pritchard – I don't know; it got to me. It got inside of me. I mean, how do we let people live like this?” He pauses, then, “G, I don't know what's happening to me, but it's big. It's like, for the first time in my life, I feel, I don't know, what's the word...I feel compassion for what other people suffer.”

Seeing the shape of God in every person we encounter. We don't serve God out of fear and trembling (although a healthy dose of respect is not a bad thing!) - we go into the world to show God's love out of gratitude for his gift of mercy and grace. When we focus on those core essentials then we will truly be unshakable.

Mourning, Lamenting and Moving On

This message was first delivered at Court Street United Methodist Church in Lynchburg, Virginia on June 27, 2015. It is based on the lectionary text of Psalm 130.

Last week your choir did the most glorious rendition of Psalm 130. Just like today, this choir does not fail to deliver! It is really quite an extraordinary text – let me read it for you now:

Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD.

Lord, hear my voice! Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications!

If you, O LORD, should mark iniquities, Lord, who could stand?

But there is forgiveness with you, so that you may be revered.

I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I hope;

my soul waits for the Lord more than those who watch for the morning, more than those who watch for the morning.

O Israel, hope in the LORD! For with the LORD there is steadfast love, and with him is great power to redeem.

It is he who will redeem Israel from all its iniquities.

Powerful stuff. And a very similar message was delivered in the scripture reading from Lamentations: Thank God that the Lord is steadfast in his love because between the challenges of life and the ways we willfully walk away – if he was keeping score, we'd all be ashes.

Life sometimes just – doesn't seem to be going our way. Sometimes we are incredibly overwhelmed by life. But since the writer of Lamentations reminds us that God does not “willingly afflict or grieve anyone” - why then, does life sometimes just...suck?

You know what I'm talking about. Sometimes it is just little things in life: the washer breaks down and the fridge stops making ice. The Maple Leafs don't win the Stanley Cup. Feeling annoyed and frustrated. Then there are the bigger things: loss of a job, the house in foreclosure, betrayal of a friend, feeling alone. Challenges ramping up past a simmer – death in your closest circle of friends, cancer diagnosis, homelessness, feeling desperate. And past the boil – abuse, loss of a child, feeling devastated. What do we do then?

Over and over in scripture we see people experiencing overwhelming challenges and the suffering makes them cry out to God. Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD. Lord, hear my voice! Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications! They – cry out – TO God.

One of the hardest things I have to remember to do – is to stop relying on myself. I can't seem to get it through my thick head – when I'm overwhelmed...I need to lean on God. I know, I know...it seems simple. Turn it over to the one who is in control. I'm like a crazy person trying to drive the car from the passenger seat! The driver keeps saying, “no Chris, I've got this...the wheel is over here” and I'm just a'grabbin' away trying to wrestle the wheel over to me. The worst part is – I'm also partially blindfolded! At least with blinders on – knowing that I'm right and if this fool would just hand me the wheel...

Cry out – to GOD. He's an incredibly powerful God. He's got mad skills – made the world in 6 days and then was smart enough to kick back for rest. (another one of my problems for another time).

The Bible is full of people crying out, lamenting, and asking why: the people in the desert asking Moses WHY he brought them out here to die in the wilderness, Job cried out and lamented for CHAPTERS (the original Blues - Obliterate the day I was born. Blank out the night I was conceived! Let it be a black hole in space. May God above forget it ever happened. Erase it from the books! - even teenage angst has nothing on Job!). One of my favorite tales of crying out is from 1 Kings – Elijah is on the run. Jezebel wants him dead after his showdown with the prophets of Baal.

He flees and after leaving his servant in Beersheba, he goes another day into the wilderness finally coming to rest under a solitary broom tree. Further into seclusion. There – this mighty prayer warrior of God, the one only recently prayed fire from the skies to prove the power of Yaweh...prays that he might die.

It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life, for I am no better than my ancestors. Elijah is in a serious state of depression. He has had enough. He is saying “I can't do this any more Lord.” The work was stressful, exhausting, and it seemed to have accomplished nothing. The great miracle at Mount Carmel did not result in a lasting national revival or return to the Lord. Elijah probably hoped that the events on Mount Carmel would turn around Ahab and Jezebel and the leadership of Israel. But Elijah forgot that people reject God despite the evidence, not because of the evidence.

