PRESENTATIONS

BOSTON AVENUE METHODIST CHURCH

TULSA, OKLAHOMA

FEBRUARY, 3-5, 1991

JOHN M. BUCHANAN, PASTOR
FOURTH PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, CHICAGO

SACRED JOURNEY

1, Adventure
2. Provisions
3. Confidence
4. Power

At is G Ve at _Wmor do Ye w Tulsa , and were
ak Adis N \ a\ cMurda ~- 4 »y» ‘be Your Quist os ae
WA seunrot days .

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Vrouw lorova rt f{ Yulsa &@ Seliserie +

eect linen AER

wrpMreut sercy> |, s pla bers \ and tc” Ow pleased
Ye Wawa Quy fam ow partiale

Lute Thal. at Uo @
\nse ph. Sie — VD , neta -. ard 7 Eeetobs
Wy WaAKWeur im oye

AL Cy rel. 1 yy Mit fom qestur - Celebrate,

—

-- So Ely wh WM qe * fy d Wu of

"Now the Lord said to Abram,

THE SACRED JOURNEY
L_Adventure
John M. Buchanan
Fourth Presbyterian Church, Chicago
Scripture

John 3:1-17
Genesis 12:1-9

your father’s house to the land that I will show you..." So Abram

went,...journeyed on,..." -Genesis 12:1, 4, 9 (RSV)

Ab.-15

wo cli Arey

Can you imagine the day when Abraham and
eg aS my
Sarah tried to explain it to their ngighbors?
Abraham is seventy-five. \ sarah is at least that
old. \ They have no children.. \ what they have, of

Sem ey
course, is each other, and the comfortable routines
of fifty years or so of life tosothor Since the
day longer ago than they can remember, the day when
a th,
Abraham! s father Terah moved the whole family to

Haran, they had lived in one place.\ Abrat Abraham and
Sarah wer€ settledtyestablished, comfortable.
_ aa |

There's something nice about that.\. something good

Cte

about knowing you don't have to move anymore, that

i- 1

‘Go from your country and your kindred and

fn

this is the place you can expect to live out your
te dal

There is something @6mf ing about the

days.

ly routine

l

ritual by which time is measured:
eee

up at 7:00;\ coffee and newspaper at 7:30; | walk the

dog at 8:00;\ 1unch, cocktails, dinner, and TV until
a am =a

bed times the ffet at the clu Thursdays: (not
- | iets I

exciting, but iges7 ho problems. | Abraham
Peo etal

| ae!

and Sarah aracSett led, Dsubstantial, mature people.
a SERENE 2

Can you imagine the day when they tell the

Lae

Sie Feel

neighbors they ar€ selling their place having a
(Sarage sie, | thdrawing their money from the bank,
Bere a

and leaving? where are you going, Abraham? Pre a

Mi 4

retirement village, navte?”" ) (Wet actually not.

Actually, we don't know exactly where we're going.
We're headed for the promised land, but we really
Pr , (Ws ee
don't know where it is. \ So, we're trusting God to
iy
show us the way, and to provide for us and we
er el

cme

hate to mention it - but we're expecting that
ii ey

sometime soon Sarah's going to be preanant. | So

we'll be parents, not just of a child, but aavdaiie
=

_——

new nation. _ a whole other story! |e
meet -- ey ‘a :

t

f= 9
We're ovk of - here |

— Can't you_imagine the neighbors first trying

to talk them out of it? "Don't leave home! { Enioy!

You've worked hard and done wet1. \ You're home

mare ny,
Miia ee meee

safe. \ Don't throw it all away for a wild dream.

You don't know what you're getting into. | trinas
will never be the same again.” ) (6ee-Getne-Here,

Robest-Reines—p-—22 DAs Abraham and Sarah

continue packing, can't you see the neighbors

rolling their eyesAt this peculiar pair of old

eccentrics about to do something if not_absolutely
crazy than terribly unlikely and inappropriate...
— ne i
and frightening!
Call

» We do know a little about moving.} In fact,

we argfiore mobil than anybody before us. \ The

average American will move from place to place
eR |

thirteen times during his or her tect 9
en Laie 2
times as an adult. | The proportion of the

Ee ——

population which lives in one place only is n 3%.

a

Every year 17% of us move... Papeiatioesetathe— <=

Vail «

generation ago) many people never moved at all, or

er ,
what moving they did was down the street, oP acioss
——-.

town. \ In the gld country, generations lived in the
same house. \ We have visited the farm where they
a (el

all lived for centuries.\\ <r parents lived within
ee
a several square mile area all their lives|(He,~

have packed up and nov five ti mes, and that’s

fairly stable. | Contemporaries of mine have moved
fee et eer

twelve, fifteen, twenty times. \ IBM) I've been

EE

told ruefully by a sequence of friends who have

Sh,

passed through my life, stands for "I've Been

We Kte@y’ about separation anxiety and the
— Re ee

psychological dynamics of Toss and that moving is

————g,
Tike losing something precious which in fact it is,

and how we can anticipate the occurrence of the

Gas numbness. depression, guilt and
3 \

arOer. TRtseuincaseet pv ing from place to place

a

leaves us with sgge emotional fragility and maybe

ea)
even poverty in addition to exhilaration and
a

energy. \We also know that when Genesis 12 says a

Ges” ——

{/- 4

settled seventy-five year old couple hear God

telling them to move and promising them a child,

eat iii

and they actually do it actuary trust the voice
—————ap Ses

and move, \the Bible is saying something either very

Giay or very G portant.
—_—— Se

This story of Abraham and Sarah is arguably

the most important story in the Bibie.\ In the

Abraham saga the Bible makes it4 first and most
en ee lie,

—

(feathtak ing assertions about the one God. | In the
rE

first two chapters of Genesis there are stories of
a a

creation,|a great flood, Ja high tower and people

SS eq,

unable to communicate with one another. | There is

nothing unique about the theological assertion that
Leeman hihaedh tase

eee a,

God ig creator \nor that there are perimeters
within which the creatures must Vive,\and that
er

there are severe consequences when these boundaries

Op WwW ——— are crossed. ( What starts to emerge in the 12th

chapter of Genesis is an utterly Tfferent idea of

God. [mis 4s a God who is not content with the way
OM G veople, a
things are jer-dreastor’ and so makes{a people, a

( family, a nation to reflect the true intent of the
= a

—_e

J- 5

a

creatios \This is a God who enters into
le a

conversation with peopte,\has a relationship with

ee a ey,

them. [mis is an altogether different God who is

always making new and unlikely things happen and

who expects people to not be too sett ed,\to live

nal

Toosely\\ to be mobile enough to respond to the new

Binet

things God is doing. \This is a God who prefers a

tent to a buitding; Ja God who is suspicious of
——_ ee Se

temples and the trappings of reniateri/a God who

a.

tikes to be on the way - in the wilderness - with

BE

the people, TracsmitendalpScalilli Oe Oeedielicniim a aenmne

fs ee er a
(ecm encepremsntnteemmeertereer 9 \ this

is a God to trust when God calls people to be on a

ee

journey of faith,\a God who makes of our lives a

Wig

Sacred Journey.

It is a very old story in terms of

Viterature,| older than the stories of creat ior: | It
‘PE

=a

is, some believe, the first and fundamental Bible

ove

pecrocrereey.) And what this story says with

sweeping literary beauty is that in all the human

i ay

history before, things have not gone well. \Peorte

have rebelled against the basic rules of creation
eel i ne
and the result has been alienation, separation,
nore | acnieiiiiamitiiedd ea
viotence.\ mis particular family, of which Abraham
eT el toieeas S
4g the last member, is itself at a dead end..\ Old

eet

Abraham and his old wife, in their barrenness, are
ee epee a ee

EEE,
a metaphor for the human condition. \They_live
a — fie
@ithout hope. \iney live without (passion ané love. ~

They tive in their settled stability, [Putting in

time until they die, waiting day in and day out for

their lives simply to play out.

ees

And it is in their barrenness and

hopelessness that they hear the voice calling them
Wide.

|

to move and promising them a future - as unlikely a

promise as anyone ever heard((unless you count

nee

something Gabriel said to a young Jewish gir] 1,500

|

|

years later, about her illegitimate child being the

savior of the ward) It is an outlandish, almost

preposterous, promise. \ sa: Abraham and Sarah

Ce ll

Gi be
believe “wv, trust w. \ney pick up and go.

It's important because of what it says about
lees

(ee

and about faith and about the wor]d_and our own

qo

ourneys.

It says, first, that the reality of God is

not located in the past, but in the future. \ It
ie

says that the power and energy of God is not so
Sa

much pushing us from betyind, [out of our memories

i ee

and traditions,\ but pulling us from ahead, out of
our have, \ It says that we do not live in a static,

settled world, but one full of possibility because

of the activity of Ate is, says Walter
Pee [iin

=
Bruggemann, an eloquent Old Testament scholar, @ WO anqomsaid
eS

nema? against the notion that we live in a
Ce a Y Saas

sett led state\a static situation in which
Fetal

everything that can be,already is. \ That posture,

Ce a

which is thecérid world view of secularism, is
Birt ae

essentially atheistic.

potential to change things, [tc create new
a, sues Se

possibilities, but exists only as a memory, it is
—

ae

reasonable to question whether that God exists in

Ee, =a

j~ 2

any meaningful way and consequent ly whether

worshipping that God is anything other than an

exercise in nostalgia or wishful thinking.
(ee

Af the simple fact is that change is
ET TM oe |
happening ot throughout the world. {| We are
aauualas

gurwes, — oer We ero
in the midd] mn and where it will het es

end, even our best and brightest don't know. | I was yoy nt

intrigued to read one commentator's observation

that things begin to ferment spiritually for a

generation or so before there is major change at a
| smhiuaeeneeaniianiemnanti cd

ae |

political tevel.\ so what we have witnessed |got yee

Soe

toasgEgming in Eastern Europe has been a suinming

of the human spirit for decades \ a stirring we know

=
has been occurring in the arts, and 11 Pésbakgaem lu. clu
ae, a Oe Soop

long before it was expressed in the streets and the
se, 2
halls of goverpent, a stirring this Abraham
—— ap
material suggests, is surely the activity of this
eT =a
amazing God of the future.
ee. es
We live in the midst of incredible change,
ea pect emeeasacwresand =
not stability...\ Megatrends 2.000 details wea
Vv
major changes in the human stain The opening
———— ee
/- 9 4

f

/

pick sme re

te ae hat

_

sentences of the book set the pace -
"We stand at the dawn of a

| ee

new era. | Before us is the most

important decade in the history of

ae

civilization, a period of stunning

C) technological innovation, [unprecedented
sy ————
K ( economic opportunity, surprising
ee

9) political reform, and great cultural fH’ t
birth. | It will be a decade 1ik 5 FL
rebir St wi e a decade like none :

that has come before." —_—T { ot
rp. 11, John Naisbitt and Patricia Aburdene] Lt ee ye
—— In point of fact, [our oldest story about God it <

— oe
suggests that God is a God who Tikes change | stirs

up change,\ calls people to change, wants_people to
a ey

be free and unencumbered enough to engage
—— Ea Pr

creatively with a new world God is creating.

