Chocolate for Lent; Giving Up The Prelude to Change By R. Larry Snow March 5, 2017

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1 Chocolate for Lent; Giving Up The Prelude to Change By R. Larry Snow March 5, 2017 This morning we re beginning a new sermon series. For the next 5 weeks, through the first Sunday in April, we re going to be basing our sermons on the movie Chocolat, and on the book by Hilary Brand, Chocolate for Lent. I was attracted to this series in part because of the title; I do have an addiction to really good chocolate. And in part because of the movie. I realize that the movie didn t make a lot of money or get a lot of attention, but I enjoyed watching it; I thought it was fun; and thought that a sermon series based on it could be fun. And I was attracted to this series because it allows me some creativity; combining scripture, film, and story. Believe it or not, even for preachers, doing the same old thing week after week can get a little dull. It s funny then that I disagree with the major thoughts Brand offers for this first Sunday. Let me explain. On one level the movie is about the tension between tranquility (security) and change. In the opening moments of the movie we are told that the French have a word that translates into tranquility and that this little town was as tranquil as any place could be. And then we are told that the sly wind blew change into the village. Tranquility vs. change. It my observation that most people are trying to find and hold onto tranquility. We like stability. We like knowing what s going on. We want things to stay the same. Tranquility gives us the false sense that we are in charge of our lives. 1

2 That describes me. I ve been married to the same woman for 43 years (as of this month). I have lived in the same home for 13 years. In August I will have served this congregation 14 years. I ve been driving the same car for almost 11 years. I have owned this pair of shoes for at least ten years. I like tranquility and resist change. Even though I realize that nothing stands still that change is constant that I m growing older; you re growing older; my children are growing older; we now use a video projector in both worship services instead of hymnals. We have a new president who is bringing change whether we like it or not. Self-driving cars will be available in the next few years. As much as I like tranquility, I realize that change is accelerating and is inescapable. And I realize what happens when change happens too quickly it makes us dig in our heels and try to return to the way things used to be. Change that happens too fast makes us unwilling to change at all we will cling to tranquility even though we know that change will always win. I, we, live in a tension between stability and instability; between tranquility and change. I realize there are those people who are always excited about change and even want to make it happen. Good for them. I don t know many of those people. I suppose we could point to our new President as someone who embraces change or Martin Luther King, Jr. as someone who demanded change. But the world doesn t have many of these change agents. Most of us lean toward tranquility. And there is nothing wrong with that as long as understand that the sly wind is always blowing. I visualize God as a mighty wind which is always blowing through the universe pushing us toward a world justice, love and hope. I visualize that God is always pushing on us to make things better; 2

to change our way of living; to change our way of thinking. God is never satisfied. God loves us just as we are but God is never still. God is about change.

20 The wild animals will honor me, the jackals and the ostriches; for I give water in the wilderness, rivers in the desert, to give drink to my chosen people, 21 the people whom I formed for myself

3 to change our way of living; to change our way of thinking. God is never satisfied. God loves us just as we are but God is never still. God is about change. There is a wonderful passage in Isaiah 43, 19 I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. 20 The wild animals will honor me, the jackals and the ostriches; for I give water in the wilderness, rivers in the desert, to give drink to my chosen people, 21 the people whom I formed for myself so that they might declare my praise. (Isaiah 43:19-21, NRSV) Yes, God is always about change. And there is that wonderful sentence in 1 st Corinthians, 17 So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! (1 Corinthians 5:17, NRSV) According to Paul because of my relationship with God through Jesus, I have become a completely new person. Only I have to admit that there are some parts of my life that haven t gotten the message. There are times when I let my fears control me. There are times when I forget that every person bears the imprint of God s Spirit. There are times when I just don t care about the people in need throughout the world. I have to admit there are times when I enjoy the privileges that go with being a white male. Sure, I m just like 3

