2018-08-01
Brooke Strong
Oddly Asking for What We Already Have
We begin this morning with Paul reaching out to those early Christians who worshipped in the Church at Ephesus. He is fervent in his desire that these believers catch a glimpse of God being present with them in every part of their lives. He is telling them of his prayer for them – that they would be strengthened and personally know Christ’s love in ways that are without boundaries or dimension. He wants them to be aware that God is ever present.
Ephesians 3:14-21 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
14 For this reason I bow my knees before God, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth takes its name. 16 I pray that, according to the riches of his glory, God may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through the Spirit, 17 and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love. 18 I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
20 Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
We do it often. We look around for something that we need or is missing, only to discover it is in our hand, or on our head, or nearby – but somehow we missed it. Has anyone seen my reading glasses? (on forehead)
Occasionally we read of this phenomenon in serious news stories, especially in the world of the arts. I recently saw an article about some major discoveries.
Earlier this year, an 1820 copy of the Declaration of Independence turned up in Texas. Despite once being owned by James Madison, it had been shuffled among the papers of a family who eventually forgot about its background and came to consider it "worthless," at least until its recent authentication. As one of only 200 copies created by printer William Stone, it was a rare document, but what made headlines was a curious footnote in the document’s journey: at one point it had been hidden behind wallpaper during the Civil War as protection. A valuable document that was hidden in plain sight.
Here’s another one. This time in Palestine.
Conservators who began restoring the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem in 2013 after centuries of neglect were prepared to clean its mosaics from years of soot and grime. They weren’t expecting to find new ones.
Using a thermographic camera, one worker noticed a shape in the plaster walls. The team chipped off some plaster and found the brilliant glow of mother-of-pearl tiles. Soon an 8-foot-tall angel was revealed, dressed in a flowing white robe, its golden wings and halo as luminescent as when they were installed in the Crusades era. It’s believed that the angel was covered up following an 1830s earthquake, perhaps to hide damage. Hidden right there in the middle of one of the most visited churches in the world.
A mural by Paul Gauguin entitled BRETON GIRL SPINNING is now displayed at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. The fresco is mysterious and features young girl dancing by a small tree. In one hand, she is spinning wool; in the distance, above the water and shapes of ships, a huge flying angel with a sword. In part because of this angelic figure, the painting is sometimes called Joan of Arc.
The work was painted right on the plaster dining room wall an inn in Brittany, France. After being forgotten under layers of wallpaper, it and two other murals (one by Gauguin and one by his student Meijer de Haan) were rediscovered in 1924 during some redecorating.
My favorite, however, is this discovery – hidden in plain sight.
“In sleepy Madison, New Jersey, a routine cataloging of artwork uncovers the art find of a lifetime.
Drew University graduate student Mallory Mortillaro, 26, was working as a part-time cataloguer of the art collection at a municipal building in Madison, New Jersey. She spotted a sculpture she found exceptional so she looked a bit closer. Seeing no obvious signature or identifying markers, she crawled behind the statue and took a look.
The bust in question, of Napoleon Bonaparte, turned out to be the creation of famous French sculptor Auguste Rodin, the creator of “The Thinker” and “The Kiss.” It had been hiding in plain sight for 85 years. The sculpture is worth between $4 million and $12 million, according to Jerome Le Blay, one of the world’s leading experts on Rodin.
For years in my youth work, I have used this plaque with children to help them see that Jesus is with us – even when we have trouble seeing him. Upon first glance, our eyes pick up the darker shapes, and they make no sense at all. We see a hodge-podge of what must be abstract art. But upon closer inspection, Jesus’ name seems to appear before our eyes.
And that is often the struggle with this faith walk of which we have determined to travel in our lives. We read and learn and grow and pray and hear sermons and think and feel and our hope is that God will be with us. We pray as Thomas Merton prayed in what I think is the most wonderful and honest prayer I have ever read,
Lord, I have no idea where I am going: I do not see the road ahead of me.
I cannot know for certain where it will end.
So we admit to God that we are not sure of our future or our destination.
Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so.
We also admit that we don’t really know ourselves all that well. Additionally, we admit that we have no idea if we are following God’s will for our lives.
But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you.
And I hope that I have that desire in all that I am doing.
Here’s the great news, and I agree. Trying to please God and to do the right thing actually does please God. Even when we don’t get it quite right or make mistakes. This is grace.
And I know that if I do this, you will lead me by the right road though I may know nothing about it.
The prayer shifts to expressing confidence in God’s presence.
Therefore I will trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death, I will not fear, for you are ever with me and you will never leave me to face my perils alone. Amen
And finally, that presence becomes real and we live in the presence of God, even in the face of death.
One of my seminary professors, Dr. Richard Dobbins, remarked once on attending a service in which the pastor prayed long and hard that God’s presence would flood the service and that God would come. Dr. Dobbins observed that the pastor prayed as if God was indifferent about joining the service and could be coaxed into being present.