=_

And so the story says a lot about what it
eee SES, —

means to be faithful \ Somewhere we got_the idea /
eal /

that to have a religion is to Qbey2he religious /

| einai

rules and belies tertain ideas about God. | That

Ce arenes

is, religion is.gthicgs, negativelwdefined, and
theological ort XY defined by tradition, custom.

ee

for 10

%
Nit tet Gel wills fles

anh! omffiel>. bet pecise G
(ee eee p
ae. stud Va

However, here in our earliest story, | faith is a
AES Lee TY

matter of following the voice\\ trust‘ing the

promise, and courage to live without security,
er leiieeeencteiad

relying on God's providence. \ Abraham isn't much of
Me er | ie |

a theologian, lis not an abstract thinker | doesn't
( a,

say anything about the nature of God. | He simply

entrusts his future to God. | It's what_faith is in
the Bibte.\ precivon-beriring-toneninsoacbant( ¥C5/)/) 5 drus L
Crt the eee TIE ot reer reer S seal O ie Crypts

va " Faith surely doesn't mean saintliness if by
Pe

See

that word we mean the steadfast avoidance of the

moral ambiguities of life in the world.\ Read on.

As soon as Abraham is finished showing us what
Sea fess SE

faith means he ends up in Egypt looking for food

and because Sarah is an attractive woman and he
ee oS ee, ere

knows will catch the eye of the Egyptians,

eee

convinces her to pretend she is his sister instead
$e

eR Ay

of his wife ~ to save his own skin, which is what

hanpens.\\ Sarah ends up as one of Pharoh's

We

concubines for a while and Abraham gets rich
eS

== =...

J- 1

because of the arrangement... until Pharoh
Mine a te PS ee

discovers that she is actually Abraham's wife and

returns her promptly.\ It is an appalling story, a
——_

tale of moral ambiguity and human culpabitity.| And
ps ee Wmpwenres ee

it demonstrates that faith is not moral

ome TT

saint liness.

Abraham and Sarah also have a word to us

=

personal ly. \in Alvin Toffler's important book

pee

several years ago, Future Shock, he argued that the
we wit idc jin the world around

way cope h rap hange

us and the mobility that makes us feel like modern

nomads is by building into our lives what he called
per eas .

“personal stability zones"..s ene y OF
Lal a,

the rapid change to ih they are-subiscted some

people restore datepattemebiles,| wear Clothing

——

Ad ices: ail AER

meme 12

styles of earlier gras, |opbetfPigidly tgdated
routines. Likert tfansience and turnaver jeave most
thingS-e-Fep-gfabs, te“what do“people’ cling? \ At
the deepes2veT what ev or ing 2 is a 'god.""
[see Proclamétion 4. Lent, RobDert-tushes. ]

Ola \\o Woaa man

, takes
i

. Geo tthe trauents of fait te
+o

le are clingi® 7 “nostalgic vision.

- a (vision of piety and church life as we knew it
Pee Sete te ep
or as we fancy others knew it.\ It is faith turned

a similar t

inward and backward...\ In purely personal terms,

eeeea EEE,

it may recollect that 'no spot is so dear to my
|

a

childhood as the little brown church in the dale,'«
the cherishing of familiar sentimental hymns, the

clinging to childhood images of faith and childhood
expressions of prayer." Jie. 12-13]

The fact is we are talking about_something
that is a very real_part of modern Tife. \ change is

frightening, threatening. \ut belongs to our
—— - ee

—

humanity to want and need security, not adventure
(RO SESS

F enieteiettnl

and when things outside get a little unstable, to

devisd "personal stability zones.] Religion often

Eee get

becomes one... an experience we can count on to not

eee a eee

need change. and to be full of reminders of a

eee *ee

. gentler, more stable past. x

yuan =» Pleer f cub, af pak
~ we (ar tr ucka, te ote
Qua | Picdeetius of fhe Cpt yp ee
wa} a shed dul.m 4 7 fhr-

The Abraham and soph story is a personal

summons to let go of #@as and to see our lives as a

ete (Ms

faith iourney.\ It is a summons to think anew, to
nl =

entertain the truly Biblical notion that God is and
i Eo

has always been present in our own lives | calling,

pushiing,\ prodding| enab1 ing, discreetly and

subtlety urging us into a new future \ work ing
rs

against our tenagnsy to settle down and noun in

aur horizons and live with predictability but not

Dae

your own past as a kind of Sacred Journey, but also

eee
your Future, ack Buasbnemrtren sr sao >

much hore.\ The story is an invitation to think of

; al AK i base (of aA <« svecasful
_ write:

d time was

y aimless

a

working ‘te-aehieve its ¢

al

Win aii

life in time-s@it works throligh the lives of us

all and all our time ae Sagpesiiounaey. 2, <>

= pps
ce
8 fre invitation is to trust téa™® God with
=, ed

our future\ To let go of the securities and
ee

teenie 4
certainties we have come to depend on.\ To see that
MEE rr aie Pe ee

we have made gods of them ‘\our igvestments) our

our relat ionships,\ our pension plans.

"Whatever your heart clings to and relies

upon is your god,"/Martin Luther said. \ hig very
ees a _———.,.,,

ald story invites you to identify whatever that is
J

, cnn iidd canal

in your life and to let it go:\ to live without the

security and ego support it has provided you and to
cling to God.\ God of the future,| God of the
ae ey [ niianiianiaiian A

journey.

Se

Tris very old story reflects another story
So ee

actually. \ The story of a man who one day walked by

fishermen mending their nets and said, follow me," )
=e ey

and they laid down their nets and fol Toned: \ a

Ses

story of the one who calls us to discipleship which
= Toe

mR SS

always means trusting him aysglutely with our lives

ee ee oy

~ our futures - even our deaths, letting go of
Sano

ee
De

everything.
==.

The promise to Abraham was that there would

be a future \artanctranheimcene thereat torr to
eeiienst te

Abraham, of course, wasn't personally going to see

much of any of it.| So what Abraham gets for

trusting and following is God_- God's company,
ferewe oy —_— te

God's presence, \cod's promise) God's love.
‘Lo, I am with you always," Jesus said, "to
the very end of the age."

Even in the darkness “I am with you." | Even

on the bad days as well as the good days | the

ambiguous days, \he days of failure as well as

Pere Snes

success - on every day of your journey (‘I am wi th

you" which is why it is a Sacred Journey.
Seen, ”

When I was reading in preparation for this
qn
sermon I happened upon something that illustrates.
— pene
I was reading in Volume 1 of the Interpreter's
Bible, a ten volume commentary on the whole Bible,
ey eRe ay,

a slightly out-of-date, but still reliable standard

reference work. pa —. ten Vely ms
VO tHae=eet-—-—I happen to own because a dear
og See eae |

friend of mine left a note in her papers that if I
eT see TL oe,

j- 16

were still around when she died, she'd like for me

Ces | Coe

to have her set\ She was a widow - a woman for
ere freer. ee ee

whom the word “lady” is an appropriate description.

Bote

She was active in church and civic affairs.

For years she and a group of similar women met
Se ee Cie

weekly to read and talk about the Bible. / They were

emia

iterate and well-to-do enough that some of them

owned the whole Interpreter's Bible. |r impressed

me when I saw them on her shelves and I told her.

It was on that same occasion that she alluded to

the sadness and profound pain in her Tife:| how she

had had to think new thoughts and do things she
le ey Sate

never imagined she would have to do in order to
Sam See

maintain the most precious thing in her life, her

= tbr See

relationship with her only daughter. | She_reljated

ee

how very difficult it was for her,| both to keep

some semblance of a relationship alive but also to
ee

live without the grandchildren_and normal fami ly

Ly,

support she always assumed would give her comfort

and joy in old age...\ This little group of women,
Yen |

faithfully and quietly reading the Bible, had

J- 17

essmun“
p lbw ver

‘ L-.
sustained her for her very arduous journey. { And so
—a ad ee

I was touched when reading the commentary for
eceeneeetihaeiaiiied

eee

Genesis 12 and came upon a paragraph —- which my
in

friend Peggy under ined Il imagine, maybe on a day
al — a

when her own journey was particularly difficult.

"Faith is not the anchor but the hoisted sail, \ It is
BE i

not the ship in harbour but the ship that puts out To sea. (it is
=

ee .

not holding onto something that is, but exploration and adventure

a Sere _— ee

toward something vaster that lies ahead."
net,

[ lnterpreters-Bib le WOl 1 pe b681,
God called Abraham and Sarah.\ God promised
emma

them a future.

God calls you, \nherever you are, whoever you
Ee ffi

are.
God grant you and me - to hear the call,

faith to follow and courage for the adventure, {rhe
vi ne eee | —

Sacred Journey.
ia

# 8 86# #

You call us into the future, O God.. and you

ask us to trust our lives to you. We confess that
it is not easy todo. So in addition to your call,
we ask for courage to follow and strength for the
Journey. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

J/- 19

THE SACRED JOURNEY
2. Provisions
John M. Buchanan

Fourth Presbyterian Church, Chicago

Scripture
John 4:5-15
Exodus 17:1-7
"Behold, I wj and bef you...and\ you shall strike the-rOsk, and water
shall come it,that the nee nay pe a ~~ —ExoduS™+7:6. (RSV)

Aa was A TT

Bruno Bettelhein eek,
ese OT SE i gl

What an

adventure his life was! In Austrian Jew who grew

By cat
Clice By}
ob on
vt nts

ye . up in the Vienna of Sigmund Freud, Bettelheim did

o Ss a |

pioneering work with disturbed and autistic

chitdren.\ atone with most of the Viennese
—= a. ee

intelligencia he was rounded up by the Nazis, spent
as Se,
a year in Dachau, and was released through the
= es

efforts of Eleanor Roosevelt and others who had

heard of his work with autism.\ He came to this

2A oor a «Where
country, \to the University of Chicago. \ Here he

continued important research and treatment.

