Turn North, Again.

Sermon manuscript for Green Lake Church for Sabbath, August 26, 2017

Texts: Deuteronomy 2:1-7;  Acts 16:6-13

A few weeks ago, I was on my bicycle heading home. I was coasting downhill on a road that crosses through a wetlands area. Ahead I noticed a kid standing in the weeds on the right side of the road down at the bottom of the hill. It seemed odd for him to be just standing there, not doing anything. I got closer and noticed his skateboard. Then got even closer and saw that there was another kid behind him. The second kid was on the ground on one knee and leaning over.

I slowed to check on them. “Did you crash?” I asked. Then I saw the kid's knee. It was pretty banged up. His arm had some road rash. His shirt was ripped on the shoulder. He wasn't gushing blood. He could even smile. But he was hurting. The standing kid assured me they were going to be okay. They had called his mom and she was on her way. The kid on the ground winced at his pain and insisted he was going to be okay.

I could see the mix of pride—they were tough. And pain. It really did hurt.

They were lucky he wasn't scraped up worse than he was. The hill is long and steep. In fact, the hill is fast enough that on my bicycle I quit peddling about a third of the way down and just focus on not crashing. I can not imagine riding a skateboard down that hill. The smallest pebble or irregularity in the pavement would be disastrous. But these boys could imagine trying. They went for it. And oops!

Someone landed in the weeds.

Mom got called. At least they didn't have to call 911.

Falling. It's the price of glory.

In our congregation we have serious bikers. One of the ways I know they are serious is their stories of trips to the hospital, the pictures I've seen of them wearing neck braces and casts. When you skate or ride a bicycle you don't aim to crash. You aim at glory. But it is almost guaranteed that if you aim at glory frequently enough, some time you will crash.

So what do you after you crash? I guess that depends on how bad the crash was. You might call mom. You might have to call 911. If you're lucky, you'll collect a cool story of a miraculous, narrow escape and you'll get back on your bike and ride on.

Like Alycia's fantastic “dismount.” She and David were mountain biking. She hit something, flew over the handle bars and LANDED ON HER FEET!!!!!!! David wishes he had a video. I wish he had a video!

What do you do after such a fall? Get back on the bicycle.

What do you not do? Spend a lot of time thinking about the fall or crash. If you do, you'll quit skating or riding. You'll quit dreaming.

This principle applies with great force to spiritual life.

How shall we respond to our spiritual and moral falls? After the fall, get up and go at it again again. Aim again at glory.

Some of us deal with addictions of various sorts. Alcohol. Drugs. Anger. Sexual misconduct.

I am not minimizing the damage that addictive behavior does to ourselves and to our families and friends and even to larger society. When we get drunk we are setting ourselves up to cause harm, sometimes awful harm. When we fall again to the seductive call of a drug, it's a terrible fall. It's a dangerous fall. There's no telling how much damage we might cause ourselves and others.

Still, the question stands: What shall we do afterward? When we have crashed, when we are hunched over on the ground bloody and hurting, what is the next step?

Let's refuse to squander life and energy in remorse and regret and self-hatred. Let's turn our lives again toward holiness, toward life.

Call someone. Get rid of our stash. (Don't flush it down to toilet. Put it in the trash where it won't pollute Puget Sound.) Make an appointment with a counselor. Go to an AA meeting. Take action toward wholeness—and know that God cheers every step you take in the right direction.

Let's look at our two Scripture passages.

The story of Israel. God rescued them from Israel and directed them north toward Palestine, the Promised Land. But they were a mess. They kept screwing up. It finally got so bad that God suspended the journey north. They had to wander around in the desert for decades. Their story was the typical story of addiction. Repeated, weary failing. Two steps forward, three steps backward. It's depressing to read.

After four decades, God tells Moses, “You've been wandering long enough. It's time to resume your march toward the Promised Land. Head north.” So they did.

But like real life, their story continued to be up and down, backward and forward, failure and then, try again. The constants were the destination: Always the Promised Land was their destination. And turning again toward glory after they failed. Over and over and over again.

The New Testament reading adds adds an important element to this story.

In Acts 16, we read about the Apostle Paul on one of his missionary journeys.

