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“Does Our Faith-Storyline
Still Work?” Sermon Delivered By Rev. Dick Stetler – October
15, 2017 Centenary United Methodist Church
Philippians 4:1-9; Luke 14:15-23
This message was part of a
celebration during the 75th Anniversary Year of Cheverly United
Methodist Church Right now, words and
historic illustrations are flooding my mind as I stand here looking at
all of you. Thanks to the
gracious invitation of Reverend Lillian, I am able to deliver a message
from this pulpit that last occurred 37 years ago.
Since that time, all our lives have continued nonstop down our
individual rivers of collected memories. The Overgaard family reunion is what brought us across the pond
for two weeks. So, Sue and
Steven are with Lois and me as are my twin sisters, Ruth and Jane.
Other members of our extended family have also joined us.
This morning's service provides a lovely occasion for a number of
reunions. For me, this Sunday is filled with a lot of symbolism.
I am the only active pastor left
in the Baltimore-Washington Conference that was ordained by the Those of you that know me well may be questioning why I would
wear a robe that looks like this.
This morning, I have chosen to wear my dad's pulpit robe, not
only to honor his memory but also to bring another symbol into our
anniversary celebration. Debbie Davis, who is here this morning, did a magnificent job in
assembling hundreds of pictures of former
memory-makers who made this
church facility possible.
Viewing them, however, has given me great pause when I realize that I
knew personally most of the key players featured in those pictures.
These were the movers and
shakers of our church's earliest days.
This May, I will be celebrating
my own 75th anniversary of being on the earth.
My family moved to Cheverly when I was 18 months old.
Believe me, the math works out. My temptation this morning was to discuss certain historic events
that fueled the evolution of two massive building programs and three
distinctly different congregations that came and went through the doors
of this church during my dad's 35 years of ministry in this church.
I have resisted that temptation because life is not about looking
in the rear view mirror.
Life is about moving forward into an uncertain future with
courage and faith as we continue our evolution as
spirit-beings. The question I
want us to explore this morning is this:
Has our faith-storyline
continued to nourish us as it did during our earlier days?
Or, has that part of our lives
become a matter of concepts and core-beliefs rather than a relentless
resource of life-expanding
experiences? We know from our
Gospel lesson today that we are no strangers to having our favorite
excuses for not participating in what will feed our spirits.
Coaches are now using Sundays for athletic practice for our
children. Churches are in
competition with so many other activities taking place on Sunday. Some
of us have to go to work on Sundays. How
about this one: "We want
our children to make up their own minds when they are old enough to
understand." These are up-dated versions of the excuses listed in Luke's
Gospel. (Luke 14:18-20) Just how important is church attendance where we sit for a
considerable time looking at the backs of other people's heads while
listening to some preacher talk about what he or she believes will
nourish our spiritual journey? This question about church attendance is
rather judgmental, but it accurately defined my personal understanding
of what attending church was like when I was a teenager. After services at St. Matthew's, occasionally the ushers would bring notes to me that people had written to each other during our worship experience. Here are some of them that clearly demonstrate how my carefully crafted sermons kept members of my congregation riveted to their seats as they listened intently to all the pearls of wisdom I was sharing: As I mentioned, when I was a teenager, there came a time when I
no longer wanted to tolerate Sunday mornings. I was bored out of my mind
from listening to my dad's sermons.
One Sunday, the six of us were sitting around the table eating
our Sunday dinner when I made my request.
When I heard my dad's response, I asked my mother if she could
remember one thing that dad had said in his sermon that he had just
delivered earlier that morning. She hesitated for quite some time and
then admitted that she could not recall anything. I was so excited that my mom came through for me with the
evidence that I needed. I
exclaimed, "I rest my case!"
Without batting an eye, my dad said, "Your case has been heard,
your evidence has been considered and your frivolous argument has been
denied and dismissed."
However, he was noticeably disturbed by my mother's
wonderful response. Because my parents made church attendance a requirement for all
of us, something interesting occurred.