He says he is no better than his ancestors. When he looks at the apparent failure of his ministry he instinctively blames his own unworthiness.

I think we can all relate to Elijah's despair. At some point in our lives we've all gotten to the point where we say, “what's the point? I can't go on. I don't want to go on.” Most of us have gotten to the end of our rope at some point in our lives. Maybe we were overwhelmed by a family issue or something at work or even felt burned out in our faith or church ministry. Perhaps you or someone you know has even lay under the broom tree and wanted to give up completely. Prayed for death.

God didn't grant Elijah's prayer for death. He gave him something else.

In the midst of this great despair, God sent an angel. Not with a pep talk...he took care of Elijah's physical needs first. This is not always His order, but physical needs are important. Sometimes the most spiritual thing a person can do is get enough rest and replenishment.

God sent Elijah on a 200 mile, 40 day trip to Mount Horeb, also known as Mount Sinai. God didn't demand an immediate recovery – he allowed his prophet time to recover from his spiritual depression. Lamenting and mourning. They are a natural response to challenges in life.

Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” How often have we heard that? Sometimes when we think things are starting to smooth out – God says, “What are you doing here?” God knew the answer, but he allowed Elijah to speak freely and unburden his heart:

Elijah answered, “I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away. He protests to God, “I have faithfully served You and now look at the danger I'm in!” To Elijah – and many servants of God since – it seemed unfair that a faithful servant of God should be made to suffer. And strangely, the reasons that Elijah provided for wanting to give up, are actually the critical reasons he should stay alive! If he really was the last prophet or believer alive, should he not seek to live as long as possible? If the enemies of God like Jezebel wanted him dead, shouldn't he seek to defeat her wicked ways? But this is what fear and unbelief will cause in us!

So, what did God do after he let Elijah vent? After Elijah said, “I've served you faithfully but now I'm running for my life and the children of Israel have broken their covenant, torn down your altars and killed your prophets and I'm all that's left...” “I'm really, really good and they're really, really bad. Life isn't fair. Nobody loves me, everybody hates me, I think I'll eat a worm....”

God says, “Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.” Oh man. Get ready. Daddy's home and now you're gonna get it. The last time God manifested himself on this mountain Moses' face glowed so much that people were frightened of him.

Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was splitting mountains and breaking rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but theLord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of sheer silence.

Elijah cried out to the Lord and Lord let him know who was in the driver's seat.

Elijah knew. He sensed the presence. He wrapped his face in his mantle and stood at the entrance of the cave. He knew that God was present in the still small voice, the gentle whisper – in a way that He was not in the more dramatic phenomenon. Because of that special presence of God, Elijah humbled himself by covering his face. He was subdued. He was awe-stricken. Full of reverence. Oh, what a wondrous thing. To be humble enough to admit that we are human. Sinners. In need of grace.

And then the voice of God asked again, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

I'm not sure that after a wind that was breaking rocks or an earthquake or fire...that I would have had the guts to give the same answer as before...but Elijah says again, perhaps more humbly? “I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away.”

There is nothing wrong with his answer. It is an honest answer. “I've been working for you faithfully, I feel all alone and I fear for my life.” I think we all agree that we have felt this way – maybe we don't have the death threat over our heads from Jezebel. Maybe we fear something else for our lives. Maybe we are afraid that our friends won't understand if we are a prophet for the Lord. Maybe we are afraid that our lives will change if we become zealous about our faith. Maybe there is something that we don't want to give up in our lives.

Perhaps we are feeling all alone in our walk. Perhaps we think nobody cares enough about the ministry of the church that we are most passionate about. Maybe we are still laying under the broom tree hoping for an angel to come and give us hope and encouragement.

God's answer to Elijah was not what I expected. If I were Elijah I would have been hoping for a “well done my good and faithful servant, here's your cushy arm chair and an unlimited supply of snacks.” I might have settled for “you poor thing. Why don't you take a vacation and go contemplate the stars and the vastness of the universe?” I sure wouldn't have wanted God's answer to Elijah.

“Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus; when you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael as king over Aram”...and so on, and so on...

A work assignment? Really?

But that is exactly what Elijah needed. Something to do. He needed a task to focus on so he could avoid excessive introspection. He needed to stop looking at himself and his own (admittedly difficult) circumstances. He needed to get on with what God wanted him to do. He sent him off about his Master's business again. I will bet you that when he went back over that road, it was with a different step than what brought him down to Beersheba. He came along terrified and depressed; now he goes back having witnessed majesty. He's not going to be afraid of Jezebel now!