PETE IS

FS a 1

jo \e

In addition to directing a residential

treatment center in Hyde Partie wrote a number of

| einai —_———

popular_books. | The most widely read by non-profes-
sionals is The of Enchantment, in which

Bettelheim explored the importance of fairy tales

—w

a

i | Z ' am
‘in the personality deve lopment of children. It's a is wad

good book ond (rescore ear eret, Le Se ee

thiakaaeelaest that wonderful story in the 17th
aoe

chapter of Exodus when eile ne th the

wilderness and they are Dupgry and thirsty and

aoe

scared, and they complain and God provides.

Bettelheim wrote:

aaa

l If we hope to live not just from

moment to moment, but in true consciousness

| il

of our existence, | then our greatest need

ee

and most difficult achievement is to find
ee ao

meaning in our lives. |r is well known how

Ge:

many of us have lost the will to live,

and have stopped trying because such meaning
———— es

a

has evaded them." [p. 3]
= Ver
Bettelheim wrote a fascinating and sonmnat
a

controversial account ef his Dachau experience for

the New in which he concluded that the

people wha survived the concentration camps were

those who were able to live for some cultural or
religious goal other than mere survival. |e Bette ag =

jnmtho-concentretierecemms: when the total meaning | what Wau

\c
and focus of one's life has been reduced to our il
survival \ food and drink { the battle has been wha We
me

human. “When the oppressors, the captors, or when oe é puede t—
life itself, reduces human existence to survival cauy - of

A ee

<i" yar terms, \humanity has already lost. \ that is not to Ep Bat -

a
say that those who survived eat f— super ior

we to those who died. | is, he said, simply to
mM

observe that our humanity resides in something
Mest te ae
yp - bigger and better than the physical needs of our

i A
\o a lost. Human life has beco i
; lost. me something less than ex pu
Agi —

we

bodies. \ relevant observation, I thought, about

ees a,
those people complaining about their thirst in the
wilderness.

I continued to skim through the book into the

ee ee

section where he analyzes the familiar fairy tales...

These stories, he taught, often provide children
i. ST.

me,

with a safe way to express and deal with basic
ae

fears and worries and desires. h Hence and Gretel,

whose parents essentially abandon them because they
ae aa

are pgorand can no longep feed them, speaks to

childhood's “dominant anxiety." \the threat of

Wee

desertion and the loss of security. \ [p. 159]
\ Rraudtl It is a common motif in many of the stories

ene we heard as children. \ Bettethein observed: ("in
Cows wh many fairy tales, being pushed out of home ste
— ,

beh buy for having to become onese ir. —Feal ization

ee

- A requires leaving the orbit of home, an
oA ~ d| Lak excruciatingly painful exeerience fraught with many 47
c lot pnt psychological dangers." Cp. a Crem
\WWe. rt That: process, he taught, is ‘inescapable and

ae aval / not confined to childhood. "Separation anxiety -

the fear of being deserted - is not restricted to a

——

a= 4

certain period of development. Such fears occur at

all ages.” Jtp. 15]

And that I CONCTUCEC, \dibebmentene-ryeaeere

eee eet

from.Dr-Rettedaedm, is exactly what happened one
day in the wilderness of Sinai,) when the children
eS,

of Israel assembled in front of Moses and said:

peemmnesen | SR

"Why did you bring us up out of Egypt, to kill us
and our children and our cattle with thirst?” \

It's actually the third time it occurred. \tn
i,

fact, it happens so much that the Old Testament

scholars have a name for it... | “The murmuring in
iii, a L emneeeitiben!
the wilderness motif.” Free of Egyptian slavery.

wander ing through the desert, the people are

murmuring al] the time: [what shal] we drink?"

[15:24] A little ater they are hungry and the

whole congregation murmurs against Moses and Aaron
and this time it's eloquent.
MS oe
"Would that we had died by the hand of the
the Lord in the land of Egypt. when we sat

eee

by the fleshpots and ate bread to the full:

[ail sor.

2 —

for you have brought us out into the
wilderness to kil] this_whole assembly
. with hunger." | [16:3]

— rhe se a
= as ee,

~ ws propose ATS sere “tals “Ab

Sacred Journey, ln adventure to.which we are
ae eee

nie Wier ini
called. \ T suggested Témientieumeley t that the story of
is Abraham_and Sarah_is_the basic a
Got Bible story. ee that very old saga, (oa calls two wai
Aghnes é people who are mature, established and settled to Lie —
pant! ee - sos oat ¥
,, { pick up all their belongings and move.\ God 6 oe:

we « aL Bu -
oun = ‘ promises them a future and when they trust God, the 2
mere ac ‘° et adventure of faith begins. { suggested that God E
? a
ute ws 4 calls each of us to a similar adventure and
ve See

ox \ \ promises to be with us,\that God has been there al} Lad has Bem

4 =: along, urging us on,|pulling us from the future, Ba ner pe

- ry doo ci
inspiring our hopes and dreams. lk suggested that cls —
ae i
your life is a Sacred scene because of God's Lares
presence. |
a. |<ive 7 The theme runs throughout the Bible,

w® mai
beginning to end. \ It appears again in the great

saga of the Exodus.\ What a wonderful story it is,
nel cam

with what Seems to me an endless variety of ways to

Thee ee ae a . S Aden ¢ Bie
is he gl Secu emit} B |

"= Sheena »D fran wt + Ut =A
a | iene Shih
noe ‘. Am isa Your + freee. Aut m
A Nga * kur lw Gormunts — [Ova ,

surprise us with its relevance and contemporaneity.
——s_ — ee ey

Remember that Abraham and Sarah end up in

Egypt for a while because there is no food where
Ses, SSS ee
they are.\ Several generations later the Israelites
— . eT a, (tenes.

are back in Egypt again, once again because there

Bese

in =
is famine where they ane \ mis time_there are a

lot of them, \tribes of them, and this time they
mil ee eet are

stay in Egypt, settle in, {and thrive some more:

eed SE ng

thrive so much that the Egyptians become concerned

fee

and gradually turn them into slaves. \" happens
Bard ni

slowly, of course; First one right, then another is
eee er eh, PT we Ta

Fen OT

taken away. \ First they aren't allowed to live in

| mnaal =

certain neighborhoods, {next they have to Vive ina

ghetto and in a few decades they are the slaves,
Mo

Lena ET Sy

making the bricks for Pharon's ambitious
ad EE SE ea

construction projects.

Mima

Moses organizes them: \stirs them up,

Saal

presents their demands to Pharoh: \ argues,

negotiates, threatens - all the while God_is urging

ST

him on. [Arter several false starts, Phargh finally

relents, and one night, uncer the caver of

ee
a 7

darkness, they leave. | They pack up their

—_

belongings, gather their sheep and cattle, set the

children and the elderly organized,\ look around at
es ee

the old neighborhood one last time and walk into

the wilderness.

Seger

Now the_pgint is that even though they

complained a lot, Egypt wasn't all that bad. AS a

Wee TE

matter of fact, Egypt was home: | had been home for
ial eee eel

PAB Soninra

them al] their lives, ‘end their parents before them

and their rerceareits it might look Tike slavery

Fe eee

to a young radical like Moses, but it was also

EM

ee

home. | And so not long after they leave they beain
to have second thoughts. Corat in the world have

a

we done? \Traded our, security, our stable, Saf a

life for what? \This js wilderness.) There's

ae ee

nothing out_here. \Eovet isn't, wonderful but at

least we had a roof over and food to eat
\ =
and water to drink." dena, .
ee

:
And at the same time, Pharoh is having second

ee oa

thoughts toa. \ His economic advisers, in the Clear

Le ell emainemee er

light of day, remind him that he has just allowed

a~ 8

as A leshoots -- _~ XX Was de ppimhd
dW leon As Ab whys decree
work -- refer ® Were ae ra prt “\
lam) sis

the labor force to walk out scot free. \ we SO
——_—_, —

Pharoh changes his mind, mobilizes his forces and

we eee

sends the army out to catch the people of Israel
eel

and bring them home.

One of the best parts of this story happens

Ray

when the people who_have made it to the banks of
the Sea of pe Ehren, shallow swamp — see the

eee

dust of Pharoh's army anproaching.\\ This time it's
SS Se ee

ae

not a murmur but a shout of terror:

"Ts it because there are no graves in
Egypt that you have taken us away to die
in the wilderness/\ What have you done
to serve the Egyptians than to die in
the wilderness.” {[14:11-12]

What comes next is the unlikely escape at the

Sea of Reeds and then the beginning of forty years
eel

Comefore\

of wandering in the wilderness of Sinai and the

———

murmuring: | "What will we eat? \ what will we drink?

ows |ldlLlClU

How will we survive, cut off from the security of
—EE———————————

It is a universal theme.\ A universally human

ERRATA

question. [It has to do with our development and

a

maturity as persons, Bruno BetteTheim taught. { Tt

Ee,

has to do with living life to its fultest.\ And

this we must not miss, it has to do with faith,

Oe eel

with living in responsible relationship with the

ere

one who has created us, \given us our Tives} and who
wi ”

|

calls us to live them with integrity and

|

intentionality and courage. \n fact, several

|

thousand years before it was deyelopmental

psychology, it was good Biblical religion.

There is a sense in which life always calls
——

us to leave security and comfort behind if we are
a, Ty
to do_and be all we can: \ a sense in which life is
ea a ; Se oy

diminished to the degree that we invest it in the
gE ST S20.

provision of comfort and security only.

The Outward Bound movement began when, Curt

Sitcossste =... a

el” 10

Hahn, a Jewish refugee from Nazi Germany and the

eee

founder of Gordonstown School in Scot land, (observed

ee

that young British sailors were perishing, |after

their ships were
sunk By Nazi_U-boats in the North Atiantic, in

dramatically larger numbers than their older, more

Pee ee

seasoned nates. \The young sailors were not

surviving physical hardship because they didn't

have any experience with — or bebe SUE with the
Whic ts
spiritual toughness for the ait t to live. > The. \ the

whole culture ~ the whole world - after _the First

wm RT

World War, had become comfortable, Hahn concluded.