Paul and Silas traveled through the area of Phrygia and Galatia, because the Holy Spirit had prevented them from preaching the word in the province of Asia at that time. Then coming to the borders of Mysia, they headed north for the province of Bithynia, but again the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them to go there. So instead, they went on through Mysia to the seaport of Troas. That night Paul had a vision: A man from Macedonia in northern Greece was standing there, pleading with him, "Come over to Macedonia and help us!" So we decided to leave for Macedonia at once, having concluded that God was calling us to preach the Good News there.

The church celebrates Paul as the Great Missionary Apostle. He was called by God in a dramatic fashion. Under the call of God, he sets out to preach the gospel. But notice in this passage, his failures. He tries to go to different places and it doesn't work out.

He doesn't give up and go home. He tries again. And again. And again.

Finally, he has a vision that he interprets as a call to yet another place. He and his disciples follow this lead and the missionary trip continues.

Sometimes we imagine that if we are faithful to God, life will be smooth sailing. But here in the story of Paul we see that even the most famous missionary in the history of the church had abortive efforts, failed attempts. He dealt with these failures by simply trying again.

So let's devote ourselves to the pursuit of holiness.

And when we fail. Get up and go again.

Knowing that just as God kept company with Israel through their great failures and kept company with Paul through his small failures, God will keep company with us.

Perfect

8/12/2107

Green Lake Church of Seventh-day Adventists

Sermon manuscript for 8/12/2107 at

Green Lake Church of Seventh-day Adventists

Text: Matthew 5-7
Occasion: Megan's baptism.

If you go to Megan's mother's Facebook page and click on photos then click on the appropriate album, the first picture that comes up is an archer. String drawn, bow bent, arrow aimed at the target out of the picture to the right.

Studying the picture I can feel the tension in Megan's right arm, the responsiveness in her left arm as it tracks with her eye which is drilled on the target. As I imagine the last few seconds before the release, I can almost feel in my own head her hunger for a bull's-eye. She remembers hundreds of releases. She remembers the last time she stuck it, dead center. Again. She wants it again. Feels it in her arms. Looks for that perfect place, then lets it fly.

Bull's-eye!

YES!

Let's do it again. And again. And again.

When I was a kid, my mother read us a kids book featuring Native Americans. One of the stories featured people in the lake country of Minnesota. The boy featured in the story is invited to accompany his father and uncle on a night hunting trip. They make a small fire in a basket of sand attached to the front of their canoe. When a deer stops to stare at the fire, visible only as a pair of eyes, the father shoots it with his bow and arrow. The son is astonished. “How can you aim an arrow when you cannot even see it?” The boy asks.

The father responds, “Can you point your finger in the dark?”

The bow and arrow had lived so long in the father's hands they were mere extensions of his body. He only had to see where he wanted the arrow to go. This mythical union of bow and arrow and body is the ambition of every archer. We dream of the place where our only quest is to see clearly the target with the full confidence our arrows will follow our eyes.

This is the point of practice. To train our arms and legs, indeed every muscle in our body, to unite with our eyes in seeking the target. Every archer dreams of burying an entire quiver-full of arrows inside that small red circle at the center of the target, a whole quiver-full of bull's-eyes.

That would be heaven.

This is also our ambition as Christians. We dream of our bodies acting as flawless expressions of our spiritual vision. We dream of a day when every interaction with other people expresses the integrity and generosity of Christ. When every words we speak is true and courteous. When every thought is pure and noble.

That would be a glorious day. That would be even more exciting than a whole quiver-full of arrows.

In our New Testament reading today, we heard the words of Jesus that form the conclusion to the Sermon on the Mount, the constitution of the Kingdom of Heaven. Allow me a paraphrase: Line up your life with my teachings and you'll be pleased with the long term results. Don't line up your life with these teachings and you'll wish you had.

What does it mean to line up our life with the teachings of Jesus? Jesus offered a number of specific instructions. Use your words to build and heal, never to destroy or deceive. Be faithful in your relationships. Recognize the moral significance of the cultivating desires. Tell the truth. Always. Simply.

