“An Approach to Understanding God”

Sermon Delivered By Rev. Dick Stetler – July 28, 2019

Centenary United Methodist Church

Psalm 85; Luke 11:1-13

 

    This morning we are going to discuss how to address matters-of-life when we talk to God.  People often approach God like they would an automatic teller machine, a fairy god-mother, or a Harry Potter who owns a powerful magical wand.  They can also talk to God in much the same way that they would speak to a long-time, intimate friend.  No posturing is necessary like folding our hands, our eyes closed, and kneeling beside our bed. 

    It is only natural for people to want a formula that works for how to approach God with a request, a need, or a deep desire for help in coping with afflictions like Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, Multiple Sclerosis, and other debilitating conditions.

    The Scripture lesson for today appears to have such a formula that describes how we should understand God. It is up to us to understand what is possible and for interpreting what is going on when our prayers go unanswered. In our lesson, we find these words:

Ask and you shall receive, seek and you will find, knock and the door will open to you. Would any of you who are fathers give your son a snake when he asks for a fish?  As uninformed as many of you are, you know how to give good things to your children. How much more, then, will the Father in Heaven give good things to those who ask him. (Luke 11:9f) 

    How many times do we hear people talking about how God has richly blessed them, how good God is every day, and how God has opened doors for them after they prayed for guidance?  They claim that those doors of opportunity were not visible before they prayed.  

    We also have heard numerous examples of people who have become extremely distraught with God when a child develops a malignant brain tumor at the age of two and dies as a result. 

    Brides have planned outside weddings without giving much thought to the eventuality of poor weather conditions.  When that eventuality becomes real and is accompanied by gale-force winds, lightning and torrential rains, God may be blamed.  Why did her faith and complete trust in God not work?

Is it a good practice for people to give God the glory and praise for blessing them when many others have not had such an experience?  This is an interesting question. To be fair, praising God can be a heart-felt response that is most sincere even though God may have had little or nothing to do with the results of someone's life.  What many people have done who feel blessed is access their inner world and created something of value out of what they found.  How do each of us define being blessed? 

    Each of us enters the physical world from our mother's womb equipped with a unique potential.  Everyone is born with potential that may be as different as our fingerprints. This is what Jesus was describing when he said, "How much more, then, will the Father in Heaven give good things to those who ask him."

    Some people benefit from finding and developing their abilities and talents. Other people may not realize that they have any unique potential and may be waiting for success to happen to them.  They may become attracted to a job that pays extremely well with countless benefits but a career in that field may not be a good fit for their particular potential. 

    Because of the comfortable living that career provides, they choose to stay with it even when it comes with dreading every day, a feeling that stays with them until their retirement.  Those who follow their deepest desire, rather than the comfort levels being provided, find fulfillment and a sense of accomplishment.

    A new pastor had been appointed to a church in a rural community. She was making her rounds of visiting each of her church families.  One day, she went to visit a farmer on the outskirts of town.  Upon her arrival, she discovered the farmer busy plowing a field.  When he recognized the woman standing at the end of the row, the farmer arrived where she was, turned off his tractor, climbed down, and greeted her.

    The farmer's wife had gone to town and the children were in school so the two visited in the field.  During their discussion, the pastor could not help noticing the painted barn, sheds, and the farmhouse with its manicured flower gardens. Everything had its place and was picture-perfect. 

    At the end to their conversation, she said, "I can see that God has richly blessed you and your family with a beautiful farm."  The farmer responded, "Yes, He has and we are extremely grateful, but you should have seen the condition of this farm when I bought it.  That was a time when God had the place all to Himself."

    Did God have anything to do with the beautiful, well-kept farm?  When people are blessed with wealth, is that because God has singled them out to be blessed or were their financial successes the result from their taking risks by investing in stocks, real estate, or other commodities?  When people are a genius with a paintbrush and a canvas, is that God blessing certain individuals like Vincent Van Gogh, Heni Paul Gauguin, Claude Monet, or Henri Matisse?

    When we honestly think about the words of our lesson today, do we really have to ask God for anything before we receive?  Asking first is not the experience of billions of people living in our world, many of whom do not give God a second thought, or have any religious training. 

    Yet, many of them have very attractive bodies, that they have meticulously maintained throughout their lives.  They may also have kept their minds clear of thoughts and feelings that could not possibly serve them.  Could it be said that God has blessed these people whether they realize it or not? (Matthew 5:45) They have found the answers that they were seeking within the spirit of their thoughts and feelings that were later fueled by their imaginations.

    What happens frequently to blessed people who have experienced religious training when they encounter the unexpected?  A loved one dies.  A marriage slowly erodes and dissolves. A person's job is terminated. A person loses a leg due to untreated diabetes. People of faith may feel that God will fix what is wrong, or prevent some evil event from happening.  

    They sincerely talk to God asking for help by throwing them a lifeline.  What happens to their faith when no lifeline comes because God did not intervene?  Is this God's nature showing itself or are such events part of living in this uncertain world?  In other words, does God micromanage the lives of some people and not others?

