Two-Way Street
By Al Bunis
October 11, 2009
Genesis 22: 1-2, 9-12 and Acts 9: 1-5 and Matthew 4: 18-20
[ Audio
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ripture is often challenging…even perplexing…and this morning's readings are among the most challenging and perplexing.
--
Here we have Abraham, the patriarch of three great faiths, a man of amazing
vision and courage…almost killing his son on what he thought were God's orders…
-- and then Paul, an avid persecutor of Christians, seemingly on a dime,
converting and becoming one of the two great leaders of early Christianity…
-- and finally Peter, the other great leader of early Christianity, literally
dropping what he is doing, seemingly without a second thought, to follow
Jesus.
These texts speak, of course, to the issue I want to
address today…and that is how we communicate with God…how we hear what God has
to say to us…how we look for God's messages in our lives…signs from God.
So my question for everyone is this: Have you ever had
an event or events in your life that you took as a message or sign from
God? I've been pondering this very
question myself recently.
Early last summer, after Chuck and I had agreed on my
role as intern, I planned to visit Christ
Church on a Sunday in
early June…to be introduced.
But on this first attempt to visit Christ Church, I
ran into a bit of an obstacle…well actually it was a chunk of concrete the size
of a brick…right in the middle of my lane on Route 80…and that chunk blew out
both tires on one side of the car. I'll spare you the details but suffice
it to say that I did not make it to Christ
Church that Sunday.
Apropos to our topic this morning, I have to
confess…one of the first thoughts that jumped into my mind, even as I was
sitting by the side of the highway… was whether there was some sort of message
in this for me…whether this was some sort of sign…maybe about the path I am
on…my path into ministry…and, yes, even whether I should be working at a church
so far from the safe confines of Brooklyn. “O' Ye of Little Faith.”
But it turned out that I wasn't the only one with this
thought…perhaps in jest, but I got the same reaction from a number of friends,
and even my wife, when they heard about my car drama. Usually, they'd say
something like “it must be a sign”….to which I'd respond…“or maybe a
test.” But beneath the repartee, I have to admit that I really
wondered.
Unfortunately, the car drama didn't end there…on my
second attempt to see Christ Church…this time I was on Route 78…a dump truck
sprayed pebbles into our windshield…leaving what look like two bullet
holes. Leave it to my wife Lynn, who was with me, to dryly sum it up on
the spot. She said: “This new church is very hard on our car…and you
haven't even started working there yet.”
As I was thinking about how to work a sermon around
this event, one of my early ideas for a title came from a rock tune I liked as
a teenager: “Sign, sign everywhere a sign.” For those of you who
weren't teenagers in the 70's, these are words from one of those one-hit
wonders…by a band called the Five Man Electrical Band…it was a pretty big
hit…“Sign, sign, everywhere a sign…” Indeed.
But these events kept drawing me back to some
fundamental questions: How do we know what God is saying to us? How do we
know for sure when, or even if there is a message? And how do we know
when or whether to act?
While I am not someone who is constantly on the
lookout for precise messages and signs…especially in routine everyday life…Like
many of us, I do strongly believe that God communicates with us. And yet,
I find it hard to believe that it's as clear and simple as some make it out to
be.
I'm on an email list for daily devotionals…I received
one around this time about listening to God…needless to say, it caught my
attention.
Let me read you a bit: “There are a few ways to
discern from which place a thought is coming. If a thought comes into
your mind that you know you would never have thought of, and it might be
something you would not normally consider doing. This is likely God speaking.”
I have to be frank…this feels more than a bit too
precise for me. Can it be that simple? Can there be a process that
is this mechanical for discerning God's will? Just imagine if you took as
God's will those contrary thoughts that we all often have…even those off-center
thoughts. This sounds like a recipe for trouble.
Turning back to this morning's readings…if we take our
famous passage about Abraham at face value, we could draw a similarly troubling
conclusion. Abraham is obedient…but to a fault. I assume Abraham
knew that what he is about to do to his son was not the right thing…that it was
downright evil. Did God really want him to do this….Did God want Abraham
to prove his loyalty and faith in this manner? Isn't it possible, maybe
even likely, that Abraham misread what God was telling him to do? Maybe
Abraham was seeing a sign where there wasn't one.
Theologians have been debating this text for about
3,000 years…and so I don't think we'll be resolving it here this morning. But we will come back to it again in a few
minutes…because I think there is more here than meets the eye.
The same is true about our reading from Acts.
Here is Paul…devoted persecutor of Christians…someone who undoubtedly did his
homework…he studied up on those Christians…he knew exactly who he was
persecuting.
And then, on the way to Damascus…in an instant his life changes
completely…he literally sees the light…a true epiphany!
But I nevertheless have to question whether things
really changed on a dime. I'm not questioning the details of the
story. Instead I'm questioning the way we think about the story…and even
more broadly questioning the way we think about epiphanies…and similarly about
signs and messages.
It could instead be the case that Paul's epiphany was not
a sudden event. Instead, I imagine that after years of studying those
whom he persecuted…he gradually began to see the logic of the Christian
narrative…he began to see, without admitting it perhaps, that Jesus really was
doing something special…and maybe that made him fight it even harder.
