Preached on July 16, 2017
Rev. Shawn Coons

We are on our second week of the “Half-Truths” series where we are looking at sayings that are commonly associated with Christianity and said by well-meaning Christians. But when we look closer at these sayings we find that they may not be as true or as Christian as represented.  Last week was “Everything Happens for a Reason” and this morning we are moving on to “God Helps Those Who Helps Themselves.”

In a survey done by the Barna Group, eight in ten Americans responded that they were pretty sure that “God helps those who help themselves” could be found in the Bible, and more than half of the people responding were strongly convinced that this was a major message found in Scripture.  In fact, the saying pre-dates much of scripture and can be traced back to Greek mythology five centuries before Jesus.  It’s been used by a number of people throughout the ages but possibly made most famous by Benjamin Franklin in Poor Richard’s Almanac.

It’s probably a saying that a number of us have said at one point or another, and often what we mean by it is that you can’t sit back, be lazy and expect God will take care of everything for you.  If you want a job, then put together a resume, get out there and start applying for jobs, don’t just hang out at home, pray for a job, and then hope the phone will ring with a job offer. God helps those who help themselves.

When we say this, we sometimes mean don’t offer prayers to God for something unless you are also willing to work for it to.  Sometimes God answers prayer by saying, I’ve given you the brains, the strength, the resources to attain what you are asking my for, so get to it.  I came across this story on Facebook one day:

I dreamed I was face to face with God, and so I asked God, “There’s so much suffering in the world, so much poverty, so much violence, racism and sexism. People are treating each other so horribly. God, why don’t you do something about it?” Then God looked at me and said, “That’s interesting. I was just about to ask you the same thing.”

Adam Hamilton, in his book “Half-Truths” which this series is based on writes:

We don’t sit around waiting for God to miraculously right the wrongs in society. As Scripture reveals over and over again, God works through people. We are the instruments God uses to change the world. Our times of prayer are meant to empower us for and guide us into action. Those who fought for civil rights did not simply show up at church and pray; they prayed and then marched, knowing they were likely to be beaten and arrested but that God would somehow see them through.

But then what about people who seem incapable of helping themselves. Who seem, for any number of reasons, helpless to get out of a situation? What about someone trapped in circumstances that have gotten out of control?  Will God help them?  Just a moment ago, Steve read from Psalm 18.

The cords of death encompassed me; the torrents of perdition assailed me; the cords of Sheol entangled me; the snares of death confronted me. In my distress I called upon the Lord; to my God I cried for help…He reached down from on high, he took me; he drew me out of mighty waters. He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from those who hated me; for they were too mighty for me.

That sounds to me like someone who is unable to help themselves. So what does God do? Say to them, well you got yourself there and you’ll have to figure how to get yourself out?  No, God reached down from on high. It says “God delivered me from my strong enemy.”  Think about that wording. God delivered me. Delivered. I have an image of a UPS driver delivering a package.  Does the driver get help from the package?  Does the driver only deliver those packages that help deliver themselves?  No. If God delivered you then you were passive in that rescue. God delivered you because you couldn’t.

Let’s turn now to the Gospels and see if Jesus only helps those who help themselves.  We’ll be reading from Mark 5:1-13.

They came to the other side of the lake, to the country of the Gerasenes.* 2And when he had stepped out of the boat, immediately a man out of the tombs with an unclean spirit met him. 3He lived among the tombs; and no one could restrain him any more, even with a chain;4for he had often been restrained with shackles and chains, but the chains he wrenched apart, and the shackles he broke in pieces; and no one had the strength to subdue him. 5Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was always howling and bruising himself with stones. 6When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and bowed down before him; 7and he shouted at the top of his voice, ‘What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me.’ 8For he had said to him, ‘Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!’ 9Then Jesus* asked him, ‘What is your name?’ He replied, ‘My name is Legion; for we are many.’ 10He begged him earnestly not to send them out of the country. 11Now there on the hillside a great herd of swine was feeding; 12and the unclean spirits* begged him, ‘Send us into the swine; let us enter them.’ 13So he gave them permission. And the unclean spirits came out and entered the swine; and the herd, numbering about two thousand, rushed down the steep bank into the lake, and were drowned in the lake.

We have a man here in the grip of demonic forces. Trapped by forces beyond his control. These forces are making him do strange and destructive things. Things that no person in their right mind would do by choice.  Here is a man in need of help when he cannot help himself.  Today we have people in the grip of forces beyond their control. People in need of help who cannot help themselves. People trapped by poverty, war, violence, racism, sexism.

And while we may admit that people are mired in circumstances too deep to get out of on their own, sometimes we want to nuance a little bit and so we may say a version of “God helps those who help themselves.”  “God helps those who don’t get in that kind of trouble in the first place.”  We go beyond saying use what God has given you to help yourself, and we move on to labeling people, judging people, to implying that they have made choices that have led them to a place where they may not deserve God’s help.

We say “God helps those who help themselves” but what we mean is that you made your bed, now lie in it!  You made some bad decisions and now you deserve what’s coming to you, you don’t deserve God’s help.  So we see someone homeless on the street asking for money, and we question whether they truly deserve our help or God’s help because surely they must have done something to get there. They didn’t work hard enough, they did drugs, they spent excessively.

