Community
Church Sermons
Fifth
Sunday After Pentecost, Year C – July 8, 2001
"Finding
Your Way Back Home”
Galatians
6:1-16
Perhaps your life is somewhat described by the story of the fellow from Massachusetts who drove off on a vacation to Gatlinburg in the beautiful Smoky Mountains. Not being too sure about the directions he was following, this Yankee pulled off the Interstate at the first sign for Gatlinburg. As he braked the car to a stop at the end of the off-ramp, the fellow noticed a directional sign. It had an arrow pointing to the left that read “Gatlinburg, 25 miles”. And – as it seems so often to happen here in East Tennessee - just below that sign was another sign with an arrow pointing to the right. It also said, “Gatlinburg, 25 miles.”
Now being from Massachusetts and not having the intellectual capacity to figure out such conflicting signs – this fellow was unsure of which direction to turn. Then he spotted an old Tennessee farmer working in a field just across the road. So the fellow from Massachusetts pulled his car across to where the farmer was and rolled down the window.
“Excuse me, sir,” said the fellow from Massachusetts.
“I’m a bit confused about these signs for Gatlinburg. One says Gatlinburg to
the left. The other says Gatlinburg to the right. Doesn’t it matter WHICH way I
go?”
The old farmer paused pensively. Then he took off his tattered straw hat, scratched his head, spit on the ground, and simply said, “Not to me it don’t!”
Now, what I’m trying to say here is that our lives seem so often to find themselves at a crossroads like the one just described. Conflicting signs point in differing directions, and often, we’re unsure of the right way, the best way, the good way to take to get to where we need to be. Does that sound like you?
You might be a recently graduated – or soon-to-graduate – college or high school student, and you find yourself suddenly standing at a place in life where you need to make some important decisions about your future. Should I go on to school, or not? Should I move away from home, or stay? Should I become a butcher, a baker, or a candlestick maker? Sometimes the choices of life overwhelm us, and we’re just not sure which way to go.
Or perhaps you’re the parent of small children, and you’re just now discovering what those of us who have been parents for a long time know – nothing in life prepares you for being a mom or dad. We all are flyin’ by the seat of our pants! Remember how Bill Cosby once described the thrill he and his wife Camille experienced when they brought their first child home from the hospital? Even changing diapers was fun. Cosby says they used to call up their relatives to come over and see the beautiful mess the baby made! But listen - those of us who’ve been parents for a while know that, after you’ve cleaned up your kids messes for a couple of years, that thrill wears off! All parents know it’s difficult to be a parent. And so often, we just don’t know which way to go.
Life has a way of getting us lost. When you’ve been married for fifty-two years, and your spouse dies. And now you face life all alone. When you’ve spent the last thirty-five years working in the corporate world, and then a downsizing sends you into retirement. And you’re not really ready. When your body changes, and you can’t play golf anymore, or a heart-attack slows you down. When you get sick, and face the possibility – or even the probability - of death. When family troubles threaten to undo you, or you have a falling out with a friend, or when you face difficult decisions in local government – as is the case right now in our Village. Sometimes the signs are pointing in many different directions, and we’re just not sure which way to go.
So the question I want us to reflect upon this morning is simply this: when you’re standing at one of life’s many crossroads, and you’re uncertain of which way to go, is there anything in our faith that can help us, and lead us safely home?
Although not directly asked, this is one of the questions
the Christian people who comprised the churches of Galatia were asking St.
Paul. All around them were compelling but conflicting signposts – telling them
how to find a right relationship with God – how to respond to sinful people –
how to live as Christian people in an un-Christian world. And they were pretty
confused.
So Paul, in this beautiful little letter to the Galatians, offers them some advice about how to find your way home when the direction signs conflict and life becomes confusing.
It’s the same guidance Anne Lamotte learned from her pastor. In her wonderful book called “Traveling Mercies”, Anne tells the story of her pastor’s best friend who – as a little girl of seven – got lost one day. The little girl ran up and down the streets of the big town where they lived, but couldn’t find a single landmark that would help her find the way home. She was very frightened, and getting desperate. Finally, a policeman spotted her, and surmising she was lost, stopped to help. He put her in the passenger seat of his cruiser, and together they drove up and down the streets of the town. The little girl looked everywhere to see if she recognized anything. For a long time, she did not. But finally, as they turned around one corner…the little girl recognized her church.
She pointed it out to the policeman, and then with a look of
confident joy she told him firmly, “You can let me out now. This is my
church, and I can always find my way home from here.”
Now a particular church may or may not be a centering landmark for you. But what it represents can be. And, in the case of St. Paul – writing to the Galatians – he boldly asserts that the central landmark of the Christian faith – the landmark from which we can always find our way home – is the cross of Jesus Christ.
So when you’re facing one of those moments when you need guidance and direction that is sure to send you along the right path, go to the cross and center yourself there.
You see, the cross is the most accurate directional sign in the world! From the cross you can find your way home from anywhere!
So let’s center ourselves under the cross today – facing whatever crossroads we may be at in life – and let’s see what the cross has to offer to help us begin finding our way back home.
You know, I used to think that my life with God began when I was a sophomore in college and experienced a very dramatic conversion. Very aware of how far from God I was, I can vividly remember the afternoon when life had simply become too much for me. Somehow I intuitively realized that nothing would be right until things were right between God and me. So, in desperation, I threw myself down on my dormitory bed and cried out – “God, if you’re really there, I need to know!” And in that moment, something happened – as though a door separating heaven and earth – heaven and me – suddenly swung open, and it seemed as if the wind of God swept into my life, and – all at once – I knew. I can easily describe that experience as being born again, for it seemed as if something new was brought to life within my spirit. And from that encounter with the living God came a call into ministry, and – in many respects – to a new future.