TET!

So Outward Bound and a number of popular similar

outdoor education programs structure physical

hardship, challenge and discomfort for people of
eee =o a

all ages. [re is an intentional wilderness

experience and for many people it is life enhancing
pa a Y
and spiritually deepening.
It is also an occasion of no Tittle murmuring
eo SCT
very much like the wilderness murmuring of the
a,

children of tsraet.\ 1 the Outward

Sa
Bound School, Hurricane Island, Maine, for a five-

a> 11

cyumer bye WHA agile O14

day course laStswemner, along with twenty other

ee

adult professional me a \rt was not forty years
———-—=a

i

in the wilderness by any stretch of the imagination
= eee

but I'l] not forget any of it, | including a fe pes '
—— er 4
memorable occasion of murmuring. Rei) =) vyelt s
pr. penn bi »

seoees The Head Master of the Latin School, also a

guest and participant, and I had a few moments to

chat. | ve had just come in from three days ina

thirty-foot open sail poat. | We hadn't slept much;
Se

we were cold, wet, hungry, tired, slishtly queasy

from the ocean swells,} and now nett, and I were

pulling a large cart full of dirty pots and pans to

an open faucet where our job was to scrub them all.
Ce en denns 9 ez:

— =1 We sedob.d
On top of everything it was pagina ai? Ye oe
moment to ask something terribly wreeled 4 ln
; — — A al
incisive: \ "What do you suppose our wives are doing ee
right now?" | And then, in spite of the fact that we
— ‘ailtes ae rrp Ov
both knew better we began an only slightly tongue- bad rj
| ieee) Cea orl”
in-cheek recital of what we would be doins: | how |
warm a Pleasant_and comfortable it would be in elt 26 -
Chicago. (erat in the wilderness is a Scud - wm \
Ay a F a ve K
Cyw 4 \
Yow WwW 1 af - at
q Wet —-
eo
Cvs :: “v

ant — Cale

universally human_ experience."
The stories of Wapriet Tubman and the
underground railroad and slaves running away and
Mia Le |
living in the wilderness for months - traveling at
a - effin =, ieee

Dateien atl

ne Ste during the day, living off the land -

are powerful and inspiring and instructive because

for many runaway slaves, slavery began to look
_ Sea. jay

appealing after a day or so of freecom.\ Plantation

life might be cruel,, inhuman, demeaning, but there

was food and shelter and security. | The wilderness

fei Mii i

is the place where we are able to see with clarity

oe,

how dependent we have become on security, safety
Ss oe
and contort. | Qut, pays this wonderful old story,
‘ weit Nt tetrioED

the wilderness journey is also the place where we
eS Se

find God or God finds us.
Lya®

God comes to Moses in a burning bush in the
—— = se

wilderness. \ In @ Period often in the

wilderness, Jesus encounters subtle temptation but
(Ge dese

the angels also come to him_in the wilderness and
aS

it is in his wilderness experience that his sense
a

of the meaning of his life and therefore his
we ee

o> 0-18

courage and determination is given to rim, | Pap of

the wilderness experience is the solitude in which
alll

mind and heart and spirit turn to God. Part, of

ees

what all the outdoor education programs include is

a period of solitary time: \an extended period for

aloneness, reflection and quiet.\ And for most,

eventually, it is a spiritually significant time.

wpe:

The mystics, the people of deep spirituality.
pee

ee a

know that to experience God you must Setach, back

away Viet go_of everything. \ That is part of what

Farag learns | an the wilderness \, And it is not an

easy lesson for those of us who gpe privileged and
enter
blessed with abundance.
Henri Nouwen has a wonderful Tittle book on
mes ae Perey

prayer which makes the point that you cannot pray

with your fists clenched. \ It's an important
= aS ae

abservation\, Prayer is less than a vital spiritual
———_

PR

exercise for most of us because we feel threatened
by letting go of our securities and standing before
eo TT [eee

God with our hands empty and open. Nouwen talks

——_

about seeing a woman brought into the emergency

wee...

Q- 314

1 An,
— Fi
+ ane
er,

room of a psychiatric hospital with her fists
ees] ess

tightly clenched,\holding on to one small coin, as
Bein ir a te

though she would lose her very self if she let go

iets ny,

of that coin.\ Nouwen writes:

(ite ee

\ “When you are invited to pray you

—

are asked to open your tishtly clenched fists and give

ee .

up your last coin. You hold fast to what is familiar,
Fe ae

even if you aren't proud of it. \ You find yourself

deren te ee

saying: (Tat's just how it is with me. \1 would like to
be different but

it can't be now..." Yonce you talk

Tike that you've
already given up believing that your

life might be

ee

otherwise. \ You fee! oe safer to

le

cling to a sorry past

than to trust_in.a new pune
[With Open Hands, p. 71

The old story suggests that God calls us to

be ona Journey, \ to let go of the securities upon

which we have become dependent \ to trust God for

ep > 15

our security and in the progess to become the free

and whole.people God has created us to be.
The stgry.also makes a very daring promise.

God will provide. \ God will give us the resources

ge

we need for the journey. \ cou will provide, not
See

necessarily what we want, \put what we ni . | God

will provide water for our thirst - living water

for that profound@e thirst deep_inside everyone of

EE

us.
(6) Moses discovers water only when the
woo, mn Se

people are in the dryness of the desert.| Manna is

ee ae

provided only in the wilderness. | The Samaritan WO t
a a -_ “
woman whe encounters Jesus at the wel] is thirsty. Wardurtud

she 7 Tit f lit o> os
Ge IS ah outcast,| not it for polite company in

her own viTlage. \ She's at that well at high noon

because the other women get water in the evening
TT ay em

and she is not welcome. \ she is desperate. | "Give

Se Se —

ee

me living water,” she asks Jesus "sive me food
ek (ini

and drink that will sustain my spirit.”
gece Ses Tae
"The threshold of religion," one commentator
ee i |
proposes, bis at that point when the thirsty soul
— ii a

stands squarely in front of the hopeless, barren
Sah a

a~ 16

desert, the seemingly impossible.”
God's gifts are given only when we know our
, en a Se
hunger and thirst: \onty when we need them.
— Rac t ete
So, for each of us comes a day when we must
ree i

leave security behind,{a day like the one years ago
eee

when we walked down the sidewalk, \away from the
EES ESS rl]

insular safety of home on the way to school and
See Te enn ee

began the adventure of becoming,\a Sacred Journey
| ee |

that is still going on.

~ or the.day years later when our_parents
dropped us off at college and drove “away;
eT aie é

- or the day when we started anew life with

a stranger to whom, standing in the Frowt oF

ea Rasa ran

a chungh| young. immature and terribly UNPREPARED,
we just committed our lives “for better OR worRsé

in sickness and in health, as long as Wé BoTH SHALL

rive"s_)

~ or the day_in middle years when our €6 mp

Le ee
4A~— 17

company down sizes, |reatigns management
——e

and we find ourselves in the wilderness
ee oe

of unemployment or an
ma

unplanned second career:

- or the day when we and our ‘other

decided we could no longer cling to the
Mime re alae ok = onl

=,

old realities and

Prine ce ge

remain alive and we find ourselves alone

SE Mme oh cst on i dling

and starting again:

irene men

~ or that day when the martsage is paid,

the dog has died, the last youngster has left
for college and instead of the promised Jand
you find yourself in

a new wilderness of loneliness, purposelessness,
Meer =a

depression and remorse;

- or the day when the reality of aging

becomes unavoidable, \a dear friend dies, or a
oe:
routine task becomes difficuit.\or a life-long
SS a | iT
dream_has to be abandoned
and you know in @ JS | re t
you Ore \ot Goma t> Vive epee

a - 18

a final way that you are not going to
live forever.

jm Comes a day for all of us - and each of us -

a

- when we Know that our own resources are no longer
—=- Sees ee eye

adequate: litt if all we_have going for us is our

own strength, vigor, intelligence, or our
ela =: 3

Se ae

professional accom! ishments, | our position in the
| elite |

community, \or our possessions, \bur bank accounts,
epi a |

Pita

stock portfotios, {and pension plans, \we really are

‘RET Grameen

rather poor and weak. Comes a day for al! of us

when we are hungry and thirsty and know 7 ti{ when we

are powerless to deal with the realities of our

humanness, particularly our own mortality, our own
eed

death - at the hands of the approaching Egyptians,
ee ™

or the hunger and thirst burning within us\ or
Soe.

simply the inevitable ticking of the clock. And
Bianca LT
on that day the promise is that God will provide.
The mystery of faith is that in Jesus Christ

Le]
we are called to lives of intentional insecurity.

The greater mystery of faith is that when we
TT ey

=e

trust God...] when we open our hands. when we know
faeedaliiaiaiie al

s— 19

our hunger and thirst.../there will be bread and
- Ss,

life and living water.

God calls us to a Sacred Journey. God

(Braman et, | ee ee

provides what we need...
Thanks be to God. Amen

# it #

God of love: you call us into the future,
sometimes away from everything we use to establish
our security. Give us courage to live faithfully;
give us the food and drink we need to live in Jesus

Christ
our Lord. Amen.