I think at the heart of this is hopefully a simple desire for God to be fair.  We want God to be fair, at least what we see as fair. We want people who do good things to get good things, and people who do bad things to get bad things.  To borrow from another faith, we want karma.  Is it do bad to want God to be fair?  Maybe not, but be careful.  This idea that God is fair (by our definition) can expose a deeper unhealthy belief. George Barna writes that the “God helps those who help themselves” belief “exposes our theological cornerstone - that we are the center of all things, that it is up to us to determine our destiny, and that God is merely our assistant, not our foundation.”

This belief can allow us to labor under the illusion that you and I have earned every blessing God has given us, while others are not as hard-working as you and I, and they are probably on divine welfare.  Surely, we deserve every last blessing and help God has given us, we have done no wrong, but others… But if God is truly fair, the real possibility is we might get what we deserve and not what God has blessed us with.

I don’t think we can impose our idea of fairness on God.  God is not fair, at least not if being fair means being unmerciful, or even being without grace.  Jesus didn’t ask the man possessed by demons how they got there. What did you do to deserve this? You know, if you somehow invited them in then you don’t deserve my help.  No, Jesus helped him.  I don’t remember a single story in scripture where Jesus pre-screened somebody to see if they deserved help. What did you do to become sick? What bad choices did you make to become hungry?

Jesus didn’t ask those kinds of questions.  He did just the opposite, in John 8 Jesus comes to a woman accused of adultery, the Pharisees, stones in hand, are ready to convict her and punish her according to the law.  Did she deserve help?  Fair is fair, right?  She sinned so she must pay the price. She was helpless, defenseless before the law, but Jesus helped her even when, especially when, she couldn’t help herself.

This concern for those in need defined Jesus’ ministry. It defined Jesus. Really, this is a fundamental characteristic of God, this is what defines God isn’t it?  God helps those who are in a hole so deep they can’t get out. That hole can be poverty, racism, war, violence, but like the woman sometimes we dig ourselves into a hole, and even still God comes to us.  Adam Hamilton again. He writes:

Thankfully, the idea that God helps those who help themselves does not capture the truth of the Bible. Sometimes we can’t help ourselves, not because we are poor or destitute or without resources but because we have descended too deeply into sin or despair. God is the God of the hopeless cause, the God who loves sinners, the God who walks with us through the darkest valleys. He is the God who brings light into our darkness and helps us find peace amid our times of anxiety and despair. God rescues, redeems, and forgives. We receive blessings from God even though we cannot earn them and don’t deserve them. Even when we have made a mess of things and can’t fix them, God extends mercy to us. There’s a word for God’s mercy toward those who cannot help themselves. We call it grace.

This concept of grace is central to the Christian gospel. It is the undeserved work of God in our lives, the unmerited favor of God. Grace is not something we earn, buy, or work for. We cannot help ourselves into grace. We can only ask for and accept it. The essence of grace is that God helps those who cannot help themselves!

The core message of our faith is that God helps those who cannot help themselves! Paul writes in Romans that while we were still sinners Christ died for us.  Not when we had gotten our act together, or when we had taken the first step and God was sure we were really trying.  God looks on those who are most helpless and has mercy on them.  God is judge, but God is a merciful judge.  Much like Judge Frank Caprio of Providence in dealing with a woman and a number of overdue parking tickets. Let's take a moment to watch Judge Caprio (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqK80Neavq8)

Rev. Adam Hamilton again:

There are times when we can help ourselves, and we should. God is counting on us to do the best we can—to pray and to work. There are times when people cannot make it on their own, and God prompts us to help. We become the hands of God. We become God’s answer to someone else’s prayer, God’s instruments of grace.

But you will find, if you haven’t already, that a time will come when you cannot help yourself. There are things from which you simply cannot save yourself, no matter how hard you try. You will not have the strength or the resources or the knowledge. And there may be times when you don’t believe you deserve help because you know you are responsible for the difficult situation in which you find yourself.

In those moments, we cry out to God, the only one who can help us. And despite the fact that we are poor and pitiable, weak and afraid, and that we have made a mess of things, God reaches out and picks us up and makes us clean. God says, “I love you and will not abandon you. Put your trust in me. Together we can make this right.” This is the message from God that we find over and over again in Scripture.

“I am here,” says God. “You matter to me. Your life has meaning. Nothing, no matter what you may have done or been unable to do, can separate you from my love.”

Rev. Shawn Coons
Preached on July 7, 2017

All through the month of July and into August we are going to be looking at a series of “half-truths” that are often said by Christians.  These particular half-truths are coming from a book by Adam Hamilton, called Half-Truths: God Helps Those Who Help Themselves and Other Things the Bible Doesn’t Say.  And each week we will explore one of these half-truths and we will try to find the truth in it, as well as explore what may not be so true about it.

Before we go further though, I want to say that the goal of this series is not to offend anyone.  Chances are many of us, myself included, have said one or more of these half-truths at some point.  And I know that when we’ve said these things we have meant well.  So I’m not saying that if you’ve said one of these you are a bad person. Not by any means.

