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Click to hear this sermon sermon071230
Wayne Gretzsky,
who was maybe the best hockey player ever, was asked why he was so successful
compared to others.
Children of the Promise - Genesis 15: 1-6; Galatians 3:
21-29 - December 29, 2007Cicero United Methodist
Church - Everett J. Bassett
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Wayne Gretzsky,
who was maybe the best hockey player ever, was asked why he was so successful
compared to others. I was really impressed by his answer; he said that most
players skate to where the puck is; Gretzsky skates to where the puck is going
to be.
I think
that is a great image for life. And I think it is a great image for a new year.
Think of time as a hockey puck, in this regard: it is always
moving. Much of hockey is a mystery to me, so I don't know why the puck is
always moving, but it is. In the games I do understand, the ball rests - in
football, it rests on the line of scrimmage; in baseball, it rests in the
pitcher's glove; in golf, when I play it rests in the rough. But in hockey, the
puck doesn't rest - well, unless there's a fight going on - then nobody cares
where it is.
But, if you
say, "I'm going to skate to where the puck is," by the time you get
there, it's gone. And I think that's an image of our time. We live in a time
when it seems like nothing stands still. The game is going so fast, that as
soon as we get used to something, it's gone - the new camera, for instance, or
the new software, or the new TV program by the time I master it, it's
obsolete. The puck is gone. I realized a long time ago that I'm driving a Model
T in a Ferrari world, and New Year's is an annual reminder of how far behind I
am. I just got used to 2007, and now that puck will be gone forever. What
gives? I know I'm far from alone in wishing sometimes that things would stand
still for just a few minutes so that I could catch up. But it doesn't; the puck
is always moving. Morality is shifting. Styles change; news stories come and
go. It's all so fast.
Faith
becomes critically important in that picture. And it seems to me that when we
consider the constant movement of things, faith is something that we might get
right and wrong at the same time. That's a strange thing to say, so let me
explain what I mean.
For many
people, when the world around them seems to never stand still, and they are
overwhelmed by the rapid changes of life - faith is an anchor in the storm.
There is no doubt that one of the reasons people attend a church is that there
are things in church that do not change. There is truth and there are values
here that are solid. "Give me that old time religion." "Tell me
the old, old story." Do you know that some of the symbols in this stained
glass windows go back 2000 years or more? Do you know that the story of Abraham
we read this morning has been told for over 3000 years? Even many people who
don't attend church count on those symbols not changing. People think of faith
as one arena where enduring things are held onto; where the story of Jesus and
his love doesn't change; it is as true today as it was when Jesus himself lived
it out on earth; and in that respect, we get it right. Faith conveys something
that is timeless.
But here's
where we also get it wrong. Sometimes we are so relieved to find something so
powerful and lasting as Christian faith in a changing world, that we forget one
of the basic truths of the scriptures - and that is, that God is always on the
move. God's love is steadfast, unchanging, immovable; but God's plan is always
unfolding and full of surprises. That's what the doctrine of the Holy Spirit is
all about. Any time we
get too planted in one place in our faith - along comes the
Holy Spirit like fresh wind blowing where it will- we can't account for it; we
can't pin God down. And here's the thing about that hockey puck that's always
moving: for almost every age of the church from the very beginning to the
present time, people of faith have always been behind the times - when the
Bible shows us loud and clear that God has always been ahead of the times. So
far ahead that people of faith had to run to keep up.
The
scripture lessons for today give a couple examples of that. For instance, we
read of Abraham. In terms of faith, Abraham was the Wayne Gretzsky of the
Bible. (If you had told me I would ever say that in a sermon, I would have told
you you were nuts.) But think about it. In the Bible, Abraham is considered a
giant of faith - in fact, the faithforefather of three of the world's great
religions. And what did that faith mean to Abraham? Did it mean that he sat
from dawn to dusk honoring the traditions, remembering the days of old,
reciting prayers and singing hymns? Not at all; the puck moved. Faith for
Abraham meant that God lifted him out of everything that was familiar and sent
him out to find a new land. No one except God could have seen this - God was so
far ahead of the time no one was there. But at the age of seventy-five Abraham
went into the unknown where God was, and no wonder Abraham was famous for his
faith.