Elijah is like all of us – we can be overwhelmed and burned out. We can feel lost and alone. God provided exactly what Elijah needed. Rest and rejuvenation, time for reflection, a glimpse of his majesty and power – and then the last piece: a kick in the pants.

Lament – sure. Life is hard sometimes.

Cry out – recognize there is something more powerful than you at work here.

Mourn – but then you've got to go to the next step.

Move on. Get back to why we are here. Show love to everyone you meet. Take the gift of God's love and spread it all around. Love – it's the KEY!

In his commentary on Galatians 6:10, Jerome tells a famous story of "blessed John the evangelist" in extreme old age at Ephesus. He used to be carried into the congregation in the arms of his disciples and was unable to say anything except, "Little children, love one another." At last, wearied that he always spoke the same words, they asked: "Master, why do you always say this?" "Because," he replied, "it is the Lord's command, and if this only is done, it is enough."

Listen again to Psalm 130 from Eugene Peterson's The Message:

Help, God—the bottom has fallen out of my life!
Master, hear my cry for help!
Listen hard! Open your ears!
Listen to my cries for mercy.

If you, God, kept records on wrongdoings,
who would stand a chance?
As it turns out, forgiveness is your habit,
and that’s why you’re worshiped.

I pray to God—my life a prayer—
and wait for what he’ll say and do.
My life’s on the line before God, my Lord,
waiting and watching till morning,
waiting and watching till morning.

O my people, wait and watch for God—
with God’s arrival comes love,
with God’s arrival comes generous redemption.
No doubt about it—he’ll redeem his people,
buy back us all from captivity to sin.

O Father, thank you for being so in love with us. Even though we are a big old mess. Forgive us when we whine and want our way. Help us to believe in your power and your unconditional love. Help us to be patient with each other. Let your church be a shining beacon reflecting your love.

Dancing in a Hurricane

This message was first delivered at Court Street United Methodist Church in Lynchburg, Virginia on June 20, 2015. It is based on the lectionary text of Mark 4:35-41.

Today is Father's Day and looking around this sanctuary, I can see that there are a lot of good dads in the room. But what makes a good dad? The old joke is that fathers have photos in their wallet where money used to be! Paul Harvey wrote the following about fathers:

What Are Fathers Made Of?
by Paul Harvey

A father is a thing that is forced to endure childbirth without an anesthetic.

A father is a thing that growls when it feels good -- and laughs very loud when it's scared half to death.

A father never feels entirely worthy of the worship in a child's eyes. He's never quite the hero his daughter thinks, never quite the man his son believes him to be -- and this worries him, sometimes.

So he works too hard to try and smooth the rough places in the road for those of his own who will follow him.

A father is a thing that gets very angry when the first school grades aren't as good as he thinks they should be. He scolds his son though he knows it's the teacher's fault.

Fathers are what give daughters away to other men who aren't nearly good enough so they can have grandchildren who are smarter than anybody's.

Fathers make bets with insurance companies about who'll live the longest. Though they know the odds, they keep right on betting. And one day they lose.

I don't know where fathers go when they die. But I've an idea that after a good rest, wherever it is, he won't be happy unless there's work to do.

He won't just sit on a cloud and wait for the girl he's loved and the children she bore.

He'll be busy there, too, repairing the stairs, oiling the gates, improving the streets, smoothing the way.

Thank you Paul Harvey – that is a good description of fathers in general. Although my Dad isn't here today – he's over at Centenary, sitting in his usual place in the balcony – there isn't a day that I don't thank God for giving me the gift of a wonderful earthly father. Don't get me wrong, I know he isn't perfect...I would describe him as “quirky.”

Dad is easily frustrated by refrigerators. He is convinced that the contents of the refrigerator have rearranged themselves (surely he doesn't blame us!) in order to hide things. The pickles hide the jelly, the mustard hides the relish and the good Lord only knows where the mayo is hiding! I'll admit that he has a point sometimes - if I were to count the contents of the fridge we would have at least 5 different mustards, 7 different pickles and an even dozen or more jars of jelly. You know...yellow mustard isn't enough, got to have dijon and stone ground and honey mustard and spicy brown and something called dijonaise which is a blend of mustard and mayo... And certainly Dad would be perfectly happy with cherry preserves and grape jelly - but sometimes when wandering through the market we are tempted to add things like fuzzy navel, raspberry cognac, apricot/kiwi and blackberry preserves...till we have quite the collection of little pint jars.