But it’s important to talk about these half-truths, even if it makes us a little defensive or uncomfortable.  If you do feel a little unsettled, that’s OK, I promise that we will all get through this together.  So why is it important to talk about these?  Why is it important to label as half-truths things like:

• Everything happens for a reason
• God helps those who help themselves
• Love the sinner, hate the sin

It’s important because even with our best intentions, saying these things can potentially be hurtful.  It can be harmful. It can wound people in their hour of need, and can turn people away from God and Jesus.  So we’ll be looking at these half-truths, for the truth that is there and the truth that isn’t. And we will ask questions as to how true they are and indeed how Christian they are.

We are beginning with “Everything happens for a reason.”

I’m guessing we’ve all heard this said at some point, or even said it yourself.  We usually say it at the point when something bad has happened, when someone is suffering, and we are trying to help them through a difficult time. We might say, it was meant to be, it must have been there time, it was God’s will, it was all a part of God’s plan.

And we say these kind of things at moments of loss, because we want to affirm that even in tragic circumstances God is in control, that if this awful thing happened then God must have a greater purpose in mind. When tragedy strikes we want to know that even when we are riding through the storm and the waves are threatening to overturn the ship, we want to know that indeed the captain is at the helm and the captain is keeping the ship on course.

It is perfectly natural and understandable to look for God’s strong and loving hand guiding things in our darkest hour. But let’s look a little bit closer at “Everything happens for a reason.”

Let’s ask this question: Does everything happen as part of God’s plan, and is that plan immutable, set in stone?  This is the fundamental question, if the answer to this question is “no,” we can’t trace everything that happens back to God’s immutable place, then everything does not happen for a reason, at least not a reason according to God’s will.

Try this exercise to answer this question.  Watch the evening news one night, and after every story, shootings, war, famine, terrorism, say out loud “Everything happens for a reason, that was part of God’s plan.”

How does that feel to you?

When Carrie and I were serving our church in Florida, there was a 4 year old boy named Mitchell who lived a couple blocks from the church. His family weren’t members, they didn’t come to worship, but Mitchell often came to our Wednesday afternoon children’s program.  One Halloween, Mitchell and his mother were crossing a busy street to get to the Methodist’ church Trunk or Treat event, and a car hit them and killed Mitchell.

Mitchell’s funeral was at our church, and I spent a lot of time with his family during this awful time.  I heard things like, “I guess God needed another angel.” “It must have been Mitchell’s time.” And other versions of “Everything happens for a reason.” I have a hard time believing any of those.  I don’t believe God causes four year old children to get killed. I don’t believe God causes anyone to be killed.

If “everything happens for a reason” as part of God’s plan than God is responsible for tragic death’s like Mitchell’s, for war, for famine, for the holocaust, for terrorism. And I don’t think that sits well with any of us. And I don’t think it lines up with our experience. Nor does it line up with the whole witness of Scripture.  Let’s read a passage from Genesis 2, from Adam and Eve, and see how this helps us this morning.

4 These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created.

In the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens, 5when no plant of the field was yet in the earth and no herb of the field had yet sprung up—for the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was no one to till the ground; 6but a stream would rise from the earth, and water the whole face of the ground— 7then the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground,* and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being. 8And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east; and there he put the man whom he had formed. 9Out of the ground the Lord God made to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food, the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it. 16And the Lord God commanded the man, ‘You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; 17but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die.’

This is from the second version of the Creation story that we find in Genesis. And here we see one of the very first things that God does with Adam. God creates Adam, creates the Garden of Eden, puts the forbidden “tree of knowledge” there and tells Adam not to eat from it.  And then God gives Adam one more thing. God gives Adam a choice.  To obey or to disobey. To choose life or choose death.

If everything happened for a reason. If everything was part of God’s unchangeable plan, then there is no choice in this story is there?  God would have had to have made Adam eat the forbidden fruit as part of God’s plan. If everything is a part of God’s plan, than we have no free will, we make no true choices. Everything we do, everything we say, every action we take, every choice we make, has been pre-determined by God and we are just going through the motions. “Everything happens for a reason” not only means that God is the author of all evil acts, but it also means that we have no free will.  It takes away personal responsibility from you and me.

So we said this is a half-truth, so you may be wondering where is the truth in “everything happens for a reason?”  Let’s talk for a moment about the concept of God’s sovereignty.  What does sovereignty mean in this case?  YOU are probably familiar with the word sovereign.  It simply means the boss, if someone is sovereign it means there is no higher authority.  In our Christian tradition, the sovereignty of God is important. We don’t believe that anyone has power over God, or that anyone can control God or have more control than God. 

And so when we say “everything happens for a reason” it is a way of affirming God’s sovereignty.  God is still the ultimate authority. Not the powers of hate or violence or death. God is supreme.

So if God is supreme, is sovereign, and bad things happen, but God doesn’t cause them to happen, then who does?

There are a couple ways Christians answer this questions. One way is to say, yes, everything happens for a reason and often times that reason is that we are stupid people who make bad choices.  Much of the suffering and pain in this world we inflict on one another.  That’s not a part of God’s plan, it’s part of ours.

We read the beginning of one of the Creation stories in Genesis, later on in that same story God speaks to Adam and Eve and tells them that they are the caretakers of the Garden, of Creation. They have dominion (authority) over it.  God remains in charge, sovereign, but delegates responsibility for taking care of things to humanity. And further more, God gives us all sorts of instructions and guidance for how to choose the right thing to do.  But time and time again, just like Adam and Eve, we choose the wrong and someone gets hurt.