And I still cherish that powerful, renewing, life-changing moment. But…
Today, I understand it differently. In fact, this was not the beginning of my life with God. No, my true beginning with God actually took place on a Friday afternoon a long, long time ago when Jesus took up the cross, and gave his life for me. And though it took me a while to get born, and make my grand entrance into this world, there has never been an hour – or a minute – or a second – or even a moment when God has not been actively present in my life, though I have not always been aware of it. In fact, now I realize that it was not me who turned to God when I was a sophomore in college. No, it was God who – after years and years of working behind the scenes of my life – chipping away at my heart - finally succeeded in nudging me to open the door to discover him in a new way.
One of the really important things about the cross is that it brings us into an encounter with the faithfulness of God-at-work in the lives of all his children – including me – including you.
There is Jesus on the cross. Abandoned by his friends. Rejected by his society. Falsely accused, and unjustly sentenced. He is helpless there, and unable to save himself. There is nothing he can do to fix things, or make things better. In many respects, what is happening to Jesus there is not all that much different than what happens to you and me when we face the injustice of cancer, or the tragedy of a divorce, or the ruining of our lives by forces greater than ourselves. Like Jesus, we are pinned down and unable to help ourselves.
And yet, in the cross – as Jesus helplessly suffers – God is still at work! Unseen and in the background, God swiftly and silently moves. One by one, the world closes the doors on Jesus. Little by little, he loses everything. His life is far beyond repair. And finally, late on that long-ago Friday afternoon, Jesus dies. The worse that can happen to a human being happens to Jesus!
But…as Tony Campolo so beautifully expresses it: It may be a dark and horrible Friday afternoon…but friends, Sunday’s coming! Easter Sunday!
Though the moment comes when Jesus can go no further, God
never gives up! Though death creeps into his life, God is at work,
creating new life! Though darkness
sweeps over the land, God whispers again the words of creation, “Let there
be light!”
And there is light! Sunday comes! And Jesus is raised to life!
Do you see what the cross represents? It is the most powerful
symbol in the world of God’s incredible faithfulness to his children. In the
midst of life’s horrible hurts - when things go completely kaflooey - when we
make terrible mistakes, and become victims of our own poor choices - when we
suffer tragic losses - when we get confused and are unsure which way to go -
when sickness comes, and even when we face the end of our lives – God is
still at work!
Has been since before you were born! In fact, if you were to look back over your life, you would see moments in the past when you now realize God was obviously there though you couldn’t perceive it at the time.
So as you face whatever crossroads you’re at today, come to the cross. Locate yourself in its meaning. Immerse yourself in the reality that – as God was faithful to Jesus, God will be faithful to you! At this very moment, God is at work in your life, securing your future.
The road home begins when you center your life in the faithfulness of God.
Then, it becomes important to move out from there by incorporating into your life a trusting response to God’s faithfulness.
I’ve told some of you before about my dear friend Richard whose life once revolved around the world of organized crime in Providence, Rhode Island. But even while Richard was living a life far apart from God, God was quietly in the background, loving him and gently leading Richard to faith and to new life. What a miracle to see Richard’s life soften, and turn around.
Then the day came Richard was rushed to the hospital, experiencing terrible seizures. It turned out to be a malignant brain tumor. Inoperable. Terminal. Maybe thirty – or at most sixty days – to live.
Does it matter which way I go? Asked the Yankee from Massachusetts.
Does it matter how you live when the pieces of your life’s puzzle have been scattered all around? When hurt comes, or loss, or a broken relationship? Does it MATTER which way you go?
Well, this very gruff, very carnal, very human man – Richard - in his own unique way, responded to what he believed was God’s faithfulness in his life by trying to live the remainder of his days like Jesus lived even as he suffered and died on the cross. Richard threw himself into the art of Christian love! He relentlessly pursued the best interest of the other people in his life. Every day, he tried to use his words to bring life and hope to others. He took care of the needs of his wife and children. He sought out those from whom he was estranged and asked for – and gave – forgiveness. He carved out some time in his week to feed hungry people at the local soup kitchen. He poured out grace to people – people who didn’t deserve his love – but who got it anyways, as a free gift! One of the most impressive things about this time of Richard’s life was how he appreciated the gift of every day, every conversation, every meal, every experience. He took each one and wrung it out until there wasn’t a drop left in it. He used to say that he never realized how good “The Big Guy” – as he used to refer to God – really was.
You see, trusting in God’s faithfulness to care for his life even in the face of death, Richard took hold of the moment he was in just like Jesus did. Do you remember how Jesus loved people from the cross? How tenderly he spoke to them? How he cared for their needs? How he offered the gift of forgiveness even to those who were responsible for his execution?
Well, that’s how Richard lived. He lived the way of the cross.
Joyfully, his prognosis of thirty to sixty days turned into the gift of ten beautiful years. And those of us who were privileged to walk with Richard during those years knew that – though he was standing at one of life’s most difficult crossroads - he truly found the way home!
And you can, too!
You can find your way home from anywhere from the cross.
So let me invite you this morning to confront the challenges you are facing in life – all those in-between moments of human vulnerability, and unwanted change, and difficult decisions, and unresolved hurt – by coming to the cross.
As that little seven-year old girl told the policeman, “I
can always find my way home from here!”