As much as Dad hates refrigerator mysteries...that is how much he LOVES rope. Anytime you need to tie something down or keep a float from escaping - you can always count on my Dad to have a rope, string, shoelace, bungee cord or strap to fit the bill. You will almost certainly need to untangle it from its brothers - but that is part of the charm. (much like finding the correct washer in his collection of jars and loaf pans of random hardware) And he can never turn down a free piece of rope. I think one of my bonding experiences with Dad was one afternoon when we were driving out into the country to mow a yard for someone. We were on a back road and as we passed around a bend I saw a short length of rope lying in the road. I knew that he had also seen it - but I guess since I was driving, he figured it was not meant to be his. Without even asking, at the next cross road, I turned around and drove back. It was about 15 or 20 feet long but (I can't believe I'm saying this) it was a nice piece of rope. And it made him happy.

Some of my mental images include hiking with him along the Blue Ridge Parkway - if it had rained he would hurry a little ahead of us, hide behind a tree and shake it just as we went under...yelling "hey, it's raining!!" Or when we would go swimming and he would get everyone to start "rocking the pool" - everyone cannonballing as fast as we could until there were 2 foot waves on the surface! (I was always kind of proud of the fact that he was the only adult that the lifeguards made sit out)

There are quiet memories too...like watching him wrap his arm around my Mom's shoulder at a funeral, or teaching Bible study to a dozen youth sprawled around on a basement floor, or especially when I was feeling so desperately low after losing a job...how he shared how he felt when the company he had worked at for over 25 years closed its doors.

I've often said that I can completely understand the concept of a loving Heavenly Father - because I have experienced the most incredible earthly one. He's an anchor, a foundation and steadfast. Everyone deserves a father like mine.

In the Gospel of Mark we read a story about Jesus and a storm:

Mark 4:35-41 The Message (MSG)

The Wind Ran Out of Breath

Late that day he said to them, “Let’s go across to the other side.” They took him in the boat as he was. Other boats came along. A huge storm came up. Waves poured into the boat, threatening to sink it. And Jesus was in the stern, head on a pillow, sleeping! They roused him, saying, “Teacher, is it nothing to you that we’re going down?”

Awake now, he told the wind to pipe down and said to the sea, “Quiet! Settle down!” The wind ran out of breath; the sea became smooth as glass. Jesus reprimanded the disciples: “Why are you such cowards? Don’t you have any faith at all?”

They were in absolute awe, staggered. “Who is this, anyway?” they asked. “Wind and sea at his beck and call!”

Jesus told the storm to settle down and it did.

A good father is that sort of anchor. In the midst of life's storms he can be the calm. A good father walks the walk, doesn't just talk the talk through the storm. But not every child has a good earthly father.

David Blankenhorne writes in his book, Fatherless America, that "tonight, about 40 percent of American children will go to sleep in homes in which their fathers do not live". "Fatherlessness," argues Blankenhorn, "is the most harmful demographic trend of this generation.” “Fatherlessness is a defining feature of American childhood.” 40% don't have that anchor of a good father. 40% don't have the joy of finding a gift of rope in the road. Don't have the arm wrapped around their shoulder when life's storms threaten to swamp the boat.

I work with Centenary's Thursday after school program called JIFF (Juniors in Fun and Fellowship). It has been a few years back that I found my mom wiping away tears at the end of the evening. She told me that one of the girls had been chatting with her and asked how many kids she had. Mom replied that she had 5 kids, 4 girls and one boy. She wasn't prepared for the next question. Usually when someone finds out that she has 5 kids, the next questions are about how you feed that many or how you find the money for vacation or how the kids get along. Not this time. The next question was, “do any of them have the same father?”

Do any of them have the same father? Fatherlessness – absent fathers, unknown fathers, too busy fathers and disconnected fathers have been so commonplace today that it was unfathomable to this young lady that you could have 5 kids with the same father. It's so far outside my perspective that it could be any other way.

Mom was able to share that not only do all 5 kids have the same father – he is still around and was actually there leading the 6,7,8 grade boys group.