Well, does that mean that God handed the keys to the shop over to Adam and Eve and then checked out? Are we on our own, God created everything but then like an absentee landlord left us to our own devices?  There’s a fancy name for this way of thinking about God, it’s called Deism. It was pretty popular with a number of America’s founding fathers. In Deism, we sometimes call God the “Watchmaker God.” God creates the world like a watchmaker would create a watch. He gets it running, winds it up and then leaves to let the watch run on its own.

In our tradition, we reject this idea that God is no longer here. We believe God does not abandon us. So now we’ve said that God doesn’t control and script every last thing as part of an eternal, unchangeable plan. And we’ve rejected the idea that God got creation started and then went on vacation.  So if God doesn’t control us and God isn’t hands off, how do we understand how God works in the world in our lives.

Ray Firestone lost his wife in a car accident, and he often shared this quote that guided him:

Suffering is not God’s desire for us, but it occurs in the process of life. Suffering is not given to teach us something, but through it we may learn. Suffering is not given to punish us, but sometimes it is the consequence of our sin or poor judgment. Suffering does not occur because our faith is weak, but through it our faith may be strengthened. God does not depend on human suffering to achieve his purposes, but sometimes through suffering his purposes are achieved. Suffering can either destroy us, or it can add meaning to our life.”

God is present at all times, and through all circumstances, and even when tragedy strikes, maybe especially when tragedy strikes, God is with us and can bring healing and comfort, and in time perspective and maybe new insight.

My mother died three months ago.  I don’t believe God gave her cancer as part of God’s plan. I don’t believe God took her because it was her time.  But I do believe God was part of the closeness and love I shared with my mother and the rest of my family in her last days.

Think back to the most painful times of your life.  With time can you now see God working through the tragedy? Not causing it, but coming to you when you are vulnerable and in need. Lifting you up, teaching you compassion, showing you love.

One final story, and I apologize that I’m hitting you with tragic ones this morning, but this is another story of a lost child.  Todd and Kathy were parents to three year old Austin, when he died. It was a horrible time for them, but through it all their faith in God emerged stronger.  This is Kathy’s thoughts on how their faith was strengthened:

At the time I had had people tell me that it was Austin’s “time,” and I was having a hard time believing in a God who would plan to take my child at age three. I learned that tragedies weren’t necessarily part of God’s plan, but that God gave us free will, and that bad things sometimes happen. Understanding this helped me to turn to God instead of away from Him. . . . Since Austin’s death, I believe that my faith has grown and continues to grow. His death changed the way I view God and my faith. I no longer have a naive, childlike faith where God protects you from all harm and makes everything OK. It’s a deeper faith that has been tested through tragedy. I know that God doesn’t promise me a pain-free life, but He does promise to always be there to love me, comfort me, and guide me.

Does everything happen for a reason?  That’s not what our faith teaches us. Does God have an immutable plan that scripts everything, good and evil, that will ever befall us?  No.  But I do believe that God has a plan, and that plan is to love us and be with us, no matter what.  And that plan is a promise, now and forever just as the Apostle Paul wrote to the church of Rome:

5Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 37No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

Sermon preach on July 2, 2017 by Rev. Shawn Coons

On June 26, 1997, the book Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone was published, and for millions of readers around the globe found a collection of books and characters to enjoy and grow up with.  Our family enjoys Harry Potter.  Even before we had kids, Carrie and I were Harry Potter fans.  I remember when the final book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, came out. I went to Barnes and Nobles at midnight to pick up two copies, so that Carrie and I could both read it at the same time, and I stayed off the internet for the whole weekend while I finished the book so that I could avoid any spoilers.

If you are unfamiliar with the books or movies, the story follows a group of young students as they attend a Hogwarts, a boarding school for young wizards.  One of the things I like about the books is how each year at school begins.  The very first night that the students arrive they meet in the Great Hall of the school.  This is a huge and impressive room with stone columns and an expansive ceiling enchanted to look like the night sky.

In the Great Hall are several long rows of tables at which the hundreds of students sit at while the headmaster of the school gives some opening remarks about the upcoming year.  Usually his words are brief and then he invites the students to “dig in” and enjoy their dinner.  At that moment the tables, which have formerly been barren, magically become loaded with steaming plates of turkey, ham, potatoes, vegetables, breads, desserts, and a variety of other wonderful delicacies.  It is a feast that could probably feed thousands, which appears out of thin air

It begins with a crowd of hungry people, and no food to be seen. It ends with everyone getting more than enough with food left over.  Very magical if we are still talking about Harry Potter, or very miraculous if we are now talking about Jesus feeding the 5000.  In our passage from Matthew this morning, there is no mention of magic (or house elves for that matter), but the events of this story are astounding and certainly out of the ordinary.  As the story begins Jesus has just heard the news that John the Baptist, his cousin, has been killed by Herod.

Matthew 14:13 Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a deserted place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. 14When he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them and cured their sick. 15When it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, ‘This is a deserted place, and the hour is now late; send the crowds away so that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves.’ 16Jesus said to them, ‘They need not go away; you give them something to eat.’ 17They replied, ‘We have nothing here but five loaves and two fish.’ 18And he said, ‘Bring them here to me.’ 19Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. 20And all ate and were filled; and they took up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve baskets full.21And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.

