about a book I recently finished titled Wonder by R.J. Palacio. I highly recommend this book to

Transcription

1 Leaving Home, a sermon preached by Rev. Todd Smith Lippert at First United Church of Christ in Northfield, MN, on September 14, Genesis 12: 1-9 As I ve been working with the story of Abram and Sarai leaving home, I ve been thinking about a book I recently finished titled Wonder by R.J. Palacio. I highly recommend this book to elementary and Middle School students, to anyone who has school age children, to anyone who has ever been a child. It s a novel about a boy who was born with severe health problems that put his life at risk and affected the appearance of his face. In his first ten years of life he has 27 surgeries on his face. His doctors call him a medical wonder. As the boy is telling his story he says, if I found a magic lamp and I could have one wish, I would wish that I had a normal face that no one ever noticed at all. I would wish that I could walk down the street without people seeing me and doing that look away thing. Here s what I think: the only reason I m not ordinary is that no one else sees me that way. My name is August, by the way, I won t describe what I look like. Whatever you re thinking, it s probably worse. Because August has had so many surgeries, he hasn t been able to go to school, until this year. The first chapters of the book tell the story of August wrestling with the idea of going to school. His parents introduce the idea, he meets the principal Mr. Tushman (everyone thinks that s an unfortunate name for a principal), and he s given a tour of the school by three potential classmates First United Church of Christ 1

2 This next exchange describes the emotional intensity of leaving home. August returns home from the school tour and says, The moment we got inside the house, I ran to my room and threw myself onto the bed. I could tell Mom didn t know what was up, and I guess I really didn t either. I felt very sad and a tiny bit happy at the same time, kind of like that laughing crying feeling all over again. Is everything ok sweetness, Mom asked, were those kids not nice to you, Auggie? Oh no, I said, only half lying. They were ok. Julian was like, So, August, what s the deal with your face? Were you in a fire or something? He didn t say it in a mean way, I added quickly. He was just asking. But I really liked Jack, he was like, be quiet Julian. And Charlotte was like, you re so rude Julian. Mom nodded. She pressed her fingers on her forehead like she was pushing against a headache. I m so sorry Auggie, she said quietly, her cheeks were bright red. You don t have to go to school if you don t want to, sweetie. No, I want to. I said. Auggie Really Mom, I want to. And I wasn t lying. At this moment in the book you can tell that August is convinced that blessing, good things, await if he leaves home. But we ve also had enough of a glimpse into his life that we know there s tremendous risk for him. There s risk either way. If he stays where he is he risks missing an opportunity for growth, for becoming the person he s supposed to be. We can feel the agony of the choice, and we watch August trust and hope as life takes him in a new direction. I cried through that whole book. It doesn t take a whole lot for me to shed a tear, but Wonder is filled with emotion. The story of Abram and Sarai leaving home is the opposite. It s like a news report. But the clues are there that this is a human story even if the feeling is left out. God says to Abram, go. Leave your town, all your relatives, all you ve ever known. Leave the house that you ve fixed up just the way you want it with the nice kitchen and the flat screen tv, and go to the 2014 First United Church of Christ 2

3 land that I will show you. I m not going to tell you where it is right now, because I m not quite sure myself, but I m sure I ll figure it out. Take Sarai, she ll be fine with it. I will bless you, and you will be a blessing, but only if you go. Then the story says, without any other explanation at all, and Abram went. What is that? Who is this guy. There s uncertainty in this story. If there is a clear plan, God is not revealing it. God would never get this through a congregational meeting. And leaving home feelings are left out: anguish in discerning, sadness as well as excitement, and anger and conflict. Leaving home usually includes all of these things. There s a lot of blank space here for us to read between the lines. If this story is to help us make meaning of human life, then there were lots of people who thought Abram was crazy when he started telling them about the new direction his life should take. If this story is anything like human life, then people were mad at Abram. They were sad to see Abram and Sarai go, and they were mad that things were changing. I can t imagine that Sarai s thinking this is a good idea. Where are we going? You don t know? To the land that I will show you? Who arranged this marriage? If this story is anything like human life, then Abram isn t absolutely certain. God s voice isn t barking from a loudspeaker in the sky, it s bubbling up in the mishmash of daily life. Abram listens, prays, obsesses, talks with others about God s call if he has the guts, and in the end he may come to some clarity, but not certainty. But Abram still has to trust in God. He has to hold his fear, worry, sadness, and excitement, and go in spite of all of that. There s real-life risk in this story, risk that goes in two directions. The obvious risk for Abram and Sarai, is that of leaving home, leaving all that is safe and known and walking with God somewhere new. But there s risk in staying too. God has told Abram that God will bless, and that 2014 First United Church of Christ 3