Then Jesus offered this simple, comprehensive challenge: Be perfect. Just like God. What is the perfection of God? Jesus summarized it this way: God sends rain on the just and the unjust. God shines his sunshine on the deserving and the undeserving, on Republicans and Democrats, on Russians and Americans, and even on North Koreans. Be like God. See every human being as a human being. Even if you are a police officer and deal with the most broken and dangerous human beings, work to remember that even as you thwart their evil, even as you protect the public and yourself—remember these criminals are broken HUMAN BEINGS and deserve some measure of respect because they are the children of mothers like your mother. They are children of the same heavenly Father who gave you birth.

It is an incredibly high ideal. Be perfect, just like God.

Let me go back to the archer for a minute.

Imagine you are a beginner at Sunset Lake Camp. (That's where Liz took the picture of Megan.) The instructor lays out the rules to keep everyone safe then shows you how to hold the bow and arrow. Then because unlike Megan, you are a bit clumsy, the instructor gives you some personal attention, adjusts your fingers, touches your elbow to move it into a better position. You shoot and your arrow gets lost in the trees off to the left. You shoot again and your arrow goes into the dirt. You shoot a whole quiver full of arrows and none of them even hits the hay bales holding the target. What does the instructor do? Gives you another quiver full of arrows and sets you back to shooting.

Over time you learn to control your bow. The arrows begin finding the hay bales and then the target and then you hit a bull's-eye. You do a little dance. And then try to do it again.

By the end of camp you've hit the center of the target three times. What do you dream of all winter long? Returning to camp and signing up for archery again. You dream of putting an arrow in the cneter of the target and a second arrow smack against it. And another arrow smack against those two. A whole quiver full of arrows in a tiny circle at the center of the target.

Not all of us are archers but we are all Christians. As Christians we dream of landing every word, every act, even every thought smack in the center of perfection. It is the only goal worth our devotion.

Be perfect, Jesus says, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.

When I was in college and seminary, this challenge by Jesus often formed the center of fierce arguments. The arguments were driven by fear. What would happen if you didn't achieve perfection? Some people insisted it was possible to reach perfection with the help of the Holy Spirit. Others argued perfection wasn't possible and it wasn't really the goal anyway. Jesus talked about perfection just to highlight how screwed up people were so they would accept forgiveness.

I laugh those arguments now.

Of course, flawless perfection is not possible. But it is the only goal worth aiming at. Archers don't dream of hitting the target sometimes. They dream of hitting the bull's-eye every time. It's why they sign up for archery at camp.

As Christians, as devotees of Jesus, we aim at moral and spiritual perfection. We aim to be like God. If our aim was only to be “pretty good” why call it Christian.?

Part of the emotional force lying behind my school days arguments about this saying of Jesus was our fear of failure. What would happen to us if we did not manage to put every arrow in the center of the target? In the world I grew up in, failure to put every arrow in the center of the target meant that at the end of the week the instructor was going to throw me into hell. With this threat hanging over our heads no wonder we tried to come up with a standard other than perfection.

But what does the instructor really do at the end of the week at camp? The instructor commends you for your improvement and hopes you'll come back next year and make even more progress. The instructor knows that when you come back next year, you'll devote more energy to your grand goal of sinking every arrow in the center of the target.

In the middle part of the Sermon on the Mount, chapter six, Jesus offers a series of pictures of God. Every one of them designed to give us reassurance. Don't pray desperately because God is always watching and already knows your needs. Don't worry about your future because God will take care of you. We do not have to struggle to win the affection and favor of God. Like every good mother and every good father, God regards us with abundant affection and warm regard from our first day to our last.

On the other hand, Jesus also taught that the best life comes from pushing ourselves to do the right thing. The best life comes from vigorous, persistent moral effort. Aiming at perfection.

It's easier to eat ice cream than it is to go for a walk. But for most of us the walk will contribute more to our long term happiness, especially if we do it frequently.

It's easier to spend money than to save money. But for most of us the savings will contribute more to our long term happiness, especially if we make it a habit.

When someone offends us or hurts us, sharp words are an easier response than peace making words. But usually the peace making words will do more for our future happiness.

Following impulsive desires is easier than cultivating our desire for goodness. But goodness will build a happier life.

