2\y|73

"GOO md Keyl ACCORDING TO JOHNATHAN LIVINGSTON SEAGULL BETHANY PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
at ropomy 14:26-30 LAFAYETTE, INDIANA
thew 5:43-48 JOHN M. BUCHANAN

Sie first mate on an ancient galley ship addressed his galley slaves one morning:

vas
—ag

"Men, | have some good_ne' news and some bad news. \ First - the good news:\ the captain has

ordered an extra ration of bread and grog for everybody \ Now the bad news :\ the Captain
wants to go water=skiing this morning."

That's funny because the bad news is obviously a great deal worse than the good news

is good. | Ane in that respect the little story is not unlike our perception of the Christian

cospe! | "Gospel" means "good news", and the news is good. \In Jesus Christ God has acted

Sa _—_ Se SSS =

to free us from sin and death because he loves us.\ In the crucifixion and resurrection of
Rm ee ee [ee

JesuS Christ we are reconciled to God. \ That's good! \ But the bad news is something else:

we are sinners: [over after God forgives us we continue to be sinners: \we are vain, proud,
egocentric creatures who can't do anything right.\ We deserve to go to hel! \ and further-
ee = - ee

more our earthly life is full of temptations to stray from the straight and narrow path.
SRS eer ee aed amuuemumemm—eee j OO “—=—_—=o«

One can't feel too good about oneself because that might be pride:\one has to be careful
not to enjoy life too much becasue that might be counted as the sin of the flesh - which
we have been taught is highly suspect..\ The predictable result is that the bad_news gets
the headlines while the good news is kept down at the bottom of the page \ If Christianity
is fundamentally "good news" that's not very spparent,\and Christians spend an inordinate

amount of time feeling badly about themselves, or feeling quilty because good feelings

i j he i I e f and
keep interjecting themselves into what is assumed to be the proper_level of mgrose

somber piety. byt
gud wer goo
And yet, Jesus himself had an exalted view of man |e expected men to become more than

i ut
they gre, not less. jess. | He Inspired men to do and to be bigger and greater than they ever

dared imagine was possible.
(you, therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly father is nertect".) | sense that

we avoid that saying of his rather studiously. \" strikes us as an unlikely thing for him

to say, because for so long we ha-e been taught “hat our first priority is to think badly

of ourselves.\ we are to acknowledge our sin - not our potential: we are to prostrate

oe

ourselves in humility - not strive for esiotanaed ve are ‘+e regard our bodies, minds and
nae

spirits with suspicion - not with an eye for their ultimate perfection. \ And yet that's

EE SS
ee oe

mo pow

what he said to his disciples one ay \ right in the middle of that body of ethical teaching

known as the Sermon on the Mount, (r You must be perfect.)
PSPC
Now let's clear the air a bit\ He did not mean tlawtess.| That ought to go without
pee eee ‘ohio,

saying ~ because he was dealing with a group of rather ordinary and flawed mon\ The dis-

ciples were no plaster-of-paris saints. \ Thoy argued and fougmt, \got jealous of each other:

they were unfaithful at times | petty, self righteous: \they could be violent, spiteful,

vengeful, and hurting \’ That is to gay, they were altogether human - which fs to say
— — — eel

imperfect. \ Yet he demanded that they become perfect.

He meant whole, total, compiste.\ He meant that they were to become everything God

had created them to bocome:\ he meant tht they should never be satisfied with what they

knew was second-rate.| He told them to be perfect as a concluston to his admonition about
email . ene

loving enemies.\ And he meant just that \eed loves all men equal ty:\He has given you the
as aepresadtre ae cenasiree,

ability te do the same,.\ Sa be perfect - as he is.\ Nothing less wlll do.
nena ee, red
| have hopes that our generation of Christians is beginning to recapture the uncate«
_ > Ror Shae?
gorical goodness of the Gospel :\that we are th Tho process of turning around the recent

history of somber, guilt-ridden piety that has become synonymous with Christian faith.

| have hopes that we're beginning to understand that Christian Worship is essentially a
beienmtamnen a, en

celebration and that Christian life is fundamentally a thing of great love and joy and laugh-

Ter, \ have hopes that we are beginning to see that God thinks more highly of us than we

have ever thought about ourselves \ and That he expects us to become more than we everé

thought was possible.

