“A Funny Thing Happened

On the Way to the 21^st Century...”

Luke 9:28-36

With all the heartache and difficulty taking place in the world these days, you may not have even noticed the little item in the newspaper a while back noting the death of Larry LaPrise. A native of Detroit who passed away at the age of 83, LaPrise is best known for writing the song - The Hokey Pokey. They say the funeral was a beautiful celebration until the family tried to put him in the casket. You see, they put his left foot in…

And that’s when all the trouble started.

Now it seems to me that an awful lot of trouble always results from trying to put things in boxes that just don’t want to stay. And nowhere is this more true than when it comes to God. Try as we may to cram God into little boxes of our own design where we can understand God and control God and get our arms around God, God just won’t cooperate! God keeps popping out!

Today, I want to talk about one of God’s great escapes – one of God’s most wonderful breakouts - that is taking place in this new postmodern world in which we live.

Now remember, the world is changing. Underneath our feet, the world is shifting gears. The last time it happened in such a significant way was back in the year 1650 when Johann Gutenberg invented the printing press. Almost overnight, the world started to change as knowledge became available to the common person. Science helped explain things that had only been mysteries before. Medicine sought and found cures and vaccinations against life’s deadliest diseases. Even in the Church, the waves of change roared as the Bible became available to anyone who could read, and was no longer owned and solely interpreted by the Church. There was a Protestant Reformation, and then a counter-Reformation, and religious reverberations have been felt to this very day. This one invention changed the course of history, and led us into a new world. Historians tell us this Modern Period – with its new way of thinking called scientific rationalism - lasted for almost 400 years. You and I grew up in the Modern world.

But then, in the early 1980’s, the world changed again. This time, the invention that changed the course of history was the Internet – a term first coined in the 1970’s by Vint Cerf and Bob Kahn in a computer research paper on Transmission Control Protocol – or TCP - which allows computers to talk to each other over distant networks. And as the 1980’s melted into the ‘90’s and now the 2000’s this Internet spread into every corner of the world, and into virtually every home.

And the world has changed!

A friend of mine – a doctor – tells me that his patients now sometimes know more about their illnesses than he does! And where do they get all their information? Over the Internet. Here in our own community, we have people who continue to work with companies located in far away places. How do they manage it? Over the Internet. You can complete a college education, learn how to make lasagna, play games with people half a world away, run political campaigns, publish your own writings, belong to little communities where everybody knows your name even though you’ve never met before and you all live in different countries. All this – and much, much more – has been made possible by the Internet.

Almost overnight, the world in which we were born and raised has changed. It’s not all good, of course. There are as many new dangers as there are great possibilities. Life always contains a mixture of the good and the bad. But it is a new world. Historians say that the advent of the Internet brought to a close the Modern era that began with Johann Gutenberg and his marvelous invention. And now you and I live in a world they call Postmodern.

Welcome to the 21^st century!

Last week, I started a new a series of sermons called, “A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The 21^st Century…” I want to use this series to explore with you what it means to live as Christians in this new world, and what it will mean to be the Church. Someone recently wrote, “If you have a new world, you need a new Church.” Then, after a pause for effect, the writer says, “We have a new world!”

Last Sunday we said that the Church in the postmodern world is learning that it must reclaim Christianity as a thinking person’s faith – a faith that actually works better when people are allowed to ask questions, explore doubts, and argue points of difference. We got away from that in the Modern world with all it’s systematic theology. But the new communities being formed by the Internet will no longer stand for a faith that is not willing to stand up to intellectual scrutiny. Faith in the postmodern world must not be afraid of science, or of other bodies of religious thought, or of re-thinking ideas and doctrines that were formed in the Modern period but no longer have meaning. In other words, we must reclaim a faith that is willing to live out the instruction of Psalm 1 that tells us to THINK!!!! If you weren’t here last week, you can read that sermon on our web site – www.tellicochurch.org.

Now today, I want us to think about another dimension of faith in the postmodern world. You see, another funny thing that happened on the way to the 21^st century is that God – like Larry LaPrise – came popping out of one of the boxes we tried to stuff him in!