Y¥
3. Comfidénce
- John M. Buchanan

Fourth Presbyterian Church, Chicago
Scripture
Jonn 9:1-11
| Samuel 16:1-13

" the Lord sees not as man sees; man looks on the outward appearance,

but the Lord looks on the heart." -1 Samuel 16:7b (RSV)
% hes been in
Ane center ¢
Mu celiggous
Harvey Cox, professor of Theology at Harvard fermen %\ 4h
x enerakinn «free
Divinity School, eine lat Pique -5e

bob -
backsnantheetesmaneheuteudy wrate a short memoir ee a

. . ‘ rec
a few years ago about his personal faith experience evy_oaunbe o
under the title, Conse As I Am.) Cox, whose re\er~
theology is broad, liberal, full of life and has a Wis fost wait
ce
passion for peace and justice in the world, grew up \ yor ee
eee —_—— Ci Wes G
in a small] conservative Baptist Church in Vannes +
Pennsy varia. \ He recalls that church with fondness portent.
— recom,
and respect and remembers singing the old gospel Hy Z
ga tee Ww vi
hymn, Just as 1 _am, without one plea, But that Thy ant yar L cleut
blood was shed for ne." J Ga & AL

He reflects: [ though the words may sound Saher OS

—_—

ee | en ll

lJachrymose to many, |For me they still convey a
_ cance sale 5 Acc) IP E
sense of cggfort and assur ance, \ Mas I really
acceptable to God ‘just as I am?? Was it true that
oh te Sal Pe ee, ge cg

Il needed no improvements, (no alterations... If

Ee

true that was very good news to an adolescent who

See a

was always being reminded... of my shortcomings and
Wi

~~ defects."
a G And then this distinguished intellectual

GQ amnueiie:
Mut \paie- recalls those hazardous ass. | He wasn't very good

at sports, \there were better musicians in the band,

Sar a the girls preferred other fevions.\ He wasn't the
Sse a ee,
smartest, and although he was sure his parents

meee

loved him, he was not at al] sure he would ever

live up to their expectations.
ieee. RRS iy

™ "But God accepted me just as I am? coo

“That was not judgment but good news. | Years

Jater, when I read Paul Tillich's famous sermon,

‘You are Accept | knew exactly what it meant,

and I could hear the melody of the old hymn still

humming on in the back of my mind.” [Just As J Am.
———— gre eo
p. 151-152]

in Vex tales
NREL RARE ae,

e t _—Sp Life, I have been proposing
WAN efeceme, is like a journey, a faith journey, a

|

Journey made sacred by the one who calls us to it,

travels with us Nona provides for our needs along
eS SS ey ees |

the way.

; peqan by Hunley
We ahninmaaet about Sarah and Abraham who wet tu ag “| "1S;
acl settled, stable
hear a summons to let go of their securities, \pick Satis Ged where
up and moves they actually do it, actug]ly trust \_ “4
=, : ee — -
God with their future_and the adventure beains@y erpan<-
pe “NPN
wd) And we thousht Pore? Ss ee eee iene Exudv -
"murmypipgin the ra Fqy pt
wilderness" and wishing they were back where there s\ove +

was food and water | And we entertained the notion
that when you do walk away from whatever provides
Chemnne SE
you security, when you acknowledge your ultimate
eS SS eS
vulnerability, the emptiness of your hands — God

eens =
provides. — Wal uouv weed « +
NONI
mo, Confidence -{the sense that
a]

So, this +revecambias ;
ee

we can do it,ican be faithful,{can live up to our
CETL a

a

potential\ can be true to the end. \\ And another
Sree. oe,

SS
great story: \this one about a man who would be and

es:

Jos & puget
was way oy

was King, \Israel's most memorable leader, David.

It is a magnificent saga.\ It has all the elements
ae eet D

of a gripping novel or scap opera: intrigue,
ees eg

7 F i. r 7 e 7 J
conspiracy, \lots_of sex and yiolence.\ family

trageay..O3 Joseph Heller has written an irreverent
=a eg

but affectionate novel about the career of this

remarkable man, God kaos. \ In it David says, a

don't like to boast, but I honestly think I've got
aera (eee

the best story in the Bible. \ ord Sarah's fun,

Ele

Abraham is ever up to the mark,\Moses isn't bad, I
SEES a, —_— ae

have to admit, but he's very, very long with all
le

ERT

those laws. | Moses has the Ten Commandments, it's

Genre cert

true, but I have better Vines. \I've got the poetry
a.

and the passion." | [p. 5]
een

I want to focus on the begjnning of the story

but it helps to put it in the context of his
Sa Gee

remarkable life. | Several centuries have passed
[=o

since the Exodus and the wandering in the
a | omaniaeiniiadinamesitictian 2
wilderness. \ Israel's Sacred Journey has brought

We

Israel's first Kia, , Saul , ge

4

them to the a and now a monarchy is forming.

woaon s

Seas ates = ng AL Greeks _ added. “S.

* ae Saul, WITT start the anification of t of the Palaesne
Pe lestianias

en

Kingdom. avid will succeed . him and in several

years for ars forge a 1 Powerful nation- state out of twelve
——— 19H

loosely organized tribes of wandering Semites | It
1s one of the major political and military

achievements in all of history. | David had to have

ed ee a
been a brilliant strategist, an inspiring leader.
| iano

He was also one of the most human characters in the

———S

<a ees
the capital of the Kingdom, makes it_the cent the center of

the nation's religious lif life, leads saeraiyin a there -
er apreris = if Rn

Sane ing Naked naked before the Lord.
Falls in love with Bathsheba; she “7

becomes pregnant; \re arranges for her husband's ——
toe

death, deca’ Mthcheba: the child dies shortly | eS slays

Bible\ David conguers, establishes Jerusalem as

Lo —~ Xx
Cw a 7 after binth. \ David's grief is intense and Public, We (A
_ ye but not as intense and public as a later grief whep Sos
ar. aM>r_ Se aenl aes acca temcronnonte bi wnt’
t* ‘ ww his son, Absalom, leads an armed insurrection aw arr.
he C an we against him and is murdered in order to save David! Av . \ar
Ww? wn V ("Absatom, oh my son Absalom,"}he cries in one of sory <

oS. Se 2 '
the most poignant tragedies in all of literature! ve

JS - 5

And if you can stay with this story and

| aaansanatieintel

aren't too embarrassed or scandalized by its
a ee

humanness and earthiness, what comes through is a

sense that if God can stay with David, Pan accept
Pnpeers

SS =_

David and love him like a son - in spite of

——

everything David does - just maybe there is room in

eee

the Kingdom for you and me. {Just maybe there is a

place in the wideness of God's love and grace and
eae eee —

therefore room for a little confidence.
ee Mite

The story could not begin more modestly.

Saul is through. \ God’s man Samuel is scouring the
pence Ree Ey eee ad

countryside looking for a new king. \ tr he knows
who he’s looking for, no one else does. }He goes to
ee a el
Bethlehem to see a man who has a lot of sons.

Sec Toe, ee, i

Wey
And now we're ready to hear ih i, \peg
‘ he I shy

the 16th chapter of 1 Samuel: At
"The Lord said to Samuel, "How long will you grieve u a Pow

over Saul, seeing I have rejected him from being

king over Israel? Fill your horn with oif, and go;
I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehnemite, for I

have provided for myself a king among his sons.'

a 6

And Samuel said, 'How can I go? If Saul hears it,
he will kill me.’ And the Lord said, ‘Take a
heifer with you, and say, "I have come to sacrifice
to the Lord." And invite Jesse to the sacrifice,
and I will show you what you shal] do; and you
shal] anoint for me him whom I name to you.’
Samuel did what the Lord commanded, and came to
Bethlehem. The elders of the city came to meet him
trembling, and said, ‘Do you come peaceably?’ And
he said, 'Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to
the Lord; consecrate yourselves, and come with me
to the sacrifice.’ And he consecrated Jesse and
his sons, and invited them to the sacrifice.

“When they came, he looked on Eli’ab and thought,
‘Surely the Lord's anointed is before him.' But
the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Do not look on his
appearance or on the height of his stature, because
I have rejected him; for the Lord sees not as man
sees; man looks on the outward appearance, but the
Lord looks on the heart.' Then Jesse called
Abinadab, ancl made him pass before Samuel. And he

ax

|

said, 'Neither has the Lord chosen this one.’ Then
Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, ‘Neither
has the Lord chosen this one.’ And Jesse made
seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel
said to Jesse, ‘The Lord has not chosen those.'
And Samuel said to Jesse, ‘Are all your sons here?’
And he said, ‘There remains yet the youngest, but
behold, he is keeping the sheep." And Samuel said
to Jesse, ‘Send and fetch him; for we will not sit
down til] he comes here.’ And he sent, and brought
him in. Now he was ruddy, and had beautiful eyes,
and was handsome. And the Lord said, ‘Arise,
anoint him; for this is he.’ Then Samuel took the
horn of oi7, and anointed him in the midst of his
brothers; and the Spirit of the Lord came mightily
upon David from that day forward."

——_—_—_——> The eoint is that the one_who would appear

Sete Se

least qualified is the one God wants to be King.

Eli‘ab fad what it takes. Even Samuel was
impressed, | But God has other ideas. \ The point is
aaa [= enn ‘eat SS
that there is a dynamic at work in this situation,

Perna me ea

j- 8

a dynamic built into the nature of reality, we

MI MS

believe, call a2) | God is operating with a
po en

different set of criteria. |God,. this magnificent

old text tells us from across 3,500 years, [ "sexs

a
not as (we) see.”{| We look on outward appearances.
— aT i Mie

God looks on the heart. \ so Jesse's strapping sons

are rejected. \ cou wants the little one, |the child

Gece | eee

out in the field. \ Some later writer can't resist

telling us that David was actually quite handsome.

i

But the point has already been made.\ David doesn't
See

get to be King because of his looks: \ in fact it is
tas Ty

;

1

not because anything about David is kingly at al).
eee eT

fe

It's because God_sees something there which no one

ar
else can see.\ It's because God’s love penetrates a
Se ee fee EE

lot of sins,\ covers, accepts, forgives, empowers.

It's because we live in a state of grace.

The point - the point of the whole Bible -

the point of Christianity -\is that_God's love is

hot based on the productivity, \vatue or

accomplishments of human beings. \God loves us for
who We” we are. ( "Just as we are, “fall unrealized

=a

a,

— spp

a

We know now about the psychology of grace.