If my dad ever repeated a sermon or used an illustration that he
borrowed from another day, I knew instantly that he had done so.
Something in me had been listening and absorbing what I
heard while my attention was clearly elsewhere.
This happens to all of us.
Many of the qualities of
our character and the values we develop are not the result of our
choices. They have become a
part of us through the process of
absorption from the personalities that surround us, from the
interpretation of our news by commentators or our choice of reading
materials. The building
blocks for who we are becoming can be absorbed from many sources. This
morning, can each of us point to the sources that nourish the spirit by
which we live? What
is feeding us? What
is causing us to decide this way instead of that way?
These questions are worth
pondering. Have we become so self-sufficient that feeding our spirits has
been put on the back burners
of our lives? Is this process something that we take for granted? The
changes to our identity happen so slowly that it often goes unrecognized
by us. Sometimes economic security can shield us from the countless
fears that once invited into our minds all of those
Yes, but what if discussions
that we once had with ourselves. The Apostle Paul gave his readers a point of entrance for
evaluating the quality of their consciousness. He wrote: Do not conform
yourselves to all the values that you find in this world,
but let the source of love transform you inwardly by a complete
change of your mind.
Then you will be able to know the will of God and share your discovery
of the power of loving energy with everyone around you.
(Romans 12:2) We do not need
to look too far to understand that people in our society, who believe
that they are self-sufficient, are starving to death spiritually.
Church attendance for many
people may be an ancient memory.
In fact, recent generations may have no idea of what we are
talking about this morning. We can look to isolated cases like the one that happened recently
in What may be more important is the number of people who are
filling their lives with responses of unhappiness because their world is
not the way they want it. People
have either forgotten or were never taught that nothing in this
world has the power to make us happy. Daily
happiness and fulfillment come from only one place. We demonstrate
happiness and fulfillment because we have chosen specific qualities of
spirit by which we live. Continually,
we need to polish our own stone, a thought I tried to instill in
teenagers and young adults years ago.
Many times, I wish that each of us could die for a period of time
and then be successfully resuscitated. From listening to people's
testimonies throughout my ministry who have done just that, I can tell
you unequivocally that you would not return to this life the same person
you were prior to your death. What
can shatter our concepts and our strong core-beliefs is having a
mystical experience -- a brief encounter that gives us a glimpse of what
is on the other side of
the curtain.
Jesus had one of these experiences at his baptism that so
shattered his life that he had to redefine his identity after a period
of wandering in the wilderness.
He abandoned the cultural war-god Yahweh and gave the world a
loving, compassionate God. He also moved the thinking of his followers
beyond the Torah as he
taught, "You have heard it said, "Love your neighbors and hate your
enemies, but now I tell you love your enemies." (Luke 6:27f)
Saul of Tarsus had one of these experiences that radically
changed the course of his life. Think
of it! He had wealth, the
privilege of being a Roman citizen, was a Pharisee of letters and he was
born into the coveted Tribe of Benjamin.
After his encounter with the resurrected spirit of the one whose
followers he was persecuting, he called
his pedigree, "Nothing but
pure garbage." (Philippians 3:8) Once our lives have been touched by the opening of a door to the
loving energy of spirit in all its many forms, our lives are never the
same. The door was there
all along, but often people are so busy with the issues of this world,
they cannot see it. Once we get a peek of what is on the other side of that door, our
attitudes are elevated by optimism and our judgments are filled with
love, joy, peace, faithfulness, humility and self-control just as Paul
wrote in one of his letters. (Galatians 5:22)
There
is nothing more beautiful than redefining our lives because of an
experience that teaches us that this life is not our final destination.
Many years ago, a ten-year-old boy developed terminal leukemia.
In those days there was little
that the medical community could do to bring the condition into
remission. He delivered the
newspaper each morning to members of his community. Everyone receiving
this news of his illness was emotionally devastated.