That, wnewitmereseah, is one af the themes aft a remarkable little book that has

been on the top of the best seller list for months row. \ Jonathan Livingston Seaguli, by

‘aera ae
Richard Bach, \the book 1s currently quoted by theologians Spsychologists \2 psychiatrist

Cn nal

friend of mine is handing them out to anyone who asks \ it iS @short - highly readable -
ne ee aE —,. oe

and for anyone who has spent time watching seagulls - full of perfectly delightful pictures,
See Se

The author makes no claims that his book is Christian in content:\and yet the story of
ei, . ba beaeihidelenn eine

Jonathan has much to say to anyone who has reflected on the meaning of our Lord's admonition

eee
——

to be perfect,

| expect many of you have already read it:[ang | hope the rest of you wil l\ In the

~3-

interim allow me to share with you the essence of the story.
ie

=

Bach has dedicated his book( "To the real Jonathan Seagull who lives within us ait.")

ars, Jonathan was a remarkable creature.\ He was not content to spend his time pursuing

ep\ |
the normal pursutts c* seagulls, namely food ond Ss? | "Most gulls don't bother to learn
il —_ —_—

more than the simple fact of flight - how to get from shorg to food and back again.) For

_— —

_fost gulis It fs not flying thet matters, but eating.\ More than anything else, Jonathan

Livingston Seagull! loved to fly."

se

White the flock was chasing breakfast in the wake_of a fishing boat Jonathan was at

one thousand feet learning how to do @ ower sive.| "Why, Jonathan?"(his mother asked.

ee

Con is It so hard to be like the rest of the fleck, Jon? \ why don?t you cot?| Son, you're

a named

bene and feathers,"

Leal a

And Jonathan would try for e few days, screeching and fighting with the other gulis

se

around the plers and fishing boats \ But he couldn't make I+ work and soon he'd be back

—_

up there learning that if he kept his wings sabie In the power dive he could hit ninety
mifes an pour. | Tht discovery led to near disaster as he spun out of control and smacked

Into the sea.\ But as he floated Insemtconsclousness ~ after dark - he recalied that falcons
ne a a er

prarwenanler Fanny

cir
could do what he was tyring to do with ehoet wings. \s0 - up he_went again - into the

night sky, roiled into a dive at 2,000 feet with only the tips of wings extended, and hit

a

one hundred forty miles an hour - under control!

Next morning he tried it from five thousand feet and hit terminal velocity ~- too hund-
ae i a

Ap eatarei tamara,

red fourteen miles an hour ~ no gul! had ever flown that fast! | Winer he finalty moved his

wing tips ever s@ slightty to pull out of the dive he fired directly through the startled
el ee,

ee el
vail

breakfast flock at two hundred and twelve,

——

"When Jonathan seaguli joined the flock on the beach it was full night.\ He was dizzy
ie nite it

and terribly tired. \ ver in delight he flew a foop to landing, with a snap rofl just before
=e a

touchdown .\ When they hear of it, he thought, cf the Breakthrough they'i|l be wild with
— ————————— — a Se emiinamannme cand

Joy. \ How much more there is now to living! \ Instead of our drab slogging forth and back

to the fishing boats, there's a reason to life!\ We can lift ourselves out of ignorance,

aa a AR ah
be lala I

we can find ourselves as creatures of excellence and intelligence and skit .\We can be
oT, be Y Sd

free! \we can fearn_to fiyi"

His @4phoria was short-lived, however, as the fleck, gathered in counci! called
yh

him to'!stand to center" for some |

'for reckless itresponsibi lity }for violating the dignity

and tradition of the gull family'\\the Elder gult intoned \ He was banished forever from the
elie inn

rick. [tone aay you shall lcarn that irresponsibility does not _pay...we are put into this
world To eat, ro stay alive as long as we possibly can®'{And they turneg their backs on him.