Is it any wonder that society seems to be in the midst of a hurricane? Without the anchor of good fathers in the world, it must be very difficult to wrap your head around the concept of a loving heavenly Father.

The storm that the Gospel of Mark relates is sudden and violent – like the violent life storms that we all face: the loss of a job, the death of a loved one, the unexpected diagnosis. How do we deal with those storms?

The geography of the Sea of Galilee makes it especially susceptible to sudden violent storms. This is part of the reason that the gospels generally describe Jesus and the disciples sailing more or less along the shoreline rather than directly across the open body of the sea. If you were closer in, you could make a tack for the shore and ride out a sudden storm with minimal damage.

But in this story, Jesus says, “Let’s set out for the opposite shore.” That meant sailing directly across the sea. And worse, it was getting dark, which meant the temperatures were more unstable. That a storm would suddenly arise on this sea under these conditions is unremarkable. What is remarkable is that Jesus would lead his ship and the others with them to cross this sea at this hour. He had to know he was likely leading them into serious danger. Meanwhile, he went to sleep on a pillow, leaving the disciples to face the violent storm on the open sea.

This kind of experience is the heart of many initiation rites and survival training programs across many cultures and times. When they face danger together, initiates learn both the limits and the depth of their resources.

These disciples learned their limits right away. The storm was too big for them. And it was too big for them even to be respectful of their master. Their words (“Don’t you care we are about to be capsized?”) reveal panic and disrespect at once. What happened next slammed them against more of their own limits. Jesus told the sea to “shut up,” just like he had told demons before, and the wind stopped and there was an immediate calm. And the disciples were in AWE. Jesus’ probing questions teach them even more. “Why are you so frightened? Do you have no faith at all?”

Jesus does not rebuke the disciples. He rebukes the storm. He tells it to shut up, and it does. That’s what terrifies them. “Who is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”

There is little in this story that fits a domesticated Jesus or a domesticated Christianity. This is Jesus, weird and wild. This is Yoda sending Luke Skywalker into a cave, knowing he won’t prevail. This is Morpheus telling Neo to leap across a chasm to a building on the other side. This is a mother bird forcing her barely fledged chicks out of the nest to fly. This is a father climbing with his child to the top of the high diving board and saying, “Jump.”

The father making the hardest move any good father can make – allowing the child to test his wings, to try...and even allowing the child to fail so he can learn from the experience. Can you think of times in your life that you were allowed to fail so you could learn? Have you done that for your child? This is part of fatherhood – of parenthood – of childhood.

And yet, 40% of children will go to sleep in a home tonight without their father in the home. In a life full of storms and struggles and the challenges of daily living – so many will lack the anchor of being in relationship with their earthly father. How can we expect them to believe in a loving Heavenly Father?

As a church and as individuals we can extend the example of good fatherhood into a world that desperately needs to have those anchors and foundations. We can volunteer for programs like Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Jubilee Center or JIFF. We can reach out to the neighborhood child or teach Sunday school or coach little league...the possibilities are endless.

We can be the anchor in a storm – the peaceful resting spot.

Brandi Carlile wrote a song called “The Eye” and one lyric that is repeated over and over is “You can dance in a hurricane, but only if you're standing in the eye.” The eye of a storm is that place, in the midst of the tempest that is calm. On the NOAA (National Oceanic & Atmospheric Association) website the eye of a storm is defined as a roughly circular area of comparatively light winds and fair weather found at the center of a severe tropical cyclone. Although the winds are calm at the axis of rotation, strong winds may extend well into the eye. There is little or no precipitation and sometimes blue sky or stars can be seen.

The storm hasn't completely passed and you had better be well aware that it is going to be building again (the National Weather Service warns that A common mistake, especially in areas where hurricanes are uncommon, is for residents to exit their homes to inspect the damage while the calm eye passes over, only to be caught off guard by the violent winds in the opposite eyewall.) But even though the eye isn't the END of the storm...it is a chance to take a breath and get ready for the rest of the hurricane.

My dad has often been that oasis in the stormy periods of life. He's also been a guide and an anchor. My heavenly Father is the same – if I will remember to call on him and lean into him during the rough patches, I can dance – even in a hurricane.

And I thank God for all the fathers who remind us of what our Heavenly Father is like: recall some of the descriptive words from Paul Harvey's essay -

enduring, growling, laughing, heroic, worried, working, loving. Above all – our Heavenly Father is loving.

Go forth and do likewise.