May 10, 2009
Edwards (Knox) United Church
Fifth Sunday of Easter
Mother's Day
Acts 8:26-40
Read the passage: The Message or The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
John 15:1-8
Read the passage: The Message or The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
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The Rev. Dr. George Hermanson
In Acts, Philip asks if the Eunuch understands what he is reading. He replies that he needs a guide. What an important metaphor for mother's day. An important reminder of the role of the church.
One afternoon a friend of mine, when we were teenagers, dropped in to see me. I was not there. Only my mother was there. Jack sat down with her and began to ask questions. My mother listened. Finally, as it was getting dark, my mother said, "Maybe we need to turn on some lights." What is so important to me is that the conversation went on and on, questions asked and responded to. There was no hurry. For Jack, he had been listened to, taken seriously. It was for him a life changing experience, for when my mother died, he flew out for her memorial service.
Questions are the stuff of life.
I don't know what answers my mother gave Jack, for I think, what was most important was to learn to ask the right questions and that was the way my mother operated. For it is in the asking of the right questions rather than perfect answers that is crucial for navigating life. Our texts tell us that it is wise to bring to surface the questions that encompass the deepest pondering of the human spirit.
We live in a time of seeking. I think the basic drive of the human spirit is to ask, what is the meaning of this or that. Even those who deny there is meaning in life, spend time exploring this, that is, write and comment on how there is no meaning. Ironically, this activity is an illustration that shows that there seems to be a drive to ask questions, probe reality, to suggest some meaning system even if there is no meaning to be had, or one that is skeptical.
Of course, in a time of crisis it is easy to hang onto ideas that feel good but in the end do not satisfy. In times of crisis we are offered many facile answers. Rather than honoring skepticism as a motivation for deeper insight, some would offer beliefs that suggest doubt is not part of learning. Others take skepticism and move it toward a nihilism, only number one counts, that it is a dog eat world and the winner is the one with the most toys. In the face of questions we can get attached to partial answers and the way things are or traditions that are not growing.
We live in a time which is like the time of scripture. It was, and it is now, a time of seeking. We live in a time that has radically changed the nature of what is truth. Old theories, belief systems, and traditions are no longer satisfying. So many seek a more filling meal of ideas. Whether we know or not, our many in our culture has eaten its way through Darwin, Marx, Freud and Einstein and are still hungry. This, and the fact of seekers, has a profound impact on how we do church.
We live in a culture where no one religion is the default position, that no one religion is seen to have the whole truth or can be privileged. Our time opposes any and all effort on the part of the state to endorse one religion over another. The tension this brings is there are still some, traditionalists, that seek to establish one religion as the unofficial religious establishment. We see this traditionalism in the so called cultural wars, and the rise in fundamentalism.
The problem we face in the church is we do not always recognize this time as an opportunity but only as a threat. We worry about numbers. We want the good old days to return. We have forgotten that the way to belief is one of affirming the questions the seeker and we bring.
It has been suggested that Obama is a current example of the story in Acts. He came to his faith through a multi faith route. He lives in pluralism and he says his faith, "came about as a choice and not an epiphany." It is said that seekers come not to join a tradition "as to find belonging among a people; not so much as to accept a body of doctrine as to find welcome for what they already believe; not so much as to surrender their lives but to enhance who they are." *
We can hear that in our story in Acts. It is a generative story which the Coptic church returns to their founding story. Like all stories, it works because of the details. And here is an important point - it is myth in the sense of myth is generative, creates identity and in that sense truth. It is the meta story that forms all particular stories, in this case the beginning of the Ethiopian church. For here we have a seeker going to Jerusalem to worship. This tells us that he saw in the Judaism a hint of God. That opening is used by Philip to suggest how the early church's experience made sense of the tradition. And offered a new addition to it. It was a logical outgrowth of the tradition.
We learn through the text that questions are welcomed, and need to be continually asked. Doubt is needed as part of a genuine faith. It also shows how the community is needed. For faith is nurtured in community, in the symbols and rituals. For without those symbols and participation in them, faith goes into hiding. It is in an open community that our faith is expanded. It is in a learning community that our faith is expanded.
Being nurtured in the faith is a life long process. Our text from John gives us a grounding for that journey. In its metaphor of vine keeping we are reminded that a good wine comes from pruning. This reminds us that some canes need to be shaped, and ideas that no longer work, let go of. Like the vine, faith is growing, changing process. It demands thinking and reflection so we can prune without harm to the vine. It is to let go of those canes that do not lead to a better wine, to discern those dead canes from those that will, through pruning, lead to a better vintage.
The image of the being part of the vine also gives us the confidence and comfort to risk. As branches of the vine we are part of something beautiful and larger than ourselves. When we let that vine nourish us, we will let go and be part of God's dream. This is the image of the divine life being in us and working through us. It is to remember that attachment to the divine life through ritual and worship sustains us. God flows through us and takes our love to a higher level. It sends us out to be those who stand with those who are seeking, for we too are seekers. Because we know this is a life project, seeking more insight, we can stand easily with ambiguity and complexity of questions. Knowing deep in our being that we are chosen, loved by the divine life, we can be like Philip, and listen and respond.
* The Christian Century, May 5, 2009, p 33.
George Hermanson
www.georgehermanson.com