His parents were people with strong faith, but the news of this
reality pushed them to a breaking point. They asked their pastor, "How could a loving God who knows the
spirit of our son do nothing?
What good is prayer when God remains silent?"
Their young, and inexperienced pastor knew that no words he could
offer would help them to understand what they were not prepared to
receive at that moment in their lives. Stephen's parents brought him home because they did not want him
to die in an institutional setting. His health declined to the point
where he could no longer talk.
He could no longer take nourishment without choking. He had no
strength even to lift his head.
They kept him hydrated by giving him teaspoons of water. After
months of being his caregivers, the day came when Stephen died.
What
happens to our
faith-storyline during times like these?
We may lose a loved one.
With all the mergers and acquisitions between companies today,
more people are receiving pink
slips. Today, marriages often do not last.
Dreaded diseases take up residence in our bodies.
Fears and anxiety attacks can come that drive smiles from our
faces. Our confidence and self-esteem can remain in
the basement of our
identities. After receiving the news of the young boy's death, their pastor
dreaded going to the family's home.
He knew that he had nothing to offer them but his silent presence
and support. When he
arrived at the home, he found both of them smiling and welcoming.
He was stunned by their greeting.
He had the presence of mind to ask, "Did you two have an
experience that has reassured you of God's presence?"
They both smiled and said, "We sure did!
How could you tell?
Are we glowing that much?" In the middle of
the night we heard our son call out, "Mom and Dad, come quickly!" We had
not heard his voice for months.
We ran to his bedroom and turned on the light. He was resting on
his side, propped up on his arm and he spoke to us with a clear,
enthusiastic voice. 'Do you see the angel standing at the foot of my
bed? He has come to take me
and I want to go with him.
Isn't he beautiful? I asked
him if I could first say 'good-bye' to my mom and dad.
Inaudible words appeared in his head, 'Call your parents,
Stephen. I can wait.' Stephen
said, 'Mom and Dad, I love you very much, but I must leave you now.
I know that you and I are going to be okay.'
We both stood there
speechless as something miraculous was unfolding. We had no idea where
his voice and strength had come from. Tears were streaming down our
faces. We could not see what he was seeing.
Both of us watched our son's
eyes follow something that
was coming up along the side of his bed.
Stephen sat up and reached out with both arms as if he wanted to
be picked up. Then his body
fell back on his pillow as his spirit left his frail body. These last
moments with our son have completely changed both of our lives.
We now realize that our lives here are only a part of a
remarkable process. That
angel gave us a life-changing
gift that had God's love written
all over it. The man who told this story to my seminary class was that
young and inexperienced pastor.
His name was Dr. L. Harold DeWolf who later became Dean of Wesley
Theological Seminary. He also was invited to offer one of the tributes
at the memorial service of another one of his students from Boston
University School of Theology -- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. As self-sufficient as many of us feel, we need a spiritual
connection to what comes next.
There is a lot of noise in
this world that challenges our
faith-story line. This noise lifts up imagery that evokes our
emotions and can manipulate our thinking.
No matter how excited we
become by the issues that come up for us during our earthly experience,
please remember that none of it exists in the environment that comes
next. We need to learn about our potential to reverse our energy flow.
The more we send our loving energy away from us, the more that
energy will expand as we become solution-oriented rather than being
engaged in fault-finding. We
need to remember what Jesus asked the Apostle Peter three times,
"Peter, Do you love me?
Feed my sheep." We cannot feed anyone if
the noise of this world has
been allowed to empty our
pantry. Learn
to live a lifestyle filled with attitudes that you will find useful when
you leave your bodies.
If you can navigate in this world peacefully and lovingly, as
Jesus taught his followers to do, your
faith-storyline has served
you well and will support you with what comes next. Your ability to make your faith-storyline visible is your gift to everyone around you. Keep feeding your ever-expanding faith storyline. There is no better place to do this than to be included within a community that makes our world a more loving and wholesome place to live because of what that group does to follow Jesus' invitation to "Feed my sheep." |