July 31 From Home to the Undiscovered Country

July 31 From Home to the Undiscovered Country

Luke 8:22-25

One day Jesus got into a boat with his disciples, and said to them, ‘Let us go across to the other side of the lake.’ So they put out, and while they were sailing he fell asleep. A gale swept down on the lake, and the boat was filling with water, and they were in danger. They went to him and woke him up, shouting, ‘Master, Master, we are perishing!’ And he woke up and rebuked the wind and the raging waves; they ceased, and there was a calm. He said to them, ‘Where is your faith?’ They were afraid and amazed, and said to one another, ‘Who then is this, that he commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him?’

Hamlet, a little further along in his famous soliloquy says:

But that the dread of something after death,
The undiscovered country from whose bourn
No traveller returns, puzzles the will
And makes us rather bear those ills we have	88
Than fly to others that we know not of?
Thus conscience does make cowards of us all;
And thus the native hue of resolution
Is sicklied o’er with the pale cast of thought,	92
And enterprises of great pith and moment
With this regard their currents turn awry,
And lose the name of action

A lot of us know the phrase, “the undiscovered country” from the title of a Star Trek movie. In truth, the phrase comes from Shakespeare and is spoken by Hamlet in that same speech that begins: “To be or not to be…” For Hamlet the undiscovered country is death and what may or may not come after. It is the name he gives to the fear that locks us into inaction, choosing the devil we know for the one we don’t. Or better put for our circumstance, better the state of being we know for an unknown way of living. The undiscovered country in the Star Trek movie is the path of peace with the Klingon Empire. Kirk has to give up the hatred he knows (a Klingon killed his son) for the possibility of peace and prosperity for the Federation and the galaxy.

One of my favorite saints is Saint Brendan of Clonfert, aka Brendan the Navigator. I love his wild devotion to his calling. We are inculcated with ideas like “look before you leap” and “know the outcome before the outset.” Brendan, on the other hand, heard God calling him to seek paradise out on the wild western sea (the Atlantic ocean). None of that territory was charted yet, but Brendan recruits a bunch of monks crazy enough to go with him and out upon the waves they go. At one point Brendan even lets go of the tiller to allow the boat to go where the winds will take it. For Brendan, the “where” was less important than the “going.” He was following God into the undiscovered country.

The other side of the Galilean lake was undiscovered country for people like Jesus’ followers. It was Gentile territory, unknown forbidden, fraught with rumor and prejudice. But Jesus says, “Let us go across to the other side of the lake.” The storm they encounter on the way is not a meteorological event, it is an emotional one. It is the storm of their own fears and hatreds as they sail toward the land of their enemies. Jesus did not prepare them by holding a seminar on tolerance. He did not hold a rap session where they could talk out their misgivings. He never held a council meeting to lay out a three year plan for them so that they would know where they were going or why. He simply said, “Let’s go” and then was quite astonished at the grip of fear that made their faith dwindle.

Jesus is out there in front of us saying, “Let’s go.” Like Brendan, I hear the voice but do not see the destination. I know the voyage entails vibrant worship, creativity, and justice. There is a vast portion of the map that is undiscovered country. Going there may in fact ask us to let die some of the things we know, to leave comfortable Jewish shores for Gentile beaches. Being Christian, I believe that on the other side of death is resurrection. I don’t need to know either what that death is or what resurrection looks like.

A recent prayer attributed to the spirit of Brendan says:

Shall I then suffer every kind of wound that the sea can inflict?

Shall I take my tiny boat across the wide sparkling ocean?

O King of the Glorious Heaven, shall I go of my own choice upon the sea?

O Christ, will You help me on the wild waves?

We can either hear “Yes” upon the winds, or we can leave the boat tied up at the dock.

Good News: Christ sails with us in storms of fear and change.

Subject: It is time for SCUCC to cast off and follow Christ into a new future.

Experiential Field: We experience fear and enlivening when we follow Christ into newness.

Desire Ignited: a desire for freedom from the old ties, a wonder of the undiscovered country

July 24 - From Inward to Outward

July 24 – From Inward to Outward

Matthew 25:31-45

‘When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. Then the king will say to those at his right hand, “Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.” Then the righteous will answer him, “Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?” And the king will answer them, “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.” Then he will say to those at his left hand, “You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.” Then they also will answer, “Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?” Then he will answer them, “Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.”