Telling the truth is sometimes harder than making up stuff, but telling the truth yields better fruit.

Practicing seeing our enemies as children of God is difficult but it pays enormous dividends.

Be perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect.

Because we are children of God.

And because life words better that way. For us. And for the world around us.

Sure, we will miss the target sometimes. We will lose some arrows in the woods.

But God gives us another day, another quiver full of life.

Tomorrow, we begin another week as children of God. Let's take this gift of life and aim again at the very highest ideal. Let's aim to be perfect just like God.

Tell the Truth

Sermon manuscript for Green Lake Church of Seventh-day Adventists for Sabbath, August 5, 2017

Texts:  Malachi 3:5-10, Matthew 5:33-37.

Tell the truth.

That's what we do, right?

We do what we promise. We acknowledge when we have made a mistake.

We tell the truth.

That's what we do.

That's the way it is in the kingdom of heaven.

To quote Jesus:

You have also heard that our ancestors were told, 'You must not break your vows; you must carry out the vows you make to the LORD.' But I say, do not make any vows! Do not say, 'By heaven!' because heaven is God's throne. And do not say, 'By the earth!' because the earth is his footstool. And do not say, 'By Jerusalem!' for Jerusalem is the city of the great King. Do not even say, 'By my head!' for you can't turn one hair white or black. Just say a simple, 'Yes, I will,' or 'No, I won't.' Anything beyond this is from the evil one. Matthew 5:33-37.

No need to get all fancy and emphatic. Just say what you mean. And mean what you say.

Tell the truth.

We can easily imagine complicated situations.

When the cashier at the grocery story asks, “How are you?” do I have to explain that my dog just died or my child was just diagnosed with a learning disability or that my car just cost me $853 and I had other plans for that money? Or can I just say, “Fine, thank you.”

A story I read again this week in preparation for today's sermon:

Roddie Edmonds was shipped to Germany near the end of WWII. He and his unit were caught up almost immediately in the Battle of the Bulge and captured. They were shipped to a POW camp. Edmonds was the senior officer among 1275 prisoners. Toward the end of the first day in camp, the camp announced that the next day only Jewish soldiers were to line in the morning after roll call.

Edmonds who was a Christian told his men they were not going to comply with the order. The Geneva Convention said the only identification the Germans could require was name, rank, and serial number. So the next morning all 1275 Americans stood at attention.

The German officer was furious. He hollered at Edmonds, you can't all be Jewish.

“We are all Jews here.” Edmonds insisted.

The officer pulled his pistol and pointed it at Edmonds forehead. You will order your Jewish soldiers to step forward. Edmonds reminded the officer of the Geneva Convention, then said. "If you shoot, you'll have to kill all of us, and you will have to stand for war crimes after we win this war."

The German officer put his gun away and Edmonds Jewish soldiers were saved. It is not known how many of Edmonds soldiers were actually Jewish. Perhaps as many as 200 were.

Was that telling the truth?

These are interesting diversions. Do we have to tell the truth when someone asks, “How are you?” Do we have to tell the truth when doing so will get someone killed? These kinds of questions are most just distractions. The challenge Jesus issues is: tell the truth.

Keep it simple and pure. Tell the truth.

Among citizens of the kingdom of heaven, the purpose of a contract is simply to help us remember our promises. We do not use words as clever devices to trick people. Rather we use words to communicate clearly our intentions, our convictions, our decisions.

"Yes."  That's what we say when we mean, yes.

"No." That's what we say when we mean, no.

"I don't know." That's what we say when we don't know.

We tell the truth.

When it's to our advantage, we tell the truth.

When it's to our disadvantage, we still tell the truth.

Sometimes, in the complicated pressure of a moment, we might distort the truth. If that happens, later when our conscience wakes up and we realize we have departed from the truth, we confess our error. We make amends. We apologize. We return to the truth. When we have confidently and honestly said something that was incorrect. We own it. We acknowledge our error. And return to the truth. At the heart of our theology is an ineradicable conviction that God tells the truth. Since we are children of God, truth telling is what we do. It is what we return to every time we slip.

Truth is our native tongue.

It is the indispensable homage we pay to God.

So, let's tell the truth.