“The Slow Pace of Our Evolution”

Sermon Delivered By Rev. Dick Stetler – January 17, 2021

Centenary United Methodist Church

    Isaiah 49:1-7; John 1:29-34

 

    This morning, we are going to consider the beginnings of our faith journey. Our lesson does not mention who John, the Baptist was talking to but during his discussion, he pointed to Jesus and told his listeners that he is the one who is the Lamb of God that was destined to take away the sins of the world.

    John claimed that he saw God's spirit come down on Jesus like a dove. He is the one who will baptize others with the Holy Spirit.  John said, "I have seen this myself.  I am telling you that he is the Son of God."  (John 1:34)

    The Gospel writer was giving his readers a verbal portrait describing the first recognition by a human being that God would be working through people to continue the spiritual evolution of humankind. From this moment on, the storyline continued to grow and expand until our present day.

    One of my favorite remembrances of my Grandpa Stetler was when I accompanied him on a fishing expedition.  We first went on a detour. We paused by springs that were bubbling out of the ground.  He said, "I wanted you to see this. My father brought me here when I was a teenager.  This is the source of the Susquehanna River." I have never forgotten that moment. 

    This river is over a mile wide as it passes Harrisburg, the capital of Pennsylvania. Miles downstream, the river produces energy from the Conowingo Dam before it empties into the Chesapeake Bay. The Bay eventually enters into the Atlantic Ocean.

    This episode in my youth became a metaphor for me that describes what has been happening through the centuries following this recognition by John, the Baptist. His insights during those moments in the Gospel continued to mutate as they spread.  This storyline gained momentum as this river of consciousness produced the power to move mountains and other barriers by those who had the tiniest seeds of faith. (Matthew 17:20) Of course, such a person was not moving geological structures but rather rising above the issues of the world that can dominate their thinking with worries and anxiety.

    Often, we cannot see the evidence that our spiritual nature is evolving. We have to look past the screaming headlines and other attention-getting distractions.  But we are evolving spiritually even when the world is giving us a different message. We can easily see the evolution of our technology while our spiritual evolution appears to remain stationary. Let us compare the two.

    Thirty-eight years ago, in one of my former churches, I visited one of our members who was born in 1889. He had a very vivid memory. I sat riveted listening to his stories.  I knew that when his generation was gone, we would no longer have the knowledge of those who lived during the earlier days. 

    Think of it. He was 14-years old when the Wright Brothers made their first flight at Kitty Hawk, a flight that lasted 12 seconds and traveled 120 feet. He recalled the more primitive techniques of farming, cooking, making butter down at the springhouse, delivering babies at home, doctors that made house calls in their horse and buggies, and the laughter of people at seeing the first cars.

    He recalled the miracle of electricity coming through wires that would eventually do away with the necessity of using kerosene lanterns. He remembered when a block of ice was delivered that went in the top of early refrigerators. He recalled when straight milk came from the cow to his mouth that was loaded with cream that rose to the top.

    One of the joys that Lois and I have had in Bermuda was visiting a number of seniors who reminisced about the same things, e.g., the dirt roads, the appearance of the first cars, a time when enough fish for a week could be bought at Devonshire Bay for a quid. We have pictures of the railroad and heard stories of those who rode on it every day.  Some people have saved some of Bermuda's early currency from England that featured the Queen.  Pennies were gigantic.

    The acceleration of change is going at a speed unimaginable even three years ago. Has our spiritual evolution kept a similar pace?

    Jesus planted the seeds of truth in the hearts and minds of his listeners.  From there, the Apostle Paul took these seeds of spirit to the Greeks, Romans, and the rest of the world. Most people began living on secondhand-religion. Only a few people were having personal other-worldly encounters that grew their spiritual awareness more than people realized. (2 Corinthians 12:2f) Today, people are at the end of secondhand-religion. 

    What is intriguing is that truth has not changed even though the need for it remains in the rearview mirror for many people.  In this respect, nothing has changed for millions of people since the days of Jesus' physical presence on earth. Spiritual evolution kept growing only within a few people.

    Today, our spiritual energy is relying on substitutes. A number of people have slowly abandoned the values and attitudes of earlier generations for those that are relative and progressive, i.e., values that change due to the unique circumstances like those found in Joseph Fletcher's book, Situation Ethics. Among the substitutes are alcohol, recreational drugs, sleeping pills, and medications to help with every cluster of symptoms that has earned the title of a disorder or a syndrome.

    The character qualities that produce fulfillment, happiness, and loving responses have been blurred by the relativity of values.  Initially, consequences are not visible even when people paint outside the lines.  Nothing happens to them when they break the social norms and laws.

    Are people looking under the hood to see what is going on with their inner world, a world that for many living in newer generations remains beyond their experience? They are looking for spiritual well-being in places that cannot deliver it.  Are these realities part of humanity's spiritual evolution? Absolutely they are!