    There are many authors who have written about their life-adventures  that they have experienced.  A common theme that many of them have developed is this one:

When I look back over my life, my experiences have not happened as I had planned when I left my family to seek my way in the world.  There were detours, tragedies, surprises, failures, and mistakes made from my hasty judgments.  There were chance meetings with people who became my dearest and closest friends.  Yet, if I were to draw a conclusion from what I have experienced, every event seems to fit together as though a script had been written by an unseen author filled with everything that I had to negotiate during my journey on earth.

    Perhaps this is why any discussions we have with God should be filled with the attitude of gratitude rather than with requests for favors, adjustments, fixes, and lifelines all designed to rescue us from what appears to be a complete disaster.  All of these events can be understood as part of our spiritual growth.  Not one of them is ever a complete disaster, rather every one was a teachable moment.

    When we are willing students, our lives become filled with lessons learned from our mistakes.  We have built our lives on the ashes of our failures.  We fell in love with people who suddenly appeared in our lives during moments we never could have anticipated. All of the uncharted waters took us on adventures that exceeded our wildest imaginations. 

    Our lives have always been complete and whole from the moment we were born. Sometimes, however, our fears suggest otherwise. There is a unique poem that was written by Helen Steiner Rice that describes this process. It is called, A Bend in the Road:  

When we feel that we have nothing left to give and we are sure that the song has ended – when our day seems over and the shadows fall and the darkness of night has descended.  Where can we go to find the strength to valiantly keep on trying?  Where can we find the hand that will dry the tears that the heart is crying? There is but one place to go and that is to God and, dropping all pretense and pride, we pour out our problems without restraint and gain strength with Him at our side – AND together we stand at life’s crossroads and view what we think is the end.  But God has a much bigger vision and He tells us it’s only a bend – for the road goes on and is smoother and the pause in the song is a rest.  The part that's unsung and unfinished is the sweetest, the richest, and the best.  So, rest, relax, and grow stronger.  Let go and let God share your load.  Your work is not finished or ended; you've just come to a bend in the road. 

    Does God ever need to intervene in our lives when all of us have come equipped with everything that can assist us in coping with whatever shows up? Jesus verbally pointed to the higher ground that would propel his listeners forward with enthusiasm and happiness.   God would never allow any of us to enter this illusionary world if there were even the slightest chance for losing our eternal destiny.  

    Playing a role in an opera does not change who we are even when we put on the mask of the role we are to play during our lifespan.  We may have many unpleasant experiences in the role that we have assumed, but the opera eventually ends and we go home completely intact, richer from having played our part to the best of our ability.

    There would be no adventure had there not been challenges, temptations, and fears.  Jesus faced everything that we face and yet he went on living after his death. (Hebrews 4:15f) So, will we.  

    Our mistakes and successes are not the final word on the quality of the role that we played during the opera in which we performed.  The final word comes from the heart of God's intense love for each of us.  

    Beliefs and following various religious disciplines are wonderful for those who have them in their family and cultural heritage.  However, they are not necessary before people discover the treasure buried in the field within themselves. (Matthew 13:45) God's love for us is a fact, not a reward for a life well-lived.  (John 14:2) That fact can give us peace and produce gratitude for all of the experiences that showed up.

     

CONGREGATIONAL PRAYER

Loving God, we are so grateful that Jesus came into our world to provide a clearer window through which we can understand your nature.  We search among his lessons for living for the nourishment that will make us grow in spirit. Are we as generous as the widow that gave away her last copper coins?  Can we forgive 70 times 7?  Are we able to love those whose values are different from our own? O God, help us to feel so comfortable with you that daily conversations happen throughout every day.  Help us to mature in spirit so that we might become the people that you created us to be.  Amen. 

 

PASTORAL PRAYER

Eternal God, how grateful we are that our experiences in worship impact our lives in ways we cannot measure.  We do not know how many times our anger has been re-directed because your Son reminded us to turn the other cheek.  We cannot remember how many times our generosity has been kindled because Jesus said, "As you have done it unto one of the least of these, you have done it unto me." There have been moments when we have felt betrayed, and we remembered the words of Jesus from a cross that reminded us of the meaning of "forgive 70 times 7." 

O God, we truly feel your creative spirit when our lives refine and define us in degrees that we seldom realize.  Jesus has taught us to realize that salvation is not something that we experience at the end of our lives.  We have come to understand that it is an energizing power that we have now.  Thank you for continuing to invite us to become all that you created us to be, and by showing us how unanswered prayers were telling us to stretch and deepen our skills.   

We have discovered that it is in growing that we truly learn to live.  It is in smiling that we radiate our joy and confidence.  It is through our accepting others as they are that we learn to love each other.  It is through all our experiences that we learn the meaning of living with enthusiasm and peace.  With gratitude, we shared these thoughts with you through the spirit of Jesus, the Christ, who taught us to say when we pray . . .