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November 18, 2007

Frannie Kieschnick - Nov 18, 2007

I do not like airplanes. I love traveling to far away places but flying makes me fearful and anxious. Especially after 9/11, it often finds me separated from my stomach and clutching the armrests. On a recent flight, the turbulence was especially troubling- I usually find some reassurance by checking to see that the flight attendants are showing no signs of panic, but there were none in sight - so slightly panicked, I pulled out my traveling Bible At this point my seat mate leaned over and asked, "Do you know something we don't know?"

These are turbulent times- We are on an exciting new journey at Trinity and yet our beloved rector is ill. We live in a beautiful, prosperous community and yet life's pressures take their toll. There is violence and injustice at home and abroad. An oil spill has badly damaged beaches and wildlife and if that isn't enough, Yale lost to Harvard in the big game.

What to say then, on this Stewardship Sunday, in anticipation of Thanksgiving on Thursday, in the face of an unknown future and present doubts? People of God at Trinity we do know something and that can make all the difference.

We know that surely our God will save us, we can trust in God and not be afraid.For our God whom Jesus proclaimed and Jesus knew, is gentle, loving and generous. Our God calls us to live not out of fear and guilt but out of gratitude and hope.

A reading from the short quiz called "Are you ready to talk about money in your church? "

When the preacher begins a sermon on stewardship your first thought is:
A: Did I leave the oven on ?
B: I'm so glad my shallow materialistic neighbor is here to hear this.
C: I wonder what God might have to say to me today about the stewardship of my treasure, my talent and time.
D: OK , just try to convince me!

If your answer was C I wonder what God might have to say to me today then be assured that this preacher is not going to argue that Paul's advice to avoid certain believers living in idleness and Jesus's dire predictions are God's way of saying you should increase your pledge, or else.

Some who call themselves believers do just that using fear and guilt to convince or motivate others. But their God is not our God. No fear tactics or guilt trips here. For we know a Jesus who said, Perfect love, casts out fear. Who said, Do not be afraid. I will be with you always.We may not always experience his presence but we will never be separated from his love.

The lessons today talk about what we know as disciples and followers of Jesus- they show us a way- and it is what fills me with gratitude and hope,despite the fears we face, the challenges we endure, the future we do not know...

Paul says to the congregation of Thessalonika, believers, you know how to imitate me. You are capable of talking the talk, but not all are walking the walk. What good is the gospel if only lip service is paid to it.Some are practicing idleness, not godliness Hang in there. Don't stop practicing godliness and doing what is right.

In the gospel, the disciples, terrified by Jesus predictions, want to know when the end of times will come and what sign there will be, Don't we all! But Jesus turns their attention on what they need to know in the time being. He says, there is no get out of jail free card. Even for his followers, there will be struggles and choices but these will be moments of truth for they are opportunities to give witness in word and work to the eternal love of God.

I want my children's generation to grow up in a safe and comfortable world, but I want them to know that safety and prosperity are not always the highest values. Those saints, like Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Mother Teresa who have loved God's world with exuberant joy and aching lament did not escape suffering. And yet they lived extraordinary lives. They practiced godliness, They practiced compassion and they gave thanks for the chances to do just that.

They knew something. It is something we know but do not necessarily live. God's home is not in buildings, possessions and institutions, but in the love of our hearts and the generosity and compassion of our actions. What would it mean if we considered turbulence and suffering in our lives,and in the world, as opportunities to give witness in word and work to the eternal love of God, the love from which nothing can separate us, If we lived not out of fear and guilt but out of gratitude and hope?

Would we do things, say things, give things differently?

Jesus says, Make up your minds not to prepare in advance for I will give you words and wisdom. I don't know about you, but I can relate to the Gospel according to Peanuts cartoon where Charlie Brown has just dropped the baseball and Lucy is looming over him, hands on her hips, shouting "What do you have to say for yourself" Charlie Brown looks out and says, "Isn't this where Jesus is supposed to give me the words?"

I don't know about you but there are plenty of times in my life when Jesus' words and wisdom do not seem to be coming to me. That is why Jesus says, at the end, by your endurance you will gain your souls. Hang in there. Stay with it. Through it all, I will be with you. By your constant diligence,by practicing the presence of God all along the way you will gain your souls.

In his Cotton Patch version of Luke, Clarence Jordan translates the words- "you will gain your souls" - to, "you will find a new dimension to life. Your life will be rooted in the eternal -you will live out of a sacred space -and God will live through you, Christ's spirit will speak through you."

How do we find the inner strength to endure? It comes from doing what God means us to do in life despite fear, doubt and even death .It comes from the God of all comfort and strength who in Paul's words gives us sufficient capacity so that when we are knocked down, we are not knocked out. It comes through acts of compassion.

A story is told about Christians who were prisoners of war. Early on they prayed regularly, read their Bibles and made a great effort to maintain their faith. But as their conditions worsened their faith began to waver. So the men turned to the care of those who were suffering most.It was here in acts of compassion for the weakest among them that the spark of faith began to glow again and their faith was shown to be alive.

Could it be that compassion then is both the source and manifestation of inner strength. Could it be that what we must do to stand when others are falling, in the midst of turmoil and trials, is to choose to show compassion. How contrary to the conventional wisdom of how we deal with turbulent times. But that is why we are here - gathering together, growing together. Not just to survive but to thrive.

What if we understood the pledges we make this day to be acts of compassion-expressions of God's love in the very midst of life- given to a faith community whose mission is just that, acts of compassion. What if we understood Thanksgiving to be an opportunity to give witness in word and work to the eternal love of God. What a difference it would make!

May we live and choose not out of fear but out of hope, to live compassionate Christ like lives.. AMEN

Let us pray-
O Master let me walk with thee, In lowly paths of service free, Teach me thy secret, help me bear, The strain of toil, the fret of care...Teach me thy patience, still with thee, In closer dearer company, In work that keeps faith sweet and strong, In trust that triumphs over wrong. In hope that sends a shining ray, Far down the future's broadening ways. In peace that only thou canst give, With thee O master, let me live.
(Washington Gladden)

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