I am not a Christian in order to receive a ticket to heaven. I am not a Christian so that someday I will get holy enough to glow in the dark. I am not a Christian to have Jesus solve all my problems for me. I am a Christian because I believe and hope that by following Jesus’ Way that I can help make the world just a little bit better.

Whenever I see people (well intentioned, to be sure) for whom faith is all about escaping eternal damnation, for whom worship is all heavy petting between “Jesus and me,”, for whom the “second coming” is proof that we are right and they are wrong, I am stumped and befuddled. Some of the most heated discussions I have had with church people are about holding on to “my church.” When our faith is exclusively inward-focused, we are blinded to what Jesus was really calling people to.

Clearly, there is an interior facet to spirituality. We do need to nurture our heart and soul and tend to our inner wounds and growth. I am not saying that we do not have interior needs .I am saying that when our focus is exclusively about ourselves, individually or as a particular group, then something is wrong. That is easy to see in its most extreme cases.

While not that extreme, I do think that we have warning signs here at SCUCC. The people of SCUCC did great work in the two and a half years between pastors. You kept ministry happening, you kept worship vibrant and meaningful, you kept the church alive. It was a period that required energies to be directed inwardly. It was appropriate and necessary and you actually did it quite well.

But the time has come to shift directions. We do not exist as a church just to keep ourselves afloat. Our faithfulness to Christ beckons us to turn our eyes outward. We exist as a church to be in ministry with the world, whether that world be next door or on the next continent over.

This passage from Matthew’s gospel is often referred to as the “Judgment of the Nations,” and it would be interesting to compare how our modern nations measure up. We more often read the story on a more personal level. Those whose lives are committed to doing good for the people around them have actually served Christ even unbeknownst. Those who have refrained from doing good have missed countless opportunities to attend to Christ. The first have an outward focus in life, the second do not. I omitted the 46^th verse where Jesus announces eternal life and punishment for the two groups, respectively.

The catch 22 here for me is that if, again, we do good to those around us just to escape eternal punishment (which I don’t believe in, anyway) then we are still inwardly-focused. I believe that the heart is just as important as the acts themselves.  In the story from Matthew, those who do good are just doing what they do, they are acting out of their hearts.

I learned once that on these huge ocean-going vessels that the rudder is not enough to actually turn the ships. Along the hull of these ships (cruise-liner and oil-tankers alike), are little wings that make small adjustments and enable the boat to shift course more easily. These wings are called trim tabs. Trim tabs do enormous work, and yet are virtually unseen and unknown to most people.

What are the trim tabs of our spiritual life together that we need to apply and activate to turn our direction for inward to outward?  How do we turn from keeping ourselves afloat to sailing where we are needed most for the sake of compassion, peace, and justice?

July 17 - Looking in the Wrong Direction

Three weeks of Changing Direction

July 17 – From the Past to the Future

July 24 –From Inward to Outward

July 31 – From Home to the Undiscovered Country (From the Harbor to the Open Sea)

July  17 - Looking in the Wrong Direction

1 Samuel 28:3-25

Now Samuel had died, and all Israel had mourned for him and buried him in Ramah, his own city. Saul had expelled the mediums and the wizards from the land. The Philistines assembled, and came and encamped at Shunem. Saul gathered all Israel, and they encamped at Gilboa. When Saul saw the army of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart trembled greatly. When Saul inquired of the Lord, the Lord did not answer him, not by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by prophets. Then Saul said to his servants, ‘Seek out for me a woman who is a medium, so that I may go to her and inquire of her.’ His servants said to him, ‘There is a medium at Endor.’

 So Saul disguised himself and put on other clothes and went there, he and two men with him. They came to the woman by night. And he said, ‘Consult a spirit for me, and bring up for me the one whom I name to you.’ The woman said to him, ‘Surely you know what Saul has done, how he has cut off the mediums and the wizards from the land. Why then are you laying a snare for my life to bring about my death?’ But Saul swore to her by the Lord, ‘As the Lord lives, no punishment shall come upon you for this thing.’ Then the woman said, ‘Whom shall I bring up for you?’ He answered, ‘Bring up Samuel for me.’ When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out with a loud voice; and the woman said to Saul, ‘Why have you deceived me? You are Saul!’ The king said to her, ‘Have no fear; what do you see?’ The woman said to Saul, ‘I see a divine being coming up out of the ground.’ He said to her, ‘What is his appearance?’ She said, ‘An old man is coming up; he is wrapped in a robe.’ So Saul knew that it was Samuel, and he bowed with his face to the ground, and did obeisance.