The story begins with Jesus hearing the news of John the Baptist’s execution. When Jesus hears this he gets in a boat alone and tries to go somewhere where he can be alone.  But people in the area find out where Jesus is heading and a great crowd goes ahead of Jesus to meet him at his destination.  At a time like this we could certainly understand if Jesus wanted to get back in his boat and try to get away from them, but he doesn’t.

The Bible says he has compassion on them, even during his own grief, and he goes among them and heals those who are sick.  He apparently spends almost all day doing this, because eventually evening rolls around and people are starting to get hungry.  The disciples get a little worried because there is no way they can feed this crowd of thousands, so they ask Jesus to send the crowd away.  But Jesus basically says to them, “No, you feed them.”  I’m sure at this point the disciples are a little bit perplexed.  They ask around and come up with five loaves of bread and two fish.  Not a lot of food.  If you want to get exact, according to one minister this would be about five servings of about 650 calories per serving, including 55 grams of fat, 130 grams of carbs and 35 grams of protein.  Not quite enough for a crowd of 5000 men, plus several thousand women and children.

But this doesn’t stop Jesus.  He takes the food, blesses the fish and bread, breaks the bread, and gives it to the disciples who in turn give it to the crowd and everyone eats until full.  Does this sound familiar to you?  Specifically does this language sound familiar to you?  Does it remind you of anything else Jesus did?  Jesus took the bread and fish, gave thanks for it, broke the bread, and gave it to his disciples.  In just a few moments I’ll be standing at the communion table saying “On the night that Jesus was arrested, he took bread, and after giving thanks, he broke it, and gave it to his disciples…”

What Jesus does in our passage from Matthew this morning is very similar to what he does during the Last Supper.  In fact, the author of Matthew uses the exact same verbs to describe each event.  Take.  Bless.  Break.  Give.  It’s almost as if this story is supposed to make us think of communion.  Well, I think that’s what the author of Matthew intended.  As we read this story, it is supposed to bring our hearts and minds to the communion table.  Let’s look at some ways that this story helps us understand communion.

On the day that Jesus and the disciples fed that crowd of thousands the Bible tells us that Jesus walked among the people.  Jesus was there, present with them, not just standing in front of them speaking to them as a crowd, but he was in the midst of them.  Talking with this woman over here, healing a man over there, greeting a young girl, meeting a small boy.  Jesus was really present to the people on that day.

As Presbyterians, when we celebrate communion, we believe Jesus is really present, and not in a sentimental “Jesus is always in my heart” kind of way.  As we share the bread and the cup during communion, Jesus is here with us.  Really here!  We don’t believe that communion is just a symbol.  We don’t believe it is just a fancy way to remember Jesus.  We believe something happens as we come to the Lord ’s Table.

Now unlike certain traditions, we don’t believe that the bread and the wine (or in our case juice) becomes the physical body and blood of Christ, but we do believe that the real spiritual presence of Christ comes to us in the mystery of communion.  When I first heard that phrase “the real spiritual presence of Christ” I wanted to know exactly what that meant.  Precisely how is Jesus here with us?  What takes place in the blessing of the bread and wine?

Unfortunately, it isn’t something that we can really understand or articulate fully.  It’s not like we can say Jesus is here in spirit, standing right over there, or that Jesus manifests himself in this specific way.  But what we can say is that Jesus is present to us in communion, here in a way that is real and that is unique to the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper.  As sure as Jesus walked among a crowd of hungry people 2000 years ago, Jesus is present in the breaking of the bread.

To understand something else about communion, I want us to try to imagine the mood and atmosphere on the day that those thousands of people were fed.  At first there was probably some tension in the air.  This crowd of thousands probably came looking for Jesus for a number reasons.  Some of them wanted to be healed, others may have wanted to hear him teach, and some may have just wanted to see the man so many people were talking about.

I would imagine, by the end of the day, the mood there was pretty joyful.  Jesus has spent a good part of the day meeting people, talking to them, and healing them.  Then just when they think the day is over, Jesus and the disciples give them a huge meal to eat!  This is cool!  I’m imagining a huge outdoor picnic with people talking, children playing, and lots of laughter and smiles all around.  I am sure if first century Israel had Frisbees™, there would be several of them flying around.  It’s a big party!

This is one image of what communion is supposed to be like.   It may be hard to tell from taking communion at many churches, but communion is referred to as the Joyful Feast of the Lord.  There is a reason that we usually say that this morning we will be celebrating communion.  But, somewhere along the way we seem to have forgotten this.  Communion today in most churches is solemn, quiet, and serious.  There doesn’t seem to be much room for joy or laughter or a smile.

But that isn’t how communion is always supposed to be.  Communion doesn’t just look back to Jesus time on earth 2000 years ago, it also looks forward. When we take communion, we are not only remembering Jesus’ death and resurrection we are celebrating the day when we will all sit down at the heavenly table in the Kingdom of God.  And you better believe that that’s going to be one rockin’ party!  Communion is a celebration of the children of God coming from all different places to be united in Christ and be in fellowship with one another.

Let me tell you about one of the most meaningful communion experiences I was ever a part of.  It was at an event called the Massanetta Middle School Conference.  It was at the end of a four-day camp and I was in an outdoor auditorium with a couple dozen adults and several hundred 6th, 7th, and 8th graders.  We were having our closing worship service and the minister went forward and presided over communion in a manner you and I are familiar with.