In theology, we use two words to describe God’s location in connection to the world. One word is “transcendent” which means that God is above and beyond reality as we experience it. This is a beautiful idea because it reassures us that God holds the world and our lives in his hands - that “underneath are the everlasting arms.” The transcendence of God is at the heart of almost all the theology developed in the Modern period. So – for instance - when you and I think of heaven, where do we look? We look “up”!

The second word we use to describe God’s location in relationship to the world is “immanent”. This means that, though God is above and beyond the world of reality, God nonetheless is present within the world and all of creation – that the presence of God pervades every thing and every creature. So God is not only “up there”, but “right here.” God is in this moment as we gather. God is in this sanctuary. God is in every life present. God is in the wood of the great beams, in the color of the stained-glass, in the music of the organ, in the very air we breath as we worship! So when Jesus speaks of heaven he says, “The kingdom of heaven is AT HAND!”

Well, in the Modern period, with its emphasis on scientific rationalism, the Church was much more oriented toward the transcendent nature of God that could be analyzed and systemized from afar. But people in the new day are different People in the Postmodern world are crying out to KNOW God present in the here and now. And somewhere along the way to the 21^st century, God must have heard the prayers of those people because God came springing out of that box of transcendence and landed smack dab in the middle of our world! Not that God was ever really gone! And all around us, people are crying out to know and experience this living God!

Now for me, there are two important spiritual practices that can help us become receptive to God’s presence. They’re not the only ones, but they are practices that were, in some respects, lost to the Church during the Modern age. They are spiritual practices that anyone can learn to use. And they seem to be like little doorways leading to the discovery of God in our lives.

One of them is the practice of silence.

There was a man in my first church who I’ll call Sam. Sam was a good guy for the most part, but he had one annoying habit. Sam used to sleep through every sermon I preached.

Well, I tried everything to rouse the man. I raised my voice. Lowered my voice. Got the congregation up doing calisthenics during some sermons. But old Sam just sat there in his pew, sort of slumped over and listing like a ship about to go under. Snoring away. Sound asleep.

One day, I went to a workshop on worship, and during the question and answer session we were invited to share any challenges we were facing in our worship services. So I told about Sam. Turned out that just about every preacher there had at least one Sam in his or her congregation too! Well, the workshop leader asked me some questions. What did Sam do for a living? Well, he was a police officer who spent his life driving around in a cruiser, listening to a constant barrage of radio calls, chasing criminals, getting into fights, attending to tragedies, going to court. Then she asked what things were like at home. I said that Sam was married to a woman who (forgive me for this because I don’t mean it as a stereotype) never stopped talking from the time she got up in the morning until the time she went to bed at night. And even then, I don’t think she stopped.

Well, the workshop leader sort of smiled, and then she said something that changed my whole way of thinking. “My God, Marty,” she said, “don’t you think he just NEEDS some peace and quiet?”

That forever changed my thinking about people who sleep in church. Those of you who woke up to listen to that story can now go back to sleep! You need it!

Now here’s the point. This world is a very busy and noisy place. You can’t go anywhere without experiencing a constant barrage of images, sounds, and other frenetic stimulation. If you watch TV news you’ll notice that the screen changes about every five seconds. The name of the anchor appears. And then disappears. The station channel number flashes into a corner of the screen. And then disappears. A video clip runs, and then the news desk reappears. It’s a one shot, then a two shot, a segue to what’s coming next, and then a commercial break. Take note of this the next time you watch the news. This constant stimulation is not by accident. It is intentionally created to keep the interest of the viewer. Every five seconds or so your brain is given a jolt. And not only does this constant bombardment happen on TV, but everywhere else you go – including church. Today’s worship services are often nothing more than TV news shows in religious clothing. They offer a lot of stimulation, but often not the one thing we need the most.

Silence.

You see, we humans don’t experience God in the noise of the earthquake, wind or fire – but in the still, small voice of the spirit. As Psalm 46:10 says: “Be still…and know that I am God.”

The most important thing that can happen to us when we come to worship is not that we’ll learn something in a sermon, or listen to some beautiful music, or fellowship with great Christian friends. The most important thing that can happen in our service is that people will encounter God!