4 the rest of you. I m just like the Apostle Paul who wrote, 15 I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. 16 Now if I do what I do not want, I agree that the law is good. 17 But in fact it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me. 18 For I know that nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh. I can will what is right, but I cannot do it. 19 For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do. 20 Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me. (Romans 7:15-20, NRSV) I m somewhere between where I started and where I d like to be; where God created me to be. I m not there yet and I could use some change. Change there s that word again. In 2008 the movie, The Day the Earth Stood Still was released. It was a remake of the 1951 version. According to the reviews this remake should never have been made. It got very bad reviews. Keanu Reeves starred as an alien who came to destroy the earth because of our insistence on war and injustice because we had polluted the earth. In other words the landlord was ending our lease. But Reeves was dissuaded from destroying the earth by a scholar who convinced him that humans could change but only if they had to. Is that true? Do we change only when we have to? Do we resist change so strongly that it takes a disaster to blast us loose? Do we resist change so much that we have to hit bottom before we re willing to make changes? Is that we humans are like? One of my sinful pleasures was the Canadian television show, Red-Green which every week ended with the Man s Prayer, I m a man, but I can change, if I have to, I guess. This week the author of the study, Hilary Brand, asks what would have happened if Jesus hadn t gone into the wilderness 4

for the 40 day fast and the battle with the Satan. Then she asks what would have happened if the disciples wouldn t have been willing to drop their nice secure lives to follow Jesus.

5 for the 40 day fast and the battle with the Satan. Then she asks what would have happened if the disciples wouldn t have been willing to drop their nice secure lives to follow Jesus. Her premise is that doing something different for Lent makes us more receptive to the changes God might bring to our lives. For centuries Christians have given up something for Lent. Giving up bubblegum, chocolate, coffee, sex, as a way to identify with the suffering of Jesus on the cross. It s also been a way to make Easter more of a celebration. But what if, for Lent, we aimed a little bit higher? What if, for Lent, we took extra time for calm; found a new way of service; gave up Facebook; gave up technology. What if we found a way to visit with someone we haven t talked to in a long while? What if we asked someone for forgiveness or offered forgiveness? What if, for Lent, we intentionally did something differently would that make us more willing to respond to the sly wind? Would doing something like that make us more fertile ground for the seeds of God s kingdom? Is that something to think about? But in another light I think that s the wrong question to ask. I think the question to ask is why Jesus went out into the wilderness; why the disciples followed Jesus. I m pretty sure that something was fermenting inside of them and had been for some time. I am pretty sure that for some time Jesus had felt a pull to do more than carpentry. I am pretty sure that the disciples had been struggling for a while with the idea that there had to be more to life. I believe that God is the master of fermentation. I believe that God seldom sends written instructions to us, or speaks out loud. But I do believe that God plants seeds that grow and plants ideas that ferment and bubble. I do believe that many times God plants desires and thoughts and ideas within us that 5

6 will lead to change real change. But I also believe that our first reaction is to fear and to repress those thoughts and ideas and I believe most of us are pretty good at it. If we re really serious about changes to our lives I would suggest that we begin by looking within our lives. If we re quiet and open what do we feel within the core of our being? What do we feel? If the sly wind is always blowing maybe what we need to learn is how to put up our sails. If the wind of God is always blowing how dare we think it isn t blowing through our lives? If the wind of God s Spirit is blowing how dare we think we are somehow immune to its work? And how dare we think that the wind of God is blowing us where we don t want to go. Jesus said, I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. (John 10:10, NRSV) God does not blow us into change in order to take away from the quality of our lives, but so that our lives can be richer; more joyful; more exciting. You know how it is with the changes that God can bring to our lives. God s wind will blow us into relationship with more people. God s wind will blow us into being more people of love and grace. God s wind will blow us into new ways of service and helping. God s wind will blow us into new ways of offering grace to ourselves. God s wind will blow us into more and more accepting that we are loved by God. That s where God s wind will blow us. In order to grab hold of those changes will we be willing to put up our sails? I understand that everyone sees change as loss. When confronted with change our first, quite human reaction, is to resist, to find ways around it. But what if we understood that the changes God would bring to our lives have to do with life? What if we understood that the old sly wind was trying to 6

7 blow you in the direction that you really wanted to go? Would that make change more acceptable? Think about it. How do you respond to change? Are you one of those few people who will grab hold of it and make it happen? Are you one of those people with your feet dug in, refusing to change or are you somewhere in between? And where is the wind of God s change blowing in your life? If God was given free reign what would God make happen within you? If you would let it happen, what would God change within you? 7

Now for a lot of people, the relationship with food is no laughing matter I get that

Now for a lot of people, the relationship with food is no laughing matter I get that Text: Mark 1:9-15 Date: February 22, 2015 Title: A World Worth Saving > For the Sake of Integrity Theme: Resisting temptation is about living our identity in Jesus with integrity. Question of the Week