1 Corinthians
12:27-13:3
As I close out
my 44 years in a ministerial career that I have loved, I
find this is the most unusual farewell sermon I have ever prepared. I
have been coming to this Church, off and on during vacation times for
over 35 years; Chris has been coming here since before there was a
road. I have met or known every minister who has served here
since
Rev. Wingfield, so this is not goodbye. Starting with
Chris’s friendship with Lynette Monro and continuing with
our friendship after Lynette and Norm Halvorson were married, we have
never missed coming here when in BC, and the Halvorssons have visited
us in every
pastoral charge we have held in Canada or the United States. So
this is
not goodbye.
During the last
15 very enjoyable months, we have made many new friends
in this Church, and since we are just 1 hour and 45 minutes away in
White Rock, and
we love this valley and cherish our new friends, this is not goodbye.
That
raises the question, then, just what is this chit-chat this morning?
Let’s just call it some meandering reflections and hopes from an aging
pastor.
It is most
unusual that as I say adieu to you, your newly selected
leader Daniel and his wife Loretta are sitting right here in our
midst. Even more amazing is that I found out last Friday that he and I
attended the same theological Seminary, the School of Theology in
Claremont,
California, and we even shared some of the same teachers- although I
was there earlier
than he was. So, you see, he is well trained, and theologically
on the right
wave-length. That makes my task very difficult, because it is said that
the two things a minister fears most as he or she leaves is firstly
that his successor is a failure,and secondly that he is a
success. So,
tailgating on what I once heard, I am leaving three notes in envelopes
for Dr. Daniel. The instructions are, if you ever get yourself into
trouble with this congregation, open envelope one. That envelope has a
note in it that says "If you get into trouble with either the board or
the congregation, blame the previous minister: that should buy you some
time."
If you get into trouble again, for whatever reason, open envelope
two; it says "blame the board or the congregation for their lack of
cooperation and vision."That should buy you some more time. If conflict
and hostility raises its head again, open envelope three. This says
"Write
three notes, and place them in envelopes for your successor."
I would like to
say to you, you who have been so cooperative and
pleasant with me, I believe resurrection is occurring right here in
Squamish. We lose the whole impact of resurrection if we leave it in
the pages of history, or relegate it to phenomenological
interpretations. I believe this
Church is well situated to be a major voice in the Sea
to Sky corridor. Squamish is growing, faster than many wish. This
congregation is the only Christian voice in downtown Squamish. This is
the only Church in the valley where people can come into Church and
bring their heads with their hearts. This is the only Church that is
trying to deal with the homeless, the hungry and the addicted in this
city, other than trying to convert them to a sectarian view.
Now you have
some very significant and important decision to make.
Soon, this congregation will have the resources to finance the ministry
you choose to bring to this area. With Dr. Daniel, who is well trained
to lead you, step one will be to create a visioning statement into
which the future will fall. This step is essential before funds are
used.
It is my belief that this congregation should fly its flag as a
progressive, socially conscientious, cooperative Church. Squamish is
expanding, and some of those moving here will be looking for just such
a
church. Currently, we are one of the best kept secrets in the valley.
As people come, and as the visioning becomes clears, step two is to
create a ministry and a building that will enable that ministry to
happen. The Board of Trustees has already established a remarkable
working relationship with the long range planning committee of the
Vancouver Burrard Presbytery. They have said to you "create a plan to
which we can say yes."
Through the
sheer happenstance of location, this Church has a
wonderfully well trained and dedicated resource in Laura Jean Thompson.
Through her, youth are beginning to appear, and youngsters are slowly
coming back to Sunday School. She cannot and should not do this alone;
shework, so that her role
here can be expanded and compensated. It will pay great dividends for
this fellowship.
Now, how can
all of this come about? It will happen when each of you
truly believe in resurrection. You heard this morning that dry bones
can take on flesh and become living, believing beings. God can do that
with Churches also. As our other scripture says “there are many gifts,
but one body, and these gifts are useable when they are bound by
love. Sometimes I hear, we
are really a very old congregation. Read your Bible;
look at how many great things took place because older people stepped
out and did what they can do. There is no retirement plan in Church
work- why, just last week I heard that Ollie Adams did a great job
teaching in the Sunday School. And who better to be a welcoming,
loving,
fellowshipping group than those with the experience and wisdom of age?
Look at the
music program of this Church- I don’t know whether it is so
helpful because the singers are older, or whether the singers are
staying
younger because they come to sing or play. NO, you can’t cop out on the
argument of age. Who do you know who is better in coining a phrase, or
preparing a speech than Roy Shephard; telling a story than Christine
Tribe, or reading the scripture than Jim Stevens. Who does better than
Phillip and Donna in simply taking care of the little things that occur
each week, and who cares for the site more than Wilf, and works to that
end. Don’t sell the talent of this church short because many are
older—most of them still think young.
Let me finish
this message by sharing with you the message of the Bible while
trying not to
steal the impact of Dr. Daniel when he starts next Sunday. And by
the
way, this is a great opportunity for each of you to get on the phone
this week, and contact those of the membership who are not too regular
in their attendance. and those who are your friends to come and
start a
new emphasis by being part of worship next week. Eighty six percent of
those who come to any Church come because someone in the Church
invited them. That’s real ministry.
Enough of my
meanderings; let's turn to the scriptures. Complementing
the scripture we heard from Ezekiel is a wonderful passage from Isaiah
chapter 6. Here is a graphic example of the reality that the Bible is
not factual, but it is true. This is the year in which King Uzziah has
died. In that culture, that meant the safety net was gone; people
were afraid, and the future was unknown. The writer sees the Lord
sitting on a throne, wearing a robe that fills the temple, and around
him
are seraphs with six wings, singing "Holy, Holy, Holy is
the Lord of Hosts. The whole earth is full of his glory." The foundation
shook, the house was filled with smoke, and I cried, said
Isaiah "Woe is me, I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the
midst
of a people of unclean lips, and I cried; Woe is me. I am lost."