If grace is a bit of a stretch for you

Ween,
intelectual ty\ clinical psychology will document
Sg ee Eee ee.

its therapeutic reality. \ We know now that

acceptance is very close to the beginning of the
eS SSS Se

healing process; {that part of what has to happen is
eS —_ semen

a person's learning to accept, lio “own his or her
—a sees

own feelings and that it is healing when the
eee , ey

therapist does just that,\perhaps for the very

a a

first time in the individual's entire experience -
Sy,

actually accepts him/her, \doesn't judge or condemn
alle a Dealers 5 Pras Coos
or criticize, but_accepts.( 1) > ywohecd\, wey & Se +£i™s
So, ee . as coun sisting
. : wh waa “1
We Know now the reality of grace in ~ swt
==

physiolagical terns Medical science can tell us
od

that there is the power of life in grace and love;
Ce ee =, |

|
|

that little ones eat more, [steer more survive more
ee St =a eT
when they are stroked, cuddled, rocked and loved. ae

We know that one of the few things we can do fora |

re ea

newborn addicted te cocaine because of the mother’s | i
ee, \

. ee

Weal 6 With dramed. eaclir
en 6 3 a ah e

habit, is to hold on tightly and rock during the Aur Wass Gq

+ follosud ts houae”
shy Fevsed ~ relaxed u lup

~ Outs — Moriquta. 4. + sk clGuad

ural aS ow Cuadle A se wasn |
Bina | Su tse bra laueged,

f

Ske \Na&S Uwwarnted | uu Lowa A aobusel. |

‘Novena ahaa
‘nr cetiintleier ng

y+ sk wes sand, <b leash « YU!

vr — by Ry eka
~ ye gh A of Low . As

emia

VO &
(arey “Brazelto \s a Le dae to tan 9 0M
ow Sassy rf harvard Machic | Selena |. | Mee

sv decd + Worked Oxdeusiucl mW Ou

foal | 6 arly Chiidlink @iumwieal eox - -\tte
wet o Grn Oadicl Ser ERY THe | Ya dan

ene ne tar St

Urwarke , salouad | _clatd 3 Caumaged sever
chore leo SA Geer ale,

Qrvaln tells clont Crook locloies.. wha
Pecan Ag tftta akdick— OSE va prey youd,
what Jen, \faus us ere Cnr hd lm &
Syaih ttre SEC OAS , 4 aw + cous -| iu
Wow &» Wak oo low A Becanmn

QW

ee ray

—

cs | (Old ee) Dram clauye d

Ua Aeths__ olow (al dy me [afl

a \ We ALE darth fre br
_ ‘by See Cc. cca ball ln al d a

We Si cfc

COPorr

on out
oa conse
»

‘at

pe eof tttrarva 1. *
‘ at re is a very elementa
We Know now that there is a very itary

cause-and-effect relationship between grace and

We enable
fens se

our oe eee to love by loving eet, And we know,
eum

ea

I suspect, more than we'd like to admit, about the
—— ed ——

pain of relationships from which grace is absent:

Tove. We don't love until we are lov lo

the pain and anger of alienation... waiting for the
Cie

other to make the first move, \responding to one

—

another's sullenness, \getting angry at the other's
Ey

anger,\ retreating further and further into the
age

Ce ell

contained fortress of self... until the miracle of

ee

grace happens and one decides to stop keeping score

ee ee

and calculating offenses and waiting in stubborn

——— eee
resentment for the other to shape up - and simply
ne oY ea
walks across the room, becomes vulnerable and

egy

opens his or her arms and says, "I love you.

Grace. \The miracle,

ee
And we know, but do not like to know, about
[a j= oioane
the politics and economics of grace.\ My proposal
Ro SSS... Sen

for the most critical problem immediately
fe we eee ee

3- 17

confront in r ag ~- ae! — 9S upban :
he el, Gund Wer Gorn we ™ Dsric~
fe violence. Chicago Iribune columnist, Clarence Page,
wrote an excellent editorial leesilimmele about the

frightening new phenomenon of urban young people

killing 9 one another for Clothing ~ the right
wor Mea kere
Jacket, for instance. Se ‘Chicago may be leading the

a

kil 1-for-clothes _ trend he said. | Whatever

possesses a youngster to kill fh youngster for

a jacket I wonder, if it is not a complete absence
——— SS -

of the value of human life. age reflects:
————S—*

"Poverty alone does not lead into crime. { But those
Se

(RE —

who think they have no money or no power

Ae EE

undoubtedly have a tough time feeling good about

eel

themselves in a saciety that places so much value

tiie (Pe
on money and power.
"The resulting lack of self-esteem can result in |
nr ae

self-destruction, \including drugs, crime, street
ed SMA

oe

gangs or other hazardous temptations that rush in

SERIE rte ce

Go fill the self-worth vacuum....

Dur F esponet urban

\ cs dn our'lad ~hat might begin to exelain." savs Page, “why

y\Ounte —%

i. aqer jen\s| Our jouls are alicady 6 crowded wost

cies AT MW defraner poe i WA ome laws .| TL cead
set Tr wes Wap ppier dou \ sic

Mo quant pescudas oF AS owm_cilrums vas
~ Ureq or Tran of Sowet Wor or S. AGive ir Cyne —

iil aL \sa..\ Weide Yov ule SMAI Sin
Wighk get iL den ee Kiwis AS
eee May Chart Ciphers ~ NY a SO |

A bars Wu art. moralh,

young men in Harlem have a higher death rate than
their counterparts in Bangladesh." | (Chicago
Tribune, 3/21/90]

When there is no grace in the system, when
Sie ee

the traditional source of grace - namely stable,
loving and accessible families —- do pot exist and
where secondary sources Of grace - well funded,

PE

safe and effective schools, \and social services,
pe a

| ne ae
even churches - are not visible, accessible or
See oy,
don't exist,\ then we should not be surprised at not

only the inability to love, but the inability to

care and the consequent absence of value about life
eres

~ any life.

ea

We live in a state of grace -jor we aren't
| ee a

ee eee

living much.
ea

In the journey of life there have been people
for most af us, who had confidence in us:\ who saw
ee

something in us no one else could see;\ saw
as es Sle EE

something in us we ourselves didn't know was there, ane
Wire Sy

had trouble believing was there. \ We have been

blessed, most of us, by people along the way who in

one way or another said "yes" to us,| had confidence

tne

———

re 13

in us and their confidence had a powerful effect.

eh
Almost in spite of ourselves we began to experience
ee eee

a little self-confidence,(a little self-esteem. \ rf

the teacher thinks I can do it, \maybe I can | maybe
ee qe ee ee ee See
I can play the solo, memorize the Lines\, hit the

— —

batLwrun | ‘ \ she thinks J can do this:
hinks I could write poetry, | oO trigonometry,
— —_——eeey
become apwastr
(—) neurosurgeon... Maybe there is something here
<< ——

Yau + aur seta pretty important, at least potentially important.

dye ke pps cs ,~ They are our sears those cheerleaders who urged

w-\ ~ us on,\and whose graceful confidence in us gave us
yan cv

baal

rok ® ww sox confidence in ourselves.
we

We are blessed by them alang the vay. | We are

blessed by them stil]. | And the astonishing

assertion of Christianity is that even if you are

not blessed by people who love and accept you and

see potential in you and have confidence in you:

even if you never have been blessed, there is one
eS

| ia 7

who loves you and accepts you and knows everything

aS Se
about you -\all1 your flaws and failures and
ed bee eS

frailties - and still loves you.\ stil) sees your
eee 5 ie ey
I= 14

potential, still has confidence in you.
fie ee
One of the great ironies is that the religion
MR ee ee

whose purpose it is to announce this good news is

|

often better at reqinding us of our shortcomings
eet

| nore eloquent in

ooo

|

than reminding us of our value:
(te ll

|

describing our sin than our potential:\ more
Gao. --=

|

effective in making us feel guilty than giving us
eeu a

confidence for the journey.
renee. | [ei |

The great tragedy is that the Gospel is Src v
Ge

B... t

presented as a courtroom drama and we are on trial

- rather than a reunion_with the one who loves us

unconditionally.

To the psychology of grace, \the relationship
ES

of grace, \ the politics of grace 4 we add the grace

of Jesus Christ which says that the one who created
fenestra See Site:

you joves you [ancl accepts you and there is nothing
meme Sas ee

you have ever done ~ or can do — that will change
pee wae i

that love and that acceptance.
Sa

( Oh, you can hide from it\ You can ignore it.

You can choose to argue with it and about i t.| You

5 15

Vou Cow tn, yo bee slrous bh it aad
Cmdstuw & i - -

can doubt it,) disbelieve it and deny ie) au you

Le
cannot change it. \You can live as if you don't
os

ee

matter to anyone, \ but it isn't true because you do
ey

matter to someone. \ You can live as if your life
lie eee

has no value, but it isn't true\, Your life is
ee Lemna

Valuable to God.

David. back on the very edges of history, was
one of the first to learn it. He_was also a poet
(et i

Sh
and although we cannot know for certain that he
ee,

actually wrate Psaims,\ many of them are attributed
Bree: mm,

(Sree.

to him, including the most beloved of them all,

mea

titled "A Psalm of David"...

And I Tike to think that the opening words:
a= SS tern ee
("he Lord is my shepherd, I shal] not
have something to do with that day he remembered
7 ~ shepherd
all his life, [hen he was out Fal his father's

sheep |and old Samuel Jooked him in the eve, this

non-descript wisp of a boy, and said # “This is the

ae
=

J~ 16

And I like to think that all his vife,| on the
a ea
day his baby died,| the day _he | he had to hide from his

own troops, |the day they they told him his beloved son
was dead \; that David remembered that there was one
i

Re
who loved him and cared about him and had

confidence in him.
Pa |

And I Vike to remember that 1,000 years

tater \when Jesus, who had made the blind see, and

Gens
the lame walk, and the oppressed and beaten cown,
fama TR, Ee ORE eet

the unlovely and unloved, stand up straight and

tall... when id i
the city of Jerusalem one day, he crowds that came
RT

out to meet him said { "Hosanna to the Son of
a :
David!"

naar

ail : ,
And I like to think that as he faced that \a ot
WS

Wy Week with high intentionality and incredible
aos ee | yp

ee

bravery...\ and as he died an almost intentional
EE et
death, alone, that there was a strong confidence
=o, prsecm
which came from his own faith that God's love for

Sse

him was boundless.
And so, I like to think it is and will be for
se
each of us.
een

3- 17

"Amazing Grace! how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me!

I once was—lost, but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.

Bere T ean, let me say again Wheb «

= Orient hoe.
Thank - De. Bra 4s > could wot Nave been worr
accowndat 4 Lqgracey, fee AWwough We did MA. mm
Qs « | Wenmteous tel... : Cie of busy Churet Gres
mm are ik &B wk @asy he ye arecrous Wash |
You Cor learn. = \ot clanvt oa Church, - aw
muiste MK pelafwelg “M4 Vem shark Gerd
Fw 2 olwiwl Han samt ven, or
Weppermr are = eurdonwee os your fat flue
hu omdrtmn ef XG Warde WoL... Uov lou,
Mig chur - & ts Lord. ak th bes beeen

qa wy aH e pbk 7 t ft +(Whs

Cott qs bh Gosbrelic.
Chair -
+ Upe
Candy New UC Zul. shy -
wren WA wok DPelywr » Bou Te eres
Sars A- Ww Wh- We Wore

¢ reN\ ~ Ad ar MA

ead Saeki argiy
dos Wel, 9-29

THE SACRED JOURNEY
4, Power
John M. Buchanan

Fourth Presbyterian Church, Chicago

Scripture
Ezekiel 37:1-6, 14
John 11:1, 17-27

“And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall Tive...."
~Ezekiel 37:14a (RSV)

At the top of her career as a popu lar
a story Uses,
comedienne,fsomeone asked Phyllis Diller to what
—— ee ee ne
she attributed her ability to make people laugh.