4 Abram and Sarai will be a blessing, but to participate in God s blessing, they have to go. To experience this blessing, they have to be willing to let God take them someplace new. We might find ourselves living this story at any time. Experts speak of the five moves that occur in our culture right now: moving to college, from college to first job, from first job to better job, after retirement to be close to children, and into a smaller dwelling when needs change. Abram is 75 years old, but we don t know what that age means, because ages are so crazy in the book of Genesis. Kind of like today. We don t know what age means now, because we re living longer and doing more than we ever thought possible. So when God calls Abram and Sarai to go to be a part of a new thing, a new project, we should probably all listen up. This is a story that speaks to our individual lives. It s also a story that speaks to our life and mission as a church. Pastor Abby mentioned last week that this year we ll be following the Narrative Lectionary in worship. This is a schedule of scripture readings put together by a group of radical Lutherans. What these radical Lutherans assume is that many of us in the church don t know much about the Bible. They assume it will help us to know how the main stories of the Bible fit together as one whole narrative. So they ve put together a series of readings, one reading at a time, that will take us from the beginning of the Bible to the birth of Jesus by Christmas, from the birth of Jesus to the death and resurrection of Jesus by Easter, and then into the life of the early church from Easter to Pentecost. I think these assmptions tell us that clearly the Lutherans have some problems with Biblical literacy. I m sure we don t have these problems, but I thought we would try this narrative lectionary anyway, just as a refresher. So what Pastor Abby and I will be doing this year will be interpreting these central Biblical stories and also trying to connect the dots from one big Biblical moment to another First United Church of Christ 4

5 I m going to take a few moments to connect some dots. In my mind the book of Genesis is one big introduction to Exodus, the foundation of the Bible. And chapters 1-11 in Genesis are an introduction to our story for today. In chapter 1, God creates the world, in chapters 2 and 3 we meet Adam and Eve and the serpent, sin enters into creation. In chapters 4-6, sin goes out of control and creation starts to fall apart. God is fed up and wants to start all over again, so in chapters 6-8, God sends a flood to wash away the sin of the world, and we meet Noah, the ark, and all the animals. By the end of that story God, changes God s mind, saying, too much destruction, I won t use a flood again to try to restore creation. I need something else. In chapters 8-11, creation starts falling apart again, and then God comes up with a new idea. I m going to call a people, God decides. I m going to call a people who will partner with me in healing my beloved creation. So God calls Abram and Sarai, saying, I will make of you a great nation. I will bless you and make your name great so that you will be a blessing. Today s story is the beginning of a people with a particular calling partnering with God in healing the world. As a church, we trace our ancestry through Jesus back to Abram and Sarai. This passage tells us who we are as a church. We are a community called to be a blessing. And this story shows us what partnering with God looks like. We listen for God, we trust in God, and sometimes tells us, to be a blessing, you must leave home, you must leave what is safe, what you have always known. Last Friday I was at the UCC Pension Boards Annuitant Visitor gathering in Minneapolis. The Pension Boards of the UCC has volunteers who visit every retired pastor or widow or widower to make sure they are doing ok, and this was their annual convention. I was asked to offer greetings on behalf of the Minnesota Conference because I serve here, a top giver to the church s wider mission, and because I, like Abby, participate in the Next Generation Leadership Initiative of the 2014 First United Church of Christ 5

6 Pension Boards of the UCC. Sara went with me to the banquet, I take her to the most romantic places. I offered greetings and shared that one core value of the Minnesota Conference is innovation: risking for the sake of the Gospel. Our conference pledges to celebrate new initiatives when they succeed and when they fail. When I sat down to eat, I chatted with the CEO of the Pension Boards Michael Downs because we were at his table. Michael said, The Minnesota Conference is strong and it helps that your conference received a multi-million dollar gift a few years ago, right? I said, yes that s true. Then he said, the question is, do you use that money to protect the innovations of the past, or do you use that money to give birth to the innovations of the present. Too often churches only protect the innovations of the past, he said. I thought, wow. I wasn t expecting to hear that from you, a guy in the most conservative role in the denomination. He was saying, the church always has to be leaning forward, ready to go when God calls it to go. If the church is to be a blessing sometimes it has to leave home, go on a new adventure. We ve been doing many new things as a congregation: new projects, trying new models for ministry, we re organizing ourselves differently, and we ll be trying some more new things as we go through this year. Some great things are happening, and there s some stress. Any time God calls us to leave home to leave what is safe and known, there s stress. But the story of Abram and Sarai tells us that the life of faith will not allow us to rest comfortably in one place. And, in all and through all, God promises blessing as we listen, and trust and partner with God. Thanks be to God. Amen First United Church of Christ 6