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“Our
Walk Of Faith Or Fear” Sermon Delivered By Rev. Dick Stetler – September
25, 2016 Centenary United Methodist Church
Psalm 66:1-12; Jeremiah 29:1, 4-7 This morning we
are going to discuss those periods in our lives when unexpected events
turn our lives upside down without any prior warning.
Last week, I
opened our service with a Scripture reference from Psalm 137.
It described the emotional paralysis of the Jews when they were
defeated and taken into captivity by the Babylonian military. Their
lives changed dramatically. By the rivers of
Babylon we sat down. There
we wept when we remembered Zion. We hung our harps on the willow trees
near by. Those who had made us
slaves asked us to entertain them.
They said, 'Sing to us a song about Zion.'
(Psalm 137:1f) Most of us live
our lives believing that our familiar routines, activities and plans
will remain firm and undisturbed. The older we get, the more we prefer
living at our own pace with the choices we make.
However, there are times when our lives experience a permanent
change that we did not see coming.
I experienced one of these moments not too long ago.
Steve was a
colleague and friend. When
he and his wife retired, they sold their property in Virginia and had a
home built to their specifications. They lived in their new home for a
month when Steve was diagnosed with a very treatable form of leukemia.
After he checked into Johns
Hopkins Hospital, he sent his wife home to retrieve his laptop computer
and other materials so he could continue working on a project.
The next morning never arrived for Steve; he died hours later.
We can multiply
this kind of unexpected circumstance across our lives.
Most of us have either had similar moments like this or we know
of people whose comfort zones and routines were completely shattered by
some event that was not even on their horizon. Think of the
families in California that fled several months ago during the time when
their entire housing development was being consumed by fire.
There were dramatic pictures of
what was once a tranquil setting in the wilderness where million dollar
homes were left in charred ruins. Last Monday the
morning news had a statistical analysis of the nations that have
generated hundreds of thousands of refugees that have been overwhelming
European countries in recent months.
We have seen
heart-breaking scenes of medical personnel in Aleppo surrounded by
wounded children lying everywhere there was a space.
Their resources and supplies desperately need replenishing. We saw lines of
tractor-trailer trucks loaded with supplies unable to get through to
where they are needed because agents from the Syrian government needed
to inspect each truck. We later learned that the entire convoy of
supplies was destroyed by air strikes. Hopelessness
has become a steady diet for
millions of people all over the world.
How are we to live in what appears to be such an unsettled,
troubled world? In our lesson
today, the prophet Jeremiah described a letter that he had written to
the priests, prophets and leaders of his people that King Nebuchadnezzar
had carried into Babylon. Like their distant relatives that were held
captive in Egypt a thousand years earlier, the Jews were looking to God
for deliverance. Jeremiah told his people that no one would be coming to liberate them. In essence, Jeremiah wrote, "Don't whine to God about your circumstances; adjust to what has happened to you and continue living in the present rather than wishing to return to what you once knew." These were his
suggested instructions on how to adjust to their new circumstances: Build houses and
settle down. Plant gardens
and eat what you grow. Marry
and have children. Let your children marry so they can help to increase
your numbers. Work for the
good of your cities. Ask God
to bless the people of Babylon because when they prosper, so will you.
Keep strong in your faith and heritage and know that God is with
you during your captivity as he was when you lived freely. (Jeremiah
29:5f) Jeremiah's wise
words are as applicable today as they were for the Jews thousands of
years ago.
When people find themselves in
life-challenging circumstances over which they have no control,
adjusting is the only alternative that will carry them into the
future confident in their resilience.
Life can be
like driving our car when all of the sudden we hear an alarming sound as
steering becomes more difficult to control.
We pull off onto the shoulder of the road and sit there with all
manner of thoughts and feelings flooding our spirits none of which will
change our flat tire. However, as soon as we adjust to our new
challenge, the quicker we will have the spare tire mounted and be on our
way.
The reason our species
has survived for eons is that we human beings have been endowed with
unique abilities and powers that are inside of us
when
we want to use them.