She thought for a moment and said,\ "When you have

the matter of death resolved, the rest is easy." |

The distinguished psychologist Abraham

ger vou ™ s+
Maslow, was recuperating from i en attack when

he wrote to a friend

"The confrontation with death - and the reprieve
from it -makes everything look so precious, so
sacred, so beautiful that I feel more strongly than

ever the impulse to | love it, to embrace it, to let

myself be overwhelmed by it| My river has never

H- |

Jooked so beautiful... Death, and its ever present

possibility, makes love, passionate love, more

possible. | I wonder if we could Jove passionately,
if ecstasy would be possible at all if we knew we'd
never die.” [Rollo May, Love and Will, p. 99]

ANC SO, S#eaWetarenetere-aeke!:, Cmpretace

we come to the question that lies

SL Sy
the presence of the reality of death?

Ti te the cl.

beneath all our questions: \ how shall we live in

ha Were [FRAT .
tam, ee e leeeent than Macbeth... pha anes
: grack § F — Updrke Yd
“Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow lnk ~ +
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day, a ¢
To the last syllable of recorded time: ciate
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools Goes Wp
The way to dusty death... Cysactes
Along the way, this matter of death,| death in An wid FOK
er ont i aed ce sees ink terete. ta aceon ale
ro le \\ general and our death in particular, is something
, ‘ — ,
an “a aS ik _ * with which we must contend. It is not easy to do + +e
s dase’ _ messin — < is Soresk
+ yo so, \ It is a topic easily and conveniently ignored.
: ¥ —_
‘8 gh ¥ pws, \ in a culture whose values are success, powen,
ye a ional

$
oO
=
€
=>
¥f
=
1
NO

Se

y rele Ope

AE loool teack s§s Ununger SO (MW ds Ok ae dake dort A

bie sabe 4. )Dm CUA 48

: Leeing is |ike dec”
S0GA Youce LowaYaar di whs Kew
a \o cdo Winner ,

winning — death is the ultima

mii = irony \ the

i ultimate, and ineyits loss. [“the one who dies
c\aan> wcle et ~~ ; —
oe * with the most toys wins."| Perhaps, but the bottom
pet =.
gn — line is not much of a victory. U
kr, Our way of life insultates us from dying. bic & el,
ye ve ae” ‘cael Bir Sieh , Cntiesteeeeiy UA. \ recenr ot 3 &\
At weet wires, 5 titan iy inthe sterile isolation of a Reese
20 ay oe us ‘ee
at ctr \ ew Spital room. / the new pornography, ee
é Soc. We ted = _ Doch i Mey 08 WAM of Nu Aee.
= some : 7
yaw aa ey one note otsman George erty used to (pe wm Wey
Fatt ay & say that in his native land sex_was_upmentignab le
Mag Se

\
~~

ne fe
f Ye. ° a *
ow ob Bo
far 4d
py ph. Ue
\p* Ait 7
wo we
\3 6? vee

( vi
omanns
- prea tN

and all the jokes were about death.\ Today, in this

country, it's the other way around. | Death is

Pe aaa Be ae

unmentionable and most of the jokes are about sex.

And then one day you bump into jit: (2 dear
ce ed es

friend dies.\or you find you are Took ing at the

ee ee —

obituaries with more personal attentiveness than

Si

usual,\or suddenly, out of the blue, you are

Gita

reminded of your own mortality. Cave you noticed

Ce tm
that you will die?"/Annie Dillard asks innocently.

It is the most profound question with which the
ea,

artist contends, {the source either of a maddening
eT Te =

despair, \or perhaps the loveliest creativity. \ but

confront it we must, \and you can either deal with
eee

this matter or push it away \ back into the recesses
—_ ei

of your mind where it will not stay for long. \ The

famous existentialists Jean Paul Sartre and Albert

Camus agreed that there is a sense in which you are
a, —

not_alive until you embrace your own death... wtyich

is surely part of what Abraham Maslow meant. And

Mi OT ee

it is surely what happened to a peculiar prophet of

Israel] by the name of Ezekiel one day, but that
does get us ahead of ourselves.
sng tess talks \
T have been proposing that Grea QA qYood Wan
thesis to look at our own Tiyges is as as journeys of
faith, ey ourneys... that we are called to
eee See ete,

this journey by our creator, \oiven provisions along

the way, including the confidence we need. | have

been proposing that the story of God's people in
oe

the scripture of the Old Testament, is, in a sense,
fie | — see

a metaphor for the story of everyone of us; \rnat we
, aiaiated ay
can see our own lives and experiences in the mirror

ers a =
of the Bible... \the lives and experience of the

a oS

individuals in the story; but also in the whole, —

y- 4

sweeping panorama.
—EEEE
So we thought about Abraham and Sarah:
settled, mature, established, and how God called
ee ——— ——<$——=—s

them to pack up and move and made an unlikely

—_—

promise that they stil] had quite a future to live;
sh,

and how it is the nature of God to call us to the

adventure of living faithfully.
—T Se a
And we thought about the children of Israel
foes ee ey
after their unlikely liberation from Egyptian
Rene TE Tate

stavery (‘murmuring ‘in the wi Tderness,")complaining
to Moses because there was no food and no water,

| ae | ae

and how good the security of slavery looks when you

are in the wilderness: \and how when you know how
fee

hungry and empty and vulnerable you are, God

ale

provides for your deepest needs.
And we thought about how when God needs a
dete

King for Israet,\ the choice falls on someone who
eee atch ok Se AT

does not appear to be qualified, {a wisp of a lad by

the name of David, \and we thought about God's love
ey [ae

for and faithfulness to David even though David

does some terrible chins: and we considered the

a =,
U- 5

mystery that there is nothing we can do to cause
SESE

God to stop loving us. God sees possibility in

— Ey fm ee
allof us, and seeing our potential, has
confidence ‘in us.

Today, as we continue the story of God's

He’;
people, Journey

comes to a difficult time, a time of loss and

grief;{a time when it does not seem plausible that

meaningful life can go on. \ that, too, isa

ey

metaphor for a stage in life's journey for each of
Pini

us. \ But first the story.
It is about the exile, a very important
period in Biblical history. \ In the year 598 B.C.

the small Jewish state had become a nuisance to the

ascendant Babylonian Empire: \so the Babylonians

carried off a small group of Jewish leaders from

Jerusalem into Babytonian exile. \A temple priest

os = =. |

by the name of Ezekiel was among them. \ The
(ie

Jerusalem government entered an unwise military

pact with Egypt;\the Babylonians became very angry,

sent their army back in\ this time leveling the
Sed ees

city. executing the royal family.\and exiling the

L- 6

)
cyyloriaus were

pur Yous
Lae Cmaps
oy Cua pather -

\pu Wav ed a
hy setle m+
— QBeb. ove

Gn pw -

entire ruling class — the upper crust of Jerusalem
ee | Ee om,
society\ It would appear to be the end of the
ie ty Me NT

Tine. \ After their escape from Egypt, wandering in
Sa eS ow

the wilderness, { the conquest and settling of the

land, the unification of the people under a
monarchy... it would appear that Israel was

Soom,

confronting the fate of every earthly kingdom —-

extinction. YAfter years in Babylonian exile, the
Jewish community would simply disappear, melt into
wa ie T a
the prevailing culture of Babylon. Ezekiel,
Ce ee

without a temple to be a priest in, becomes a

prophet and begins to interpret the events he is
Eo

watching unfold, putting them in the larger gontext __ spud a

of God's will. and so it is that Ezekiel has a WAWA'S
vision of a valley strewn with bones, an eloquent Ove fe
Pave ive \s
symbol of aeet’=ef his nation's prospects. | Some
a is a
historians suggest that there actually was such a shee --

valley\\a battlefield where the armies of Israel

ee

lost to the Babylonian forces, that all those bones

were what remained of Israel's fighting force, \and
i A te,

that the exiles saw that sight on the long march

Bec oh

Lf- 7

into captivity.
In any event, it is a grim, but powerful

image. \ But, in his vision Ezekiel receives an

We a

Mimatgegr
will breathe breath into them and they will live.

ws ie
In the midst of death — life. \ In the midst of the
ee

astonishing promise. \ the bones will Tive. \ God

most eloquent image of human mortality - God's
= ee, a ae,

dearest promise of power to go on living.

The promise of faith is that God's love is
rr (eee.

more powerful than death and that therefore,

a

doesn't say much more than that on the subject. e)
aoe a_i

Rn ah

ultimately, there is no reason to fear. \ The Bible

—» The church, of course, has speculated endlessly on
ay

who gets in and who doesn't; religion has been

¥ ‘Lort vA entranced with the topic... f‘the guest list and the
“The fons Xn decor of eternity.")someone asec { The Bible
are wre ut doesn't. \ What the Bible focuses on is the promise

en oa
“ee - | Vife:\\ despair into jay, [and turns into over jor

living in the present for those who know it and
et ee

nae of God's eternal love which transforms death into

trust it.

een

Ove Sutter owrek Ne Bille sayy, “whiter

wa \it Or Ulute wa der, WH ae the Lord's.”

- Dorind. {the wid is (nwaert slay oclofyy ce
—

"IT will put my spirit in you and you will
tee

live,'| God says to the dry bones in Ezekiel's

dream‘\ and to anyone else who happens to feel like

those bones.\ ike death warmed over — which means
eed a

all of us, sooner or later.
——s —a ie
The simple truth is that on this journey
pe eit

there are going to be bad days.| It is not possible

yar ere Itimately to insu’ Fel It 3
ra ultimately to insulate yourself. | It is not

lee

possible to love very long without sustaining a
| eee

loss. \sigmund Freud taught that it is a primal and

basic fear and that every small separation in life

reminds us of final and ultimate separation.
ed

qe

It comes at us in different ways, of course.

ee _— as

The death of a loved one, |the death of our _own

grandparents and parents: \the random death of dear
oe Eee es,
friends.
People who measure stress say it is the most

traumatic thing that will ever happen to us.

deepal a Sometimes it comes in the form of the little losses
—.