Now look at
our second reading from Galatians. But first, let's look at where the puck is.
For a whole big segment of the Jewish people, the ancient, traditional faith
was all about following the law - the ancient law of God. It was a pretty
simple formula: if you kept the law, you were right with God. If you broke the
law, you weren't. And all of that seems reasonable, except the religious
leaders had made the laws so complicated, no one could keep them. And, as is
always the case, when the letter of the law is held so rigidly, then those who
interpret the law, and those who judge adherence to the law, hold all the
power. And people suffered under that power.
What Paul
saw was that those religious leaders were skating to the puck, but God was way
out where the puck was going to be, because Jesus Christ the Son of God had
come to break the power of the law. The law had its day, said Paul. But God
never intended for us to get stuck in the law. God moved on to something
infinitely more wonderful.
That
something else was Jesus Christ His Son, and the salvation of the world through
grace. In Paul's thinking, we are no longer prisoners under the law; we are
children of the promise - children of grace. And that breaks all the old molds.
It is so radical, Paul wrote, that for baptized Christians "there is no
longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male
or female, for all of you are one in Christ Jesus." In other words, all
the old barriers are broken down. We're still stuck there, aren't we, in the
old way. We're still fighting tooth and nail the old racial wars, the old economic
wars, the old gender wars. God is inviting us to follow Him ahead of the times,
where all are one in grace. Social barriers - that's the old way; God's way is
oneness in grace. Structures of law and judgment - that's the old way. God's
way is a kingdom of peace and love announced by Jesus. Violence and death -
that's the old way; Resurrection and hope - that's God way -- so far ahead of
the curve we hardly have a dream big enough to take it all in. Yet God is there
at the horizon, bidding us to step out in faith.
So what
awaits us in the new year? So much is a mystery; but one thing is assured. God
awaits us in the new year, and is dreaming big dreams for us. In our church, we
will be called this year to dream big dreams; for years now, God has been
challenging us to keep up, because he isn't standing still at Cicero United
Methodist Church;
he's on the move. In our nation, we have the opportunity to bring new ideas and
fresh hope to our leadership; so much of our greatness is being frittered away
in close-mindedness and partisan pettiness - God has bigger dreams for us; will
we be stuck in old nostalgic ways or will we be on the move with God?
And in your
life, God is inviting you to a new horizon. Will you hold back, clinging to old
familiar ways? Or will you step out in bold faith? Will you grow in prayer,
grow in service, grow in love to others, take on something new for God? God has
big dreams for you. Do you have big dreams for yourself?
The apostle
Paul wrote to the Galatians: "As many of you who were baptized into Christ
have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is
no longer slave or free, there is no longer male or female, for all of you are
one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's
offspring, heirs according to the promise." This morning, as Paul
suggests, we're going to use the powerful symbol of our baptism to remind
ourselves that like Abraham we are heirs of great promises. Old barriers are
broken down. When we were baptized, we were given new life, new possibilities.
And we were claimed as children of God.
This is
what God wants you to know today. You are His child through Christ - and heir
to the promise of Abraham. The world might dismiss you, forget you, abuse you,
ignore you, disregard you - but the One who really matters claims you as a
Beloved child. We celebrate that today. All who are baptized have put on
Christ. That's who you are. That's who you are; that's how God sees you. You
are embraced by grace today - an heir of the promise and love of God.
When I was
a child, I was often afraid of the dark. But if one of my parents took my hand,
I was reassured. I knew who I was, and I knew who was with me, and I was no
longer afraid. It's that way in our walk of faith. God has claimed us through
Christ, taken our hand; and deep inside we know that's all that truly matters
as we walk boldly into the future.
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