 Then Samuel said to Saul, ‘Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?’ Saul answered, ‘I am in great distress, for the Philistines are warring against me, and God has turned away from me and answers me no more, either by prophets or by dreams; so I have summoned you to tell me what I should do.’ Samuel said, ‘Why then do you ask me, since the Lord has turned from you and become your enemy? The Lord has done to you just as he spoke by me; for the Lord has torn the kingdom out of your hand, and given it to your neighbor David. Because you did not obey the voice of the Lord, and did not carry out his fierce wrath against Amalek, therefore the Lord has done this thing to you today. Moreover, the Lord will give Israel along with you into the hands of the Philistines; and tomorrow you and your sons shall be with me; the Lord will also give the army of Israel into the hands of the Philistines.’

 Immediately Saul fell full length on the ground, filled with fear because of the words of Samuel; and there was no strength in him, for he had eaten nothing all day and all night. The woman came to Saul, and when she saw that he was terrified, she said to him, ‘Your servant has listened to you; I have taken my life in my hand, and have listened to what you have said to me. Now therefore, you also listen to your servant; let me set a morsel of bread before you. Eat, that you may have strength when you go on your way.’ He refused, and said, ‘I will not eat.’ But his servants, together with the woman, urged him; and he listened to their words. So he got up from the ground and sat on the bed. Now the woman had a fatted calf in the house. She quickly slaughtered it, and she took flour, kneaded it, and baked unleavened cakes. She put them before Saul and his servants, and they ate. Then they rose and went away that night.

Yes, I know this seems to be a story more fit for Halloween than the middle of the summer. Still, this is one of my favorite stories from the Old Testament. (And yes, I tend to lean toward the lesser-known and more obscure ones.)

For me, this story is not about how petulant God can be, how abusive God was to Saul, or even a warning against necromancy. It is about a loss of vision and seeking guidance in the wrong direction.

Remember that the whole bible is human testimony, people writing what those people thought about their relationship with God, with their own history, and the world. This is part of a series of stories that paves the way for David, the Golden Boy, to ascend to the throne and eventually uniting the divided kingdoms of Israel and Judah. In terms of telling history, the story-tellers had to get Saul out of the way, off the stage, and explain why David became the superlative choice for king.

Saul sees the writing on the wall (to borrow a different biblical metaphor). He intrinsically knows he can’t defeat the Philistines, but he can’t see any way forward. He seeks guidance from god, but God does not answer. Here we see the story-teller’s technique: repeatedly we are told in this series of stories that God is with David, and the lack of response to Saul means God is not with him.  So, left to his own devices, Saul tries a desperate stratagem. He seeks out someone who can speak with the spirits of the dead. (Interestingly, Peterson in the Message calls her a witch, which the text actually does not do. The word is most often translated as a medium, but it refers to a water-skin- it is a person who can hold another spirit) He seeks this woman out under cover of darkness and asks to speak with Samuel.

Samuel was the prophet who had anointed Saul as king in the first place. Samuel brought God’s word to the people in a time when “word from God was rare in those days (1 Samuel 3:2).” Saul sure that Samuel would be able to tell him what to do, to give him guidance, to speak for God to Saul one more time.

Saul’s mistake is that Samuel is dead. This means both that the physical life of Samuel is over, but also that Samuel’s time, his era, has ended. Samuel is the past. Though we are told that God is with David, and a new prophet is on the horizon, Saul wants to hear from Saul. God is doing new things. Samuel has no word of the future for Saul.

This is exactly the position we so often find ourselves in. We are much more comfortable with what we know.  We convince ourselves that the tried and true will somehow be sufficient for all that the coming days will bring us. We rely on the ghosts of the dead to tell about the future.

It occurs to me that this is a spiritual form of Alzheimer’s. Getting trapped in the past diminishes life and eventually leads to death.

At SCUCC, we are in need of a pole shift. A lot of dynamic things have occurred here in the past. Those memories are energizing, often inspiring, but ultimately point us backward toward the past. Endor has no good word for us. We must choose a different source for inspiration. We need to name the ghosts we call upon, and then let them go to their rest. We need to go where God is (i.e., David not Saul). We need to change our direction.