As Christ was ministering in John 12, we find this verse, “20 Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the festival. 21 They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request. “Sir,” they said, “we would like to see Jesus.”
Strangely, Jesus was right there. Ministering very near, yet they did not know him and could not see him. But they wanted to see him and had traveled to do so.
It has been a longtime effort on my part as a minister working with children and youth to help young people to recognize the presence of God in the midst of whatever it is that we are doing. We have reminded kids to watch for God on our work camps. During one of our work camps in Atlanta, GA, the hosting staff gave us each a shirt that said, “Look for the Face of God in the City.” Each evening we were asked to report one instance of seeing God in action and all of us were amazed at how often God may be seen if we take the time to look. Acts of kindness, people helping, and friendly exchanges all pointed to God’s goodness. And on our jobs God was abundantly evident if time was taken to just look. We learned that God was in plain sight, and the only reason God seemed hidden, was because we were not looking for God.
We work to help our Colorado kids to help them see the ever-present God. Marty Culbertson and her advisors are constantly pointing out to the campers that God is very present and often actually shows off a bit when it comes to nature. Camping up around 12,000 feet, surveying the Rocky Mountains, on gets a special perspective of God’s touch and presence. Again, God is there, we just have to make the effort to look for God.
Yet, one of the saddest parts of my ministry is when I am talking to someone who is having trouble seeing God in their circumstances. A job loss – an unexpected death – bad news from the doctor – challenges with children, or children experiencing challenges from adults. The list encompasses just about every aspect of human experience.
Using scripture, I could easily stand against this notion that God doesn’t listen or attend to our prayers. I could demolish the idea that God is not always present. That God’s omniscience, or the belief that God knows everything all the time, and omnipresence, the belief that God is present everywhere always, overshadows what we think or feel. Easily I could deposit the lacking error on any of us who question if God is around or not. There are literally dozens of verses that would say we are wrong – God does care and is not that long gone ancient clock maker who built the clock, wound it and departed for new ventures. God is here – now and always. And I, like most of you, have been in those places where that biblical claim seems hollow.
This difficult issue of being assured of God’s presence is the focus of a book by Mark Batterson entitled Whisper: How to Hear the Voice of God. A good friend in South Africa recommended this book so Kathy and I each bought one and are reading it and comparing notes.
In direct response to this issue of hearing God, Rev. Batterson explores the complexity of our world and how hard it is to hear anything – let alone God. He cites the distractions of technology, such as our TV’s, cell phones and other devices that make it so easy to constantly be in touch and entertained. He talks about the maintenance of our things – all of the stuff we have accumulated and have to spend time and energy sustaining. He looks at relationships and jobs, as well as health and other necessary distractions.
But at the bottom of it all, Batterson maintains that God is not only present, but actively working to keep us in the loop of his will and intent for our lives. Again, the issue is a matter of being hidden in plain sight.
Batterson teaches that our first misunderstanding about God speaking to us and being present in our lives is that we miss the fact that God often speaks in a whisper. Not to make it difficult to hear him, but to draw us close.
He finds that many of us have a tough time believing God still speaks. We may think that God spoke in ancient times and used mysterious ways. We believe that the God of the Bible clearly spoke to His people, but is God still speaking now?
Mark Batterson certainly believes so. And so does our United Church of Christ. And so do I. And so does my wife. And I am sure that it is so with most, if not all, of you. Yes, God speaks. But why do we miss the message most of the time?
Batterson says that God is actively speaking through to us all the time. In his book, he looks at how God speaks through Scripture, Desires, Doors, Dreams, People, Promptings, and Pain. And I tell you truthfully that I was only tuning in to two of the seven dialects, as Batterson calls them. I know that God has spoken to me in scripture, and I have long believed that God has spoken to me through people. I am excited to learn more about the other dialects that Batterson discusses - Desires, Doors, Dreams, Promptings, and Pain. Well, maybe not pain so much.
It’s time for me to stop. To continue would seem preachy and deny the fact that I struggle with sensing God’s presence much of the time as well. But as Merton said in his prayer – the desire to please God does in fact please God. Yet, there is one but. One however. One nevertheless. And it is simply this. We have to work on creating that relationship of listening for God – watching for God and that unmistakable presence in our lives. God will come toward us, as we work to move toward God.
And now, I close with a thoughtful poem and a little joke about God being present in our lives and working to make our lives better.
God chooses face-time
We’re always calling God.
Where are you God?
Why don’t you pick up?
The phone rings and rings,
echoing in that heavenly chamber.
We check the number,
this has got to be right.
Finally God’s answering machine clicks in.
We hear God’s voice,
“Why are you calling me?
I’m standing right beside you.”
There was a preacher who fell in the ocean and he couldn't swim. When a boat came by, the captain yelled, "Do you