So he spent the rest of his days alone -jearning, growing, flying \ ang "what he had
ial ———- . Hen, | mimeo ree

hoped for the flock he now gained for himself alonu:\he learned to fly, and was not sorry

—e a es a ia

for the price he had paid.\ Jonathan Seaguli discovered that boredom and fear and anger

are the reasons that a guli's life is so short, and with these gone from his thought, he
pn aed ee

lived a fong and fine life indeed."
a_i,

Then one day two beautiful silvery gulis came and took him away to 2 different world
ee rere

and Jonathan assumed he was in heaven \ He learned even more about flying - and more
Oe |

nial nal

importantly, at the feet of The Elder Gull, tearned that he could be whatever he wanted

to be.\ He was taught that The most fun of all - the most powerful force and beautiful

experience was knowing the meaning of love and kindness. anh satrvbkice .

Eventually Jonathan assumed the leadership of this new flock but he longed to return
Lae ie eel tees,

fo earth and to try again to share what he had learned with his brothers .\ Because now he

had grown to love them. flaing aleat
When he returned he discovered Fletcher - an outcast guli wha was in the same predica-
a lnlenenttiennien
ment he - Jonathan - had been in so many years ago.) He gathered six others and taught them
alt he knew about flying and about life.4A nd together They made the decision to fry fo
rr , Cae — el

teach the rest of the flock. ‘
— Sar’

When they flew in formation through the flock and took up their lessons on the beach
nT hii

they gathered quite a crowd \ curious oncleckers, of fended traditionatists.\ A young gu! |

yy
with a broken wing came forward - and Jonathan healed him with the words You are freet"| yrtse.

teil ue Es
The crowd grew ftarger and Jonathan kept telling them and showing them what they coufd be- we
nel — ye miiehineme nana et “a

come, | Ana when he brought Fletcher back to life after he had slammed Into a cliff at
— al

two hundred miles an hour the flock closed in. \sone said he was the Son of the Great Gull.
nl ei

Others said he was The pevit | 4,000 gulls with eyes glazed, beaks sharp, moved in to destroy.

a caititairatiereim imme tT Neer a Setanta |

a oetee oe

e

oe
Lin

vopathan, Figtcher and the others escaped. | and Jonather puzzted:( vty is it that the

hardest thing in the world is to teach a gulf that he is free, and that he can prove it
= baile

ia

for himself If he'd just spend a little time pract letng’| thy should that be so hard?" )

herria,

And the story ends with Jonathan vanishing [nto thtn lair, and Fletcher Seagui!

returning to the flock to face a brand new group of brave outcasts who wanted to learn
meeps MEETS

how ro tly. \

Richard Bach hooks us with all that familiar material that sounds [ike a praphrase
nnd

ated

of the life of Christ.\ The one gull who fs different, who comes into the worid to teach

Oe Ed

other gul!s, who gathers several followers and Is persecuted and expelled from the flock.

And it's a pretty good paraphrase - but | don't think that!s the point.\ And it's not the

reason why | have shared much of the story with you |For me the story asks questions about

my Life and my faith and my response to this Lord who said to his friends - and through them

to me ~ "You must become perfect."

It drives me back to a consideration of the basic matter of Christian Faith - that

id
bedrock of belief upen which everything else must rest. \ !t+ forces me to consider the
were EC OTA TE, lone

meaning of salvation - that most basic and most misunderstood of religious ideas.