He prayed, he said the words, “On the night Jesus was arrested…”, the whole liturgy you have probably heard before.

And then he looked at us and said, “the gifts of God, for the people of God.”  At that moment, the first notes of an upbeat rock song by the group U2 started playing loudly from the sound system. A cover of Woodie Guthrie’s, “They Laid Jesus Christ in the Grave.”  And then we all got up from our seats and literally danced down the aisle to take communion.  It was great!  It took a while for everyone to be served so while we were waiting we continued to dance and clap and celebrate the joyful feast of the Lord.  It was truly amazing.     

Now when we celebrate communion here in a little bit, I’m not going to ask anyone to dance down the aisle, but I will ask you to reflect on the joy that Christian fellowship brings and if I see one or two of you smiling a little bit, it’s OK!  Jesus commands us to “Do this in remembrance of me,” but what we need to keep in mind is that we aren’t remembering a loved one who has died and is no longer with us.  We are remembering the risen Lord Jesus Christ who is alive and among us today!  Communion isn’t a wake, it’s a celebration dinner where Jesus is the guest of honor.

The final thing that we learn about communion from this story is that everyone is invited and everyone is involved.  I would imagine that the crowd gathered on that day was a motley crew.  There were probably all sorts of people there.  Men, women, young, old, Jews, Gentiles, rich, poor, Israelites, foreigners and all manner of folk.  So when dinner time rolls around, the disciples look out on this mass of people and decided that they needed to go somewhere else.

In 1995 a small piece of satire in Sojourners magazine described the scene this way.  "Apparently, biblical scholars funded exclusively by the Christian Coalition now feel that, for their own good, the 5,000 should have worked for that food instead of depending on an overly generous Messiah. Scholars are convinced that the disciples--the first shareholders in the kingdom of God, if you will--probably tried to stop Jesus from creating a culture of welfare among his followers. 'Oh sure, Master. Today you feed 5,000, then what? Feed 10,000 tomorrow? Look, just give back [the fishes and loaves], make your speech, and let's get out of here.”

But Jesus has a different plan.  Jesus looks at the crowd and sees God’s children, every last one of them.  Jesus knows that God doesn’t turn anyone away.  And so, Jesus turns to the disciples and says, “No.  You give them something to eat.”  Jesus doesn’t agree with the disciples wishes to send the crowd away, and he doesn’t just disagree with the disciples and then miraculously feed the crowd by himself.  He makes the disciples get involved.  He makes them a part of the celebration.

I don’t have much more to say in this sermon because this final point really gets at the heart of what communion is.  Everyone is invited and everyone is involved.  There isn’t anyone who isn’t welcome at God’s table and everyone invited is also called to be involved in helping to serve the meal to others.  When we sit at the table with each other and with God we are fed, and in being fed we are nourished, and in being nourished we are strengthened to go out and bring others back to the table for the next joyful feast.  This morning let us all come to the Lord’s table with hearts of joy and lives ready to be strengthened for God’s service.

In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  One God, Mother of us all.  Amen.

Sunday, June 25th, 2017
Psalm 100, Genesis 18:1-15
Rev. Carrie Smith-Coons

Today is my last Sunday with you all as one of your pastors.  I’m sad about that.  I will miss being in ministry alongside you, and I’ve felt very honored to be part of your lives for the last five years.  It’s been a pleasure to get to know many of you more, and to discover Fairview’s many unique gifts.

I have appreciated this call as a co-pastor, and I’m grateful you all took a chance on Shawn and me together.  I will miss working alongside Shawn. That has been a joy and a gift – he has many skills and gifts I don’t, and I’ve always loved that we complement each other that way.  However, I’m very glad he will continue with you all, and I feel confident that as you move into this new visioning phase, he brings many skills that are important for that task.  And I trust that you’ll support him as he makes a difficult transition into being a solo pastor.

This is not the last Sunday I’ll ever see you, and I’m glad for that.  As I’ve said before, usually when we’ve ended a pastorate, we’ve moved out of state, and so I’m grateful to stay here in Indy, with folks I’ve grown to love, and I’m glad I’ll continue to see what Fairview’s future holds.

So, let’s move from me, to what we pray will be God’s message to all of us this morning.

I’ve been thinking about some things these past few weeks that I’d like to share with you, and I’d like to set the stage a little before we read our next scripture lesson - and I really do mean “set the stage.” I’ve been reading a series of articles about improv, and about how improv has some things to teach us about our faith.

How many of you know what improv is?  Have any of you actually done improv? 

Improv is short for “improvisation,” or improvisational theater, and it’s entirely  unscripted.  So everything is off-the-cuff, spur of the moment.  There’s no planning ahead, no cheat sheet, no one whispering your lines from the wings.  If you’ve ever watched “Whose Line Is It Anyway?”, then you’ve seen improv.

So, one person will start a scene, and the other people in the skit just have to go with it.  They have to take whatever they’re given and improvise.  No one ever knows quite what will happen; sometimes things go well, and sometimes NOT so well.

However, even though it’s unscripted, there are actually several very clear rules for how you should go about doing improv. 