That looks to
me much like today. The kings and queens are dying. A
great deal of what we knew and believed is no longer relevant. We long
for the old days, when seniors could walk out in the night without any
fear of assault. We yearn for a return to the days when teachers and
clergy were respected, and the values in the school and social
groups reflected those of the Church. We wish sports were still times
of fun, when activities were not pressure occasions that command huge
amounts of young people’s time in the pursuit of victory, and much of
it
for the vicarious benefit of the parents. We wish Church was
still respected as a time for families to worship,
instead of seen as an appendage to which people go seeking a crutch for
life; we wish kids could still be kids, instead of being
encouraged to
go work as young teenagers so that they will have their own purchasing
power,
and we wish that drugs were not such a prominent part of the youth
culture.
But, that’s not
the way it is! Yet, to those who are sensitive and
look, like Isaiah, in the midst of all this strife is where we see the
Lord. And when we listen we hear the words- “your guilt is taken away,
and your sins are forgiven.” Did you get that? I don’t care what has
happened in your life, you are forgiven. But pastor, I am divorced: you
are forgiven. I find it difficult to like people of a different
culture,
or those who show up for a bag of food. You are forgiven, go now and
try to see the good in them. I like to sleep in late on Sunday morning.
You are forgiven, but the discipline of attending worship would do you
some good.
That’s hard for us to accept. There is something in us that thinks we
have to earn that forgiveness. The truth is you can’t earn forgiveness;
that is God’s gift to us, and all that we can do is accept it,
move on,
and share it with others.
Matthew caught
the message and writes in Chapter 5 “you are the salt
of the earth. You are the light of the world." He didn’t say "believe
this concept or that theological position, and you will be salt or
light," he said "you are salt and light." Wow! That’s what Squamish
needs
to hear. Forget all this arguing about the rightness of abortion, or
being gay, or whether or not people are really needy or just
opportunists. Love God, love each other, do your best, and remember you
are the salt of the earth and you are the light of the world. Live
that,
and people will come to you because that is what they are longing to
hear, and they will turn to it and begin, be it ever so slowly, to live
it.
But you know what, somehow, I would feel better if Jesus had said, you
are
the serfs of the world, or the ants of the hill, or you are the slaves
of
God. But the truth is, Jesus has much more trust in me than I have in
myself. So, you see, that shoots all my excuses about why I can’t
teach,
or be a worship leader, or serve on a board, or coordinate coffee hour.
There is no need for us to wait until we feel ready, God can use us as
we are right now.
That brings us
right back to our task in the Sea to Sky corridor, where
the foundations are shaking; what you and I used to cling to is
changing, and we feel we are in a smoke-filled room, and we are lost.
Our
task is to accept what God feels about us, and to go out loving God and
trying to love humanity. My friend William Willimon puts it this way in
his excellent book "The Gospel for the Person Who Has Everything:”
“The
Christian does not love his or her neighbour because
the neighbour is a nice person, or because the neighbour deserves love,
or because the neighbour returns love; the Christian loves in response
to the love with which God has loved him or her. The Christian loves
first because of what he or she believes about God, not because of
something he or she believes about humanity. Christian love is more
than a feeling. Love in the Biblical sense is an activity, a decision,
a response, something you decide to do because of what you know about
God.”
Resurrection
can happen right here in Squamish, right now. This is a
unique time in the history of this Church and it is not just
happenstance that it coincides with new leadership. This Church has all
of the ingredients to be a beacon of God’s love as revealed in Jesus.
It requires a willingness to
make service to God through this Church a priority. It
means that you be willing to set aside some of your activities and
interests to serve this corridor through this Church, and that you will
try and do this in the company of fellow seekers seated beside you this
day. It is possible….believe that.
I close with
the words of Richard Seltzer, a Professor of Medicine at
Yale University, from one of his essays entitled "Mortal Lessons; Notes
on
the Art of Surgery:"
"I stand by the bed where a young
woman lies, her face
postoperative, her mouth twisted in palsy, clownish.
A tiny twig of
the facial nerve, the one to the muscles of her
mouth has been
severed. She will be thus from now on. The surgeon
had followed
with religious fervour the curve of her flesh; I promise you that.
Nevertheless, to remove the tumor in her cheek, I had cut the
little nerve.. She will be thus from now on.
Her husband is in the room. He stands on the opposite of the bed,
and together they seem to dwell in the evening
lamplight, isolated
from me, private. Who are they, I ask, he and this wry-mouth I have
made, who gaze at and touch each other so
generously, greedily? The
young woman speaks.
“Will my mouth always be like this?” she asks.
“Yes”, I say, “It will. It is because the nerve was cut.”
She nods nt. But the young man smiles. “I like it,” he says,
“It’s kind of cute.”
All at once I know who he is. I understand, and I lower my gaze.
One is not bold in an encounter with a god. Unmindful, he bends to
kiss her crooked mouth, and I am so close I can see how he twists
his own lips to accommodate to hers, to show that
their kiss still
works.”
Isn’t that what
the incarnation is all about: God in Christ
accommodating himself to our condition to save us? Can we not as
God’s ministers give our lives to telling the world that the kiss
still works? It’s a new
beginning for Squamish United Church, dear friends. Gird your
loins, and make a resolve that this Church goes forward because of you.
That is resurrection, and this valley will know because of your loyalty
that the kiss still works. Thank you and may God bless each of you.