We can adjust with an
attitude that tells us, "Well, this is a new experience.
Let's see what I can do with it." Or, we can hold on to some
entitlement that is
permanently being taken away with anger, resentment and disappointment
as we blame everything and everyone that we believe caused the change.
There can be
nothing more illustrative of this latter response then the clashing of
cultural differences that we see in the news almost daily.
Among these news items are a
small number of people among the immigrants that are finding it
difficult to be assimilated into new cultures.
They want their host country to accommodate their practices,
routines and beliefs. This is
what the Jews experienced in Babylon.
Everything from their gods to Babylon's high standard of living
was vastly different. The attitudes
of all newcomers to a strange land will depend on whether they are being
controlled by fear or faith.
If they are energized by faith, they will adjust to their new setting
quite admirably. Jeremiah was
telling his people to live robustly rather than wait for deliverance
from what they feared they had lost.
However, not everyone is finding guidance and peace from their
faith. There are
numerous authorities on terrorism that are suggesting that a tiny
minority of people will continue to dominate the headlines with their
atrocities against everyone in the world that does not mirror their way
of life. We are told that we will have to live with such behavior as the
new normal. There is a lot of
truth to that, but this experience is not new.
We have always had the presence of unhappy people being a part of
our lives. A tiny minority
of unhappy people can create headlines like nothing else can. Think
about this: Hundreds of
California homes were destroyed by fires that were set by one man and a
match. ONE MAN AND A MATCH!
The arsonist who was responsible for this destruction is now in
custody. Try to imagine what
his personal unhappiness has caused in the lives of so many others.
While a few people can create havoc among the many, we also have
a choice to live by fear or by our faith regardless of what others do. What may never
be celebrated anywhere is what our lives are like living in Bermuda.
Bermuda's population is nearly identical to the city of Bowie,
Maryland where Lois and I have our home. Every place we have lived or
visited, our lives have always experienced being in a community where
everyone was serving one another in peace. Of course, we have
encountered our share of unhappy people, but they are only a fraction of
the inhabitants that provide the flow of goods and services in every
community. A perspective
that many of us have experienced in our lives was once described by a
psychiatrist acquaintance of mine when he wrote an article in the
Capitol Hill Group Ministry's newsletter.
Here is his impression of the community where Lois and I once
lived in Washington, D.C: Within the course of a week, I come into contact with people living
within a half mile from my home who have adopted America as
their home. The person who bakes bread for my family is from France.
My dry cleaning is done by Asians. There is an Italian tailor who
alters my pants. Two of my colleagues are from Pakistan and Germany.
We have Greek, Cambodian and Chinese cuisines within walking distance.
My favorite bank teller is from India.
The operator of the gasoline station where my auto repairs are done is
from Korea.
One of his mechanics is from Lebanon.
Our shrubs and lawn are meticulously maintained by landscape artists
from Mexico.
My personal physician is from the Philippines.
My ophthalmologist is from Ghana. My
accountant came from Israel. This is the way it is in most parts of the world but we need to
understand that absolutely no one is going to hold a press conference to
hear about the lives of happy, well-adjusted, highly energized and
industrious people that are doing their share in contributing to their
communities. Breaking news often
concerns events where camera crews are immediately dispatched to cover a
tiny group of people that are ventilating their unhappiness. When curiosity, ingenuity,
inventiveness, creativity and peaceful gatherings of family and friends
are what motivate our lives, we adjust to changes that come our way.
Why?
We are not holding on to anything but what needs to be done in
the present moment. Even in disaster zones, we are witnesses to the
damage. However, along side
the destruction, we see people helping each other to get out of harm's
way. We were born with this fabulous quality of resilience.
We also have a spontaneous response mechanism to come to the aid
of others who find themselves in a car accident, an earthquake or in
some other emergency. It is our loving energy that allows us to remain at peace among the other 7.6 billion people of the world. Let us never forget that love's flaming energy can never be extinguished by a tiny group of unhappy people that can appear quite determined to put it out. |