See Tiale that occur along the way; Jon the day when we must

of lower our expectations, and let go of a dream, (and

mun C5 Leuns 5 Ged. rear Het lb en pears libres
Avr Xho rest of “the Laie

—z,

eileont | MAEEM ae -

slp om LW Mp
i pact ~ Yo} ocews Ww tou kappows

1 cw Se setts, meddle eqrd Becluler -
= 0. cM > ?

a

fact is that al twenty-five you don't know many of the “company of heaven"
excepl by reputution. Several decades Jater you know a lot of them: many
of then. The same thing happens with the hymn: ‘For all the Saints Who

from their Labors Rest.” You sing it. mostly unconsciously for twenty or
thirly years, enjoying Ralph Vough Williams' robust tune — and either
cringing at the imayes or else not thinking about them... “And when the

fight is fierce, the warfare long, steals on the ear the distant triumph
song, And hearts are brave again, and arms are strong, Alteluia!
Alleluia!" And then someone yon Jove dies — and the hymn becomes a very
personal and powerful affirmation of something your intellect, your reason,
cannot express or quite comprehend. [ stil] think archangels sound like
samething the Episcopalians thought up, but the “whole company of heaven"
is an idea T find I like more and more.

There is ne more important life task than coming to terms with less -
finding some means to cope with the fact of loss and diminishment. Annie
Dillar alls it “the extraordinary reul you have to pay as Jong as you
: “Eaton an columnist Judith LOTS has written a fine best seiler, sever (
NeceésstPy LOSSES, ‘Lewerrndajebedsnmenheompebieds decherreemshenmebeesLy.apanopppatad, Her a
thesis is that we not only have to endure an uningerrupted. sequence of
losses as Jong as we live, | we grow as human beings into our fullness only

to the degree that we cope with itbose Jesses: \ loss of loved ones, but also
loss of{("romantic dreams, impossible expectations, illusions of f power, and
the Joss ‘of our own younger self.” ) [p. 2]

We grow by Jetting go, she says and her illustrations are both funny
and also very poignant.

| "What am I doing with a mid-life crisis?" she asks.

“This morning J] was seventeen. |
I have barely begun the beguine and its |
goud-night ladies already.

While I've been wondering whe to be
whe I graw up someday,

my acne has vanished away and it's
sagging kneecaps already." [p. 298]

Fined
can make a gender translation when she describes fletting go of one e thing
after another:} our waistlines, our vigor, our’ § sense of adventure, our
T ini ove. = a Ltt osama

Viorst writes from a feminine perspective ‘Gisteie men, I believe,

20700 vision, Gur trust fice, our earnestness, our pla fulness, our

dream of being a tennis ste er a TV star, }or a senator, or the woman for
it . . ey .

whom Paul Newman finally leaves JoAnne. e give up hoping to read all the

ei, Serratia
books “we once Were bound to read, land to go to all the places we'd once
. ' ‘. ens eet beeen meena onal ne
vowét to visit. \We give up hoping ‘we'll save the warld from eancer{or fri from
. Pee Stil Daas al "
wal, {We even give up hoping that we']] succeed in becoming underweight.” 2

[h.. 301) , —

The loss of a family member produces the highest stress and the most
pain, but there are many losses along the way: the loss of children as
they grow and move away; the loss of job by retirement or by being laid
off; the loss of home and Friends when we move to a new city: the loss of

GC AVEC Acs\-o40¢ Ws

GC War chp Whe -
Wom, + felec - Wa, \ - be sed

the
d in this culture at this time it comes in
See Cees Y

the form of our obsession with youth and absolute

refusal to acknowledge a

ete

aS Ae oS Jessica Tandy

ma We OF
struck a blow for all of us... . but you notice

that the Health and Fitness ashesct ae the

newspaper 1

ace
, not

for ways to stay fit and healthy as you get older
and the task becomes more dif fic. difficult, \but acs 1 ads for "Ded
ee

——— a

Tiposuction and face rites et at 1. ways to deny ¥
the reality of aging and ad eon
eee

Mw 3S= YA! 4
How to live remains the question. | How to lovee. fl
find power to live in light of life's losses and ane ©
ee, RS ae f assiieddliine so 7 ps
the diminishments_of aging and the personal insult “A 4
f tality? \H hall I 174 a
of our mortality? \How shall Israel live in exile?

How shall we Tive through and beyond our losses? |W. oe
——— & nbs | Weolt clo +
The ancient promise is that death is part of ewe
's economy, jan it is not em not yA

God onomy \ana that it is ies an enemy ant
because it isn't real and tragic, which it is, \put *
because God's love creates life in its midst.\ Hard gph),

b- 10

— Se

}

to believe? \ you bet it is. \ and yet. there is a

eee OEE

gentle wisdom in God's economy; | peop Je who have
— as — Sy

thought about it for very long and with any depth,

ok

seem always to conclude that there is a wisdom ‘in

Le iieeell

this mortality of ours.

Maslow knew that without death there would be
no love, no passion, no ecstasy.
or [inane
John Updike i -

NY ot ae ;
We» YW") Self Consciousness, closes with an essay in which

he reflects on his own journey in maturing.

— oe, —
“Aging,” he savs, ("calls us outdoors, after the
es", qe ee

adult indoors of work and love-life and keeping

stylish, into the lovely simplicities that we

thought we had out-grown as children. \We come

again to love the plain world, \its stone and wood,

ee

its air and water...\ The act of seeing is itself

glorious, and of hearing, and feeling and tasting."
tp, 7X2

——

_

Frederick Buechner wrote that as a young man

a ies

he would have jumped at the chance to remain young

a

forever, but that he has changed his mind. Gi love
i 11

qraud sy
\nave sadn st mk, au WL wera
Osa raw, M isgvobh, coe qraud-b. hia oo, cs

&

——_

‘ ; ue We : Mee \ Ae Love —~ th
Mere ma Otay eT lou | Aad Ulte ?
pesgmsiny CIb is 8 fee lw )) lis ALG Tue see
AY> forget - G Worle didi t see Hows absolut ere)

—

eo is} Ww tou a crx somds -| how qed a heb, fees,
Witz7l, ay mld lta Se acho sees - 1? oes Wan

my life as much. as I ever did and will cling to it
for as long as | can\ but life without death has

become as unthinkable to me as day without night or
ee

waking without steep." ,\
ee
There is a sense in which we are given the
==
grace to love fully insofar as we acknowledge our
ee dal el
mortality, \ And there is a sense in which we are
en ST
given power to live fully_insofar as we can trust
God with our own death.
Cael ite Re
That_is what is going on in the 11th chapter

of the Gospel of John - in a New Testament story
a,

every bit as powerful and terrible and mysterious
ARR a my

SOMES TT,

as Ezekiel's vision - the raising of Lazarus.

It is the event that immediately precedes
eee ey
Jesus’ decision to go to Jerusalem. \r is the
ei te, meee eo

event that so frightens everybody that the process

is set in motion that will result in his arrest and

crucifixion. \ Ihe author ities understand with

perfect clarity, that one who has power over death

po. cceeieiienaiiaemeed oe

will threaten every other authority and power.\ So
SS .- =

they determine, as soon as they hear about Lazarus,
—— — i ee

u- = =12

to do away with him.
=—=The exiled community must look at the reality
of dry bones in order to know God's power of life.

eae Jesus must confront the death of his dear
ome ee were

eet
friend Lazarus - maybe his best and oldest
friend... must go to the tomb on a blazing hot Ho
Sere wei Sy
afternoon and there with the stench of death al] _ awe ee
around confront j sce
ecukkarthirs ¢ Stee os
When ‘the hears about Lazarus'

bag tne tage oh a .' dem aw
ews -

anything for several da £ PCat sta you

‘ing al days. : 5

are thirty-three and your best friend dies and vurw Dut

there’s a rumor that your life is in danger... you a ae"!
| bes swmthy

simp ly don't want to have anything to do with it.|

And when he finally arrives at Baer he weeps

a ww
AW freer

had

for his dear dead friend | for friendship gone,\ but
(een aie eee eg ao,
also for himsett.| Jesus, our brother, weeps tears
eel aus oe

of grief... for his own mortality.

What happened next will not be reduced to

words and perhaps should not be...

But faith knows that God created life_in the
es =

midst of death...
ee

Y-—~ 13

And that for Jesus, this drama will become
Wee a i oe
personal, as personal as it can possible become;
————4 eprint ee
that he will know the end of his thirty-three year
mee
old life and will have to either give it yp to

despair and cynicism and rage - or trust it to God.
— ——— —

That is a metaphor for what comes to all of
—— el

us and each of us on this journev..\ that day | or
<a e

string of days \ when we know our mortality and

must decide who we will trust and how we will live;
ese, a F ae Se

that dawwhen we must open our hands and let go of

those we dearly love and give them up to God, [and

then noticing how empty our hands are - give our
ee Rem fe

own death to God and in that giving, receive power
ieee, een fe ae

to live.
aed
The promise of the Gospel is this... in Jesus

Christ God has loved us. { That love gives us the
a a ee a

gift life...\ calls us to the adventure of living

faithfully.\ provides for our deepest needs...
———_ Seo eee

gives us confidence that we are adequate for the

chal lenges anc( how, that love promises there is

nothing ultimately to fear...\ There is no tragedy

H- 14

out. of which God cannot call new life.

I do not know how Ezekiel saw what he saw and

| eee

I do not know what happened that day when Jesus

ee

strode up to a tomb holding the dead body of his

friend Lazarus,\ but I believe what he said there is
ee ee

for you and_me:
—
[ "Take away the stqne, come out, unbind him
and let him |

That's for you and me.

‘coma the Mae ct EGee deve or Lant:\ dee for

te via lave Gadhdory,
the remembering of triumph) turned into tragedy

1 cosmos, betrayal and | and_ dene. [huni tiation and suffering...

er

and figally - the tragic, beautiful mystery of Good

Friday... epood Bourn ee now —
nous Age iba Sete ote
arduous Ait isa ouch eo tah

ec

because of the one who said,
(“1 am the resurrection and the Tife:\ he who

ee

believes in me, though he dies, yet shall he

ve”
Y~ 15

\ ow are Gn cla \d ft Gua
G.& Cieet? yw - Calla you © An re
Gowen e qow VE \ GI wpm --,

Gia ac yoy “We i, You- Bigxe