That makes me think of the meaning that the Four Directions have for many Native Americans. In Lakota tradition, East is the direction of the rising sun, and a source for wisdom and guidance. South is the direction of abundance and life (the summer sun is highest in the southern sky). West is the direction of the setting sun and the home of the Thunderbird, so this is a source of water sustainer of all life. North is the home of the cold winter winds, and is a source of strength and endurance. There is a time and a place for all directions. (Some traditions also add the directions of down toward Mother earth, and up toward Grandfather Sky.) Setting oneself on only one direction makes life incomplete. One orients oneself for a new day by blessing each of the directions.

Scripture: 1 Samuel 28:3-25, Saul seeks word of new life from the dead Samuel

Good News: Israel’s glory did not end with Saul because God was already doing a new thing in David.

Subject: From whom, or where, are we seeking God’s guidance?

Experiential Field: Dwelling with familiar ghost may seem to be comforting, but we experience hope and power when we follow where God is speaking.

July 10 - Something Crazy

Time to Do Something Crazy

All of Hiccup’s best hopes have been destroyed. Instead of leaving behind their enmity with the dragons and learning from Hiccup how to communicate and befriend the dragons, Hiccup’s father has enslaved Toothless and forced the dragon to reveal the nest-island of all the dragons. When Stoic and the Vikings find the island, they are intent on killing all the dragons. In addition to this debacle, Hiccup knows that beside all the regular dragons, his father and his village will meet the monster-dragon they cannot defeat. It will destroy them all. What is Hiccup to do?

                That is exactly the question Astrid asks Hiccup. Amazingly, she sees hope in Hiccup even when he cannot. After discussing why he couldn’t or wouldn’t be kill Toothless, he remarks that he is the first Viking ever who won’t kill a dragon. “But you’re the first ever to ride one,” she tells him. Then she asks him what he’s going to do. “Probably something stupid,” Hiccup replies. “You’ve already done that,” retorts Astrid. “Then something crazy,” proclaims Hiccup.

                There is no reason for Hiccup to assume he can do anything further. Some in the village would say that he’s done enough harm already. The something stupid Hiccup did what to try to do it on his own. The something crazy is to invite others on the quest. He can’t save Toothless on his own. He can’t save his people on his own. He can’t change the Vikings’ attitude toward dragons on his own. Those (who have not always been his best friends) who have seen Hiccup’s ability with the dragons decide to trust him. They become the next Vikings to ride dragons. And in the end, they save their people from destruction.

Acts 10:34-48

 Then Peter began to speak to them: ‘I truly understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears God and does what is right is acceptable to God. You know the divine message sent to the people of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ—he is Lord of all. That message spread throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John announced: how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power; how he went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. We are witnesses to all that he did both in Judea and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree; but God raised him on the third day and allowed him to appear, not to all the people but to us who were chosen by God as witnesses, and who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one ordained by God as judge of the living and the dead. All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.’

 While Peter was still speaking, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who heard the word. The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astounded that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles, for they heard them speaking in tongues and extolling God. Then Peter said, ‘Can anyone withhold the water for baptizing these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?’ So he ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they invited him to stay for several days.

                The scripture from Acts describes a time when the Followers of the Way are trying to figure who’s in and who’s not.  The something crazy that Peter does is to invite the gentiles to be full participants in the Way of Jesus. Some of the early Christians would probably have been quite comfortable with a kind of ecclesiastical “Jim Crow.” The Gentiles could worship and hear the preaching and give to the poor, but not be baptized into full fellowship. Peter sees the destructive division in that way of thinking and asks the crazy question, “Can anyone withhold the water for baptizing these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” And so today you and I are Christians, because Peter did something crazy.

A few years ago SCUCC embarked on a couple of crazy missions. First the Studio was created from scratch and dreams. Then came the Walk. These seemed crazy at the time, cutting edge, avant garde. But today they are yesterday’s news. We are not facing the utter destruction of our people in the same way that Hiccup did, but we are faced with the same choice that he and Peter faced: In what crazy way will we invite others on our adventure? Maybe we first have to be crazy enough to learn to ride dragons again, but we need others to take part too. The time for playing it safe, for sticking with what we know and makes us comfortable is past. It is time to teach others to ride dragons. It is time to do something crazy.