Tina Fey is a comedian you may recognize from Saturday Night Live, or multiple movies and TV shows.  She explains the rules of improv in her book Bossypants.  She writes,

The first rule of improvisation is AGREE. Always agree and SAY YES. When you’re improvising, this means you are required to agree with whatever your partner has created. So if we’re improvising and I say, “Freeze, I have a gun,” and you say, “That’s not a gun. It’s your finger. You’re pointing your finger at me,” our improvised scene has ground to a halt. But if I say, “Freeze, I have a gun!” and you say, “The gun I gave you for Christmas!” . . . then we have started a scene because we have AGREED that my finger is in fact a Christmas gun.

Now, obviously in real life you’re not always going to agree with everything everyone says. But the Rule of Agreement reminds you to “respect what your partner has created” and to at least start from an open-minded place. Start with a YES and see where that takes you.

 . . . The second rule of improvisation is not only to say yes, but YES, AND. You are supposed to agree and then add something of your own. If I start a scene with “I can’t believe it’s so hot in here,” and you just say, “Yeah...” we’re kind of at a standstill. But if I say, “I can’t believe it’s so hot in here,” and you say, “What did you expect? We’re in hell.” Or if I say, “I can’t believe it’s so hot in here,” and you say, “Yes, this can’t be good for the wax figures.” Or if I say, “I can’t believe it’s so hot in here,” and you say, “I told you we shouldn’t have crawled into this dog’s mouth,” now we’re getting somewhere.

Don’t say “No.”  Say “Yes, and . . .”  Build on what you’re given.  Trust that something good will come out of it.

Improv is supposed to be funny, but the rules of improv can challenge us in good ways with our life, and, I think, also with our faith.  What do we do – and what do we believe - when our life challenges us to improvise?

How good are you and I at responding – when something comes along that we don’t expect?  Do we protest, and stop in our tracks?  Or do we trust that we and God together can bring something good out of what happens next?

Hang on to these ideas a moment, and let’s think about them in the context of our scripture reading.

This morning we have part of the story of Abraham and Sarah.  Abraham and Sarah are two of the matriarchs and patriarchs of our faith.  They will become the ancestors of the Jews and eventually the Christians. 

But at the point where we find them today, Abraham and Sarah are pretty ordinary people, who’ve been doing an extraordinary thing.  They’ve left their home without really knowing what’s next.  Back in Genesis chapter 12, God simply told them “Go.”

 “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.”

Abraham and Sarah are really living out their faith in an improvisational sort of way, because they’re figuring it out as they go along.  All they have is their trust in God’s promise of land and children – and so far, neither have happened.

This story happens about midway through their lives and their journey, and it’s been many years since those first promises. 

Genesis 18:1-15

The Lord appeared to Abraham by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the entrance of his tent in the heat of the day. 2 He looked up and saw three men standing near him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent entrance to meet them, and bowed down to the ground. 3 He said, “My lord, if I find favor with you, do not pass by your servant. 4 Let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree. 5 Let me bring a little bread, that you may refresh yourselves, and after that you may pass on—since you have come to your servant.” So they said, “Do as you have said.” 6 And Abraham hastened into the tent to Sarah, and said, “Make ready quickly three measures of choice flour, knead it, and make cakes.” 7 Abraham ran to the herd, and took a calf, tender and good, and gave it to the servant, who hastened to prepare it. 8 Then he took curds and milk and the calf that he had prepared, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree while they ate.

9 They said to him, “Where is your wife Sarah?” And he said, “There, in the tent.” 10 Then one said, “I will surely return to you in due season, and your wife Sarah shall have a son.” And Sarah was listening at the tent entrance behind him. 11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in age; it had ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women. 12 So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, “After I have grown old, and my husband is old, shall I have pleasure?” 13 The Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, and say, ‘Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?’ 14 Is anything too wonderful for the Lord? At the set time I will return to you, in due season, and Sarah shall have a son.” 15 But Sarah denied, saying, “I did not laugh”; for she was afraid. He said, “Oh yes, you did laugh.”

Sometimes God shows up in almost playful ways.  Here we have three strangers who turn out to be God’s angels in disguise.  The book of Hebrews in the New Testament talks of this moment, and says that we should never neglect our own duty to welcome the stranger, because you never know when it might really be God. 

But what has always stood out for me in this story, and what stands out for many people, is Sarah’s laughter. 

She hears she will have a baby, and she can’t keep the emotion in:  she laughs out loud.  There’s no clear sense here whether or not she and Abraham knew these were divine visitors, although by the end, her fear indicates that maybe she’s caught on.  At first, we just hear her pure reaction to their conversation.

So her laughter might have been cynical at first, or it might have been a laugh of wonder . . . or laughter mixed with tears.  But what we definitely hear is her protest.  “You say I’ll have a child, BUT I’m too old, and my husband is old.  It’s impossible.”

Sarah is living a certain narrative.  She has a certain view of her life and her husband Abraham’s life, and that view does not include children.  That possibility is no longer on her radar.  Her reaction is understandable, and maybe we GET it – because that kind of reaction is something we’ve had ourselves at some point in our lives. 

We start out thinking we’re going one direction, and then something happens to change it.

And it could be a good thing – like, “Honey, we’re pregnant!”

Or it could be a bad thing.

·         “Your furnace is completely dead.”

·         “You have cancer.”