    Many old School values and attitudes have been lost in the memory of newer generations.  When people begin to realize that their decisions are not making them feel better about life, an awakening has the potential to begin. People know what they want but they have no idea how to get there.

    The culture today is filled with expectations of receiving, winning, competition, maintaining our youthful appearance, and having enough discretionary money to spend on pleasurable moments. Today, people are experiencing what King Solomon felt when he wrote:

I know what wisdom and knowledge are.  I was determined to learn the difference between wisdom and madness. But I found out that I might as well be chasing the wind.  The wiser you are, the more worries you have. The more you know, the more it hurts.  (Ecclesiastes 1:16f)

    Solomon had 700 wives and 300 concubines. His net worth was 2 trillion dollars. King Solomon ruled from 970 BC to 931 BC.  During his rule, it was said that he received 25 tons of gold for each of the 39 years of his reign.  (I Kings 10:14)

     Solomon is a great example of a person who had all his material needs met, but his life was empty, unhappy, and filled with fits of depression.  He did not know where to look to find salvation from his daily misery.

     The evolution of human spirituality had not yet begun until the arrival of Jesus.  An important piece of Solomon's life remained absent even though the voice of his inner world was screaming that nothing was working for him.

     When the daily responses to life-issues no longer work, people are ripe for waking up to life being a spiritual journey. The evolution of technology happens because of the financial gains for those who build a better mousetrap. But what is next for all these millionaires who have the same missing piece of life's puzzle as King Solomon?

     Complete chaos in the lives of people is the beginning of a period of awakening.  They will find ways to rediscover the values that work and engage in activities that bring happiness.  The Apostle Paul wrote:  "Spirit produces love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, humility, and self-control." (Galatians 5:22) These responses provide the answers everyone seeks. They work every day because personal energy is being expended to others.

    John, the Baptist said, "There is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world."  Really? How did Jesus do this? Many Christians believe that Jesus took our sins away by dying on the cross.  That is a belief that has successfully removed from people their need to take responsibility for the quality of their lives.

    According to Jesus, salvation comes when people enjoy the symbols of the material world without being consumed by the glitter.  He said, "I came into this world for one purpose, to speak the truth.  People who have awakened to their spiritual nature will resonate with what I teach." (John 18:37)

    Jesus was teaching people how to live our world. Do we understand that giving is the source of nourishment that feeds our spirits?    Are we ready to take more risks as we replace our fears with trust in the unseen presence of God? We can either do our inner homework or have our life-experiences teach us that we are starving to death from spiritual malnutritional and need a course correction.

    Our spiritual evolution is an individual experience.  No one is on the same rung of the ladder. This is why we should never judge where someone is on that ladder. This is also why spiritual visionaries are few.  Are we paying attention to our invisible world where our spiritual energy continues to teach us to take the road less traveled? (Matthew 7:13-14) Are we making more selfless decisions that display a divine message to others? (Matthew 7:1-5) When we do that, it shows up and shines through the spirit by which we live. (Matthew 5:15)   Never forget that God loves you just as you are. 

     

CONGREGATIONAL PRAYER

Eternal and ever faithful God, we come knowing that trusting you gives us confidence to face the uncertainty of the future.  Our fortunes change.  Many of our cherished loved ones leave us. Our health requires more attention.  Even the memory of more youthful days eventually fades from our minds.  What a remarkable comfort it is to know that we are always safe, always loved, and always secure in your care.  We are thankful that you can change our failures into stepping stones and our unexpected detours into life-changing guidance.  Help us to deepen our trust in you, so that every day we are prepared to celebrate life with gratitude.  Amen.  

     

PASTORAL PRAYER

Loving and always-present God, we thank you for calling us to be more than we ever thought we were capable of being.  Your Son called his listeners to become "the salt of the earth and to become as light for the entire world."  There are many times that we do not feel we could live up to his calling.  We confess that far more often we are the ones who believe we need prayers.  We are the ones who need healing.  We are the ones who come seeking the courage to go on when our circumstances appear the darkest. Somehow many of us conclude that what we are is not enough.   We learn from our lesson today that the prophet Isaiah had the same doubts.

How easily we forget that people needing and seeking Jesus frequently overwhelmed him. The Jewish authorities sought Jesus in order to accuse him.  Another came under the cover of darkness to seek his wisdom.  Another wanted to sneak up behind him so she could touch the hem of his garment and be healed.  Mary and Martha both scolded him when he did not come immediately to Bethany when he learned their brother was dying. 

As we come seeking him, may we hear again his request to follow him.  He would rather we give away our gifts than seek more. Encourage us to do less seeking and more giving away who we are.  We might find doing so is enough for you to move the mountains in the paths of others.  We might find the courage to continue sowing our seeds in spite of our doubts. We pray these thoughts through the loving spirit of Jesus, who taught us to say when we pray . . .