The way I see it, the Spirit of Jesus was changing
Paul long before he finally had his epiphany…before he finally admitted it to
himself…Perhaps Paul was subconsciously fighting it all the way up to his trip
to Damascus.
And while the turnaround was dramatic…the stage was
set. It seems to me that God was working with Paul all along. It
was, in effect, a two-way conversation. Paul had done his
homework…whether he knew that's what he was doing or not….and he was ripe for
change…ripe for God's message…for an epiphany.
My concern is that if we react robotically to what we
think are messages from God…without really thinking for ourselves…without
participating in dialogue with God…the results can be troubling. Of
course, killing Isaac would have been disastrous. I have trouble
believing that God puts people…his very creation...at risk…in order to make a
point.
And so maybe there is a subtle point being raised in
our story about Abraham…undoubtedly the narrative is extolling the virtues of
loyalty and obedience…but doesn't it also raise questions about reacting
robotically…mechanically. Doesn't this passage assume that we the readers
know that killing Isaac was not a good thing?
So in my mind, this Scripture is talking to us…but it
doesn't expect us to simply accept the narrative at face value…instead, it
feels like this text is expecting us to react…to talk back…to challenge it…and
it does so by raising challenging issues…raising “live wire” issues that seem
to demand a response. Now that sounds just like God to me.
So yes, I do indeed believe that God speaks to us…but
I also believe that God wants…that God expects us to talk back…and not
necessarily always in a polite manner. Even a superficial look at the
Psalter reveals a profound mix of complaint, praise and supplication.
There are many Psalms where the tone shifts back and forth between aggressive
complaint and lavish praise. It can be shocking at times. The
Psalter seems to be clearly telling us that it's OK to talk back to God.
This signs and messages business…it isn't a one-way
monologue…No, it's a two way street. And that's of course why we
pray. We want a response…we believe that there is response. It is
the core belief of my life.
Yet some messages seem more obvious than others…Simon
Peter literally dropped his fishing net to follow Jesus. Sometimes gut
instinct is needed. While we don't know what was going on in Peter's
head, this certainly was a bold decision. Sometimes “bold” is required.
So yes I listen…yes I am open to messages…and I'm
guessing many of us are.
When I was debating whether to preach on this topic…I
mentioned my debate to three friends I was having lunch with…All three of them
eagerly proceeded to tell me stories that they had taken as signs from God.
I spent many years pursuing a career that I knew
wasn't a calling. I consistently reflected on this…talked about
it…thought about it…over a long period of time…I knew I was missing
something. And so I kept at it…that is until I had an epiphany.
Years of reflection…followed by an epiphany. And I'm so thankful to God
for hanging in there with me.
My epiphany was hard won. My guess is they are
rarely instantaneous. They may seem instantaneous but probably rarely
are.
Instinct and experience tell me that the ground can be
fertilized…fertilized by our homework…that's our part. As to the
timing…maybe that's God's part…the mysterious part…the wonderful part.
If we trust in God…trust that God is listening…and
isn't going away…trust that perhaps it isn't always as urgent as it feels…that
it may take patience and diligence.
God is always there for us. All we have to do is
reach out. God is always ready…always ready to hear what we have to
say…expecting us to take up our part of the dialogue. This is a
blessing. It's a two way street. Good relationships always
are.
After all that car drama, I did finally make it to Christ Church
without incident for my introduction at a service in July. That morning,
as I was driving to Christ
Church…this time on Route
80…I was really concentrating…really driving carefully…on the lookout for
chunks of concrete.
I wanted to be early. And it was going
smoothly. No problems. And yet amazingly, somehow I missed the
sign! I missed it. I drove right by the exit I needed to
take. But you know what? No big deal…I got off 80 and turned around
and was back on my way.
And I believe it's that way with God. Don't
panic if you miss what you think is a sign. There will be more. God
will be there to listen to you…and to reach out to you…to talk back to
you…again…and again…and again.
You know that “one hit wonder” I was talking about…“Sign,
sign, everywhere a sign”…the song isn't about signs from God….its actually
about human beings constantly bombarding each other with hypocritical
directions and instructions…the lead singer screams “do this don't do that,
can't you read the signs”
And the song ends like this:
“And the sign said everybody welcome, come in, kneel
down and pray
But when they passed around the plate at the end of it all,
I didn't have a penny to pay, so I got a pen and some paper and I made up my
own little sign…I said thank you Lord for thinking about me, I'm alive and
doing fine…”
It's funny how wisdom can come from the oddest
places…even from one-hit wonders. So yes, indeed…thank you Lord…thank you
Lord for thinking about us…thank you for listening to us…and thank you for
talking back.
And P.S…thank you for bringing me to Christ Church.
Amen.
Benediction:
Go now with God…
Be not tempted to stay in the safety of known places…
Be not tempted to go only in your own time…
Elect not to go alone…
Choose to go with God…
Go in the faith that…
there is no valley so low…
no wilderness so vast…
no passage so crooked…
that God is not already
there…
waiting to be with you.
Amen.
© 2009
Al Bunis.
All rights reserved.