·         “I’m sorry, but we have to let you go.”

·         Or here at church, “Our membership is still shrinking.”

It’s not what we planned.  And often, it’s not at all what we wanted.  And our instinct is to answer with a “no.”  We know we’re supposed to trust God in all things.  We know we’re called to be patient, and see how God is at work.  But we’re not always ready to accept things as they are.  So, we hit a full STOP.  We protest.  

But let’s go back to our improv challenge.  Sarah has broken the first rule of improv, right?  Instead of accepting what’s being said, and agreeing with it, in order to build on it, she stops the conversation it its tracks.

God has started a conversation, but Sarah isn’t ready to continue it.

God . . . ends up being much better at improv than Sarah is.  God says, “Yes, you’re older now . . . AND watch what happens next!”  God refuses to stop the conversation going forward.  God’s grace and love are too big for that. 

And not long after - 9 months or so, if we want to get technical – Sarah does give birth to a baby – a son, and his name is Isaac, which means “laughter.”  There’s that wonderful rhetorical question the three angels ask, “Is anything too wonderful for the Lord?”

God keeps the conversation going.  God keeps moving, and working, in Sarah and Abraham’s lives.

 . . . How often do you and I respond as Sarah did, at least at first?  How often do we put a period where God puts a comma?  How often do we refuse to build on what we’re given, because it’s not what we expected?  And we dig in our heels, and refuse to see possibilities - and we say “no”?

We can take a hint from improv.  We can choose to live with an attitude of “yes . . . AND” – with an attitude of openness . . . and hope . . . and a belief in God’s grace and ability to work with us in whatever circumstances we find ourselves.

You could argue that improv actually isn’t going into a situation totally unprepared. It’s actually going in ready for the unexpected.  We can choose to go through life realizing that things will happen that we didn’t prepare for, but trusting that we’ll find your way through, with God’s help.

·         Build on what you’re given.
·         And trust that God is with you in whatever unfolds next.

I will be improvising and trusting God in this coming year, as I leave my position here with you all and take a chaplaincy residency at St. Vincent’s Hospital. 

It’s not necessarily what I planned, five years ago.  But that doesn’t mean it’s not good.  That decision required me to acknowledge that things had to change.  It required me to accept that one thing was ending and say “yes” to the possibility of a new thing beginning . . . and to trust that God can work through both.

So, YES -  I’ve had a wonderful five years with you all, AND – God’s not done with me yet.

And what about you?

Where are you being invited to faithfully improvise in your life? 

Is it possible for you to say YES, to acknowledge the reality of whatever situation you find yourself in . . . AND to trust God is working with you as you move forward?

Is it possible for you to say:

YES, God didn’t show up quite the way I wanted AND YET– I see God at work even in this difficult time I’m going through . . . or in the friendship that’s sustaining me now . . . or in the job that came along instead of the one I expected. . . or in the love of my family.

What about our church?

Between staff changes, and the New Beginnings process we just went through . . . and the dialogue and learning we still need to have, things are in the process of changing and shifting.  And each of you is invited to be part of it. 

And you can say “no” – you can STOP the dialogue. 

·         Or you can say, “I’ve already done my part.”  Because you’re tired.
·         You can say, “yes, those are nice ideas, but they just won’t work . . . and here’s why.” 
·         Or you can say, “YES, these things are important to talk about, but I just don’t have time to help.”

All of those are ways of saying NO, right? 

And you can do that.  But then the collaboration stops.  The movement forward stops.  And when our own dialogue stops, it also becomes harder and harder to dialogue with God.  We can shut the movement forward down.

Or you can choose an attitude of openness.  Trust that God is still speaking – that God has ideas for you, and for Fairview – that God is at work here.  You can expect laughter, and grace, and possibility.

Don’t be too quick to end the story, to make conclusions, or cut off conversation.  Be aware of ways in which you stop possibilities from emerging – with others in the church, with God, within your heart.  How can you say, and practice, “Yes, and . . .”

So, YES . . . our staff and budget have shrunk over the years – AND – we still have a lot of assets, in money, location, and especially our people. 

YES, we are a small church, AND God can do amazing stuff with small things. 

YES, we are in a time when fewer and fewer people are coming to church, AND that’s just more people to tell about Jesus.

YES, we don’t know our next step yet . . .  AND God’s not done with us yet.

YES, there are and still will be times of discouragement, AND we are people of resurrection HOPE.

God is not done speaking yet, in your life, in our lives, in the life of Fairview.  WE must not be done with responding yet.

And so I charge you to be a resurrection people, a people who continue, over and over, to live with faith, and joy, and excitement . . .  to see what comes along in your lives and in the lives of the community around us . . . and say, “YES, here we are . . . AND let’s see now what God can do through us!”

And I give you these words, from St. Francis, and may they be both a charge – a call to action – and our prayer together:

May God bless you with discomfort
with easy answers and half-truths and superficial relationships,
so that you will live deeply
and from the heart.

And may God bless you with anger
at injustice, oppression, and the exploitation of people,
so that you will work
for justice, freedom and peace.

And may God bless you with tears to shed
for those that mourn,
so you will reach out your hand to them
and turn mourning into joy.

And may God bless you with just enough foolishness
to believe that you can make a difference in this world,
so that you will do those things that others say
cannot be done.

Amen.