The Church in the 21^st century needs to provide places and moments of silence for people. We need times of silence in our worship. And we need it in our daily lives. As you go about your life this week, I wonder if you might give it a try. Build in some time for silence every day - time to think, and pray, and listen, and wonder, and dream, and be still, and to seek the presence of God. A friend of mine says she begins every day by going off by herself in the house and lighting some candles to remind her of the presence of God. Then she reads a passage of Scripture and thinks about it. Then she reads a passage from the prayers of John Baille. And then she writes in her own prayer journal the thoughts that come to her. This is all done in silence, and she will tell you that in the course of it, God becomes real and speaks to her heart.

We need to rediscover the gift of silence.

And along with it, the gift of God revealed in nature. Oh, St. Francis knew about this! So did St. Anthony who once preached to some fish! And the Bible itself invites us to experience God in the beauty of nature.

The Scriptures actually teach that God is present everywhere. God is not only present in the world of people, but in the world of flowers, too – and the world of birds – and the world of oceans, mountains, and lakes. And many of the Psalms tell us that, if you become still and listen carefully, you can actually hear nature singing hymns of praise to God!

Have you ever stopped by a marshland in the evening and listened to the song being sung?

Psalm 148 tells us that this magnificent choir of creation includes some impressive voices: the sun, the moon, the shining stars, the rain, the earth, sea creatures, everything in the ocean, lightning, hail, snow, clouds, winds, mountains, hills, apple trees, cedars, wild animals, cattle, birds, and even insects. Yes, even insects sing hymns of praise to God as God strolls through the world he made! Haven’t you ever listened?

William Cleary is a wonderful Christian poet who listens carefully to nature’s song, and then imagines what the words to the prayer might be. Here’s an interesting one called, “The Maggot’s Magnificat”:

With all my noble maggot’s soul
        I magnify you, God,
And call your works all wonderful,
        Though scoffers find that odd.
“You legless grub, you loathsome worm,”
        They shout: “You’re so inferior!”
“You have no head, yet eat all day,
        And breathe through your posterior!”
Dear God, how blind! - to criticize
        The magic of creation,
Where maggots raise flesh from the dead
        Through transubstantiation.
How beautifully the cycle spins
        When beings eat each other,
And one loved creature seems to die,
        Then rises in another.
Not only rises, but grows wings
        And soon begins to soar
Throughout the azure sky above
        And sings at heaven’s door.
So with this grateful grubby heart
        I honor my Creator,
Who gives us death so we can then
        Turn into something greater.

Have you ever stopped and listened to nature singing about the Lord?

One night, Jesus took three of his disciples up onto a high mountain. The air was clear and cold, and the wind whispered through the outcroppings of rock. The moon and stars were close overhead, and crickets chirped. Nesting birds cooed there in the night, and below came the call of something wild. Nature was alive with song!

So they stopped there on the mountain, and each knelt down to pray. In silence they listened, and sought the presence of God.

They say that something happened up there on the mount that night. The door – if it is a door - that separates earth and heaven seemed to suddenly swing open. The light of God’s glory flooded the night. Jesus himself was transformed, his clothing becoming dazzling white. And people from the past – people long dead – actually appeared and spoke with Jesus. There was Moses, representing the law. There was Elijah, representing the prophets. The dividing line between earth and heaven must be very thin indeed!

These three disciples were overwhelmed by the power and majesty of the moment. They wondered what to do – turn and run? – build a shrine? – strike up the band? They so much felt the need to DO SOMETHING!

But in that very moment of their wondering, a cloud descended and swallowed the top of the mountain. And from the cloud thundered the voice of God.

And this is what God said.

God said, “Listen!”

A funny thing happened on the way to the 21^st century! God leapt out of the box of transcendence, and came to live among us. So the Church in this new postmodern world has two beautiful gifts to share with others and to practice ourselves – the gift of discovering God in silence, and the gift of discovering God in the beautiful hymns and artwork of nature all around.

These aren’t the only gifts of course. But they are among the most beautiful the Church has to offer to a world that’s crying out for God.