Leen”

It takes me back, for instance, to israel \ to that ragged tribe of slaves down In

hed ie fa thew g gee
Egypt, somehow persuaded by Moses that they arehckwiemgedk together and go North to something
eee —_—ee

called a promised jand.\ with the egypltans hot on their trail they made It across the
‘hii — ial eco aa

be

Sea of Reeds - and the Eayptians did not \ They were tree| God saved them that day.\ Bu
— Fe evuseaaintammen ar td ee —aand ee

a fot more happened to them than simple deliverance fae~ the very_real dancer of the

—

i 3) ‘ hat, of course.\ But in tn, : 5
Egyptian Aray.\ They were saved from tha he process they were forced

to become a nation - a people - a tightly knit society with a purpose and 4 future,

The Exedus - and principally the deliverance at the Red Sea - is That primal event by
rd Le imeed

which men came To know God as savior .\ And it's a serlous error not to see that +s be caved
De

meant to become something none of them had any right even to Imagine they could become.
Cl

bean CI
It keeps driving me back to Jesus who assurred us that we no jonger have to fear death -
le aamael ih,

who, that is to say, saves and delivers us from our greatest anxiety and oldest enemy. But
me mM TC a nme ite

who kept insisting that release from that fear could become the fertle soil for new life:

that men who were thus saved could become new men ~ bigger and better and fulier men than

eres
ee oti On. —_—

~6-

they cver Imaeined - even perfect men.
i ad i

God wants us to be everything we can become .

Aer Feee~ Yal iv be SAT

He wants us to enjoy the life he has

sivens\ to exploit the resources he has put at_our disposal \t0 throw ourselves into our

ives, holdi thi ; i ivi i : ing 2
lives, holding nothing back \!oving totatly,\giving it at | \ being the best minister,

school teacher
a

of it.\ God wants to be free to see beaut

[a

in each other and b love er fo t
an wachother for what w

7 3
AcwWiCues a _Kina ok Do Ne ctw

\accountant) homemaker \ fireman \ve can possibly be, and loving every minute

n_beceme,

[a

y ~ to hear loveliness - fe see the rich potential
ee

Jonathan Livingston Seagul|! dai because he was a singularly courageoug, bird.\ And what
qm Se os

his author forgot was that will and courage alone isn't enough for us
Ceara a , eT

can become has to be called out of us.

Se,

A current theologian put it this way:
ee

What we can be - that secret perfectap
a

» under layers of boredom:and guilt and the everyday sameness of our busy

down inside us

"Man cannot free himselt:
ee |

he must be set free,
ee]

and this can happen only because
een! a a

God has given himself for_us in
ena re ERT

Jesus Christ.

Bee te

This saving act of God, however,
SST

is not in the distant past,

for the liberating event takes place

when aman responds to the word of

the cross by deciding
to understand himself as

Crucified and dead te his own past

and open solely to the future

opened to him In the word."
a

oe

Paul van Buren

Qwr

wt

—_" Stow

‘oa

\ Rather

com

wetihat we

\e no Fe to
od

ogy For
adr SHOUT poate «Xt

guess

ant

ad, Ey ee

ond Mncelletre

freedoms

The Secular Meaning of the Gospel

ility - that seed of new life is hidden deep

es. CDve calls it forth.\ Love is the water to make jit grow\, The love of each other -

but supremely the love of God - a love big enough to die for us.

_Im

God sees us for what we are: {God know what we can become: |and that is important

=

enough To God to warrant the giving of his Son..
aia end

"Be perfect" Jesus sald.

"Help me, said Kira, wobbling across the sand, dragging his left wing...'Help me!

he said in the way the dying speak.

lla,

‘Come along then,' said Jonatnan.\ ot nt with me away from the ground and we'll
begin.!

"You don't understand .\ ty wing \ can't move my wing.!

‘Maynard Gulf, yaihave the freedom to Le yourself, your true self here and now.'

‘Are you saying | can fly?t

‘Tl say you arg free."

As simply and as quickly as that, Kirk Maynard Gull spread his wings, effortessly,

sadn sienanaeniaanenie ene

and lifted inte the night air.\ The flock was roused from steep by his cry, as loud as

he could scresm it, from fiys hundred feet vs(" can tly! [Listent\ | CAN cus" AMEN

We would fly, father. We would become everything you have created us to become. Helo us
through Jesus Christ our Lord. AMEN

The quotations are from Jonathan Livingston Seagull|, a story, by Richard Bach: The

Macmillan Company, New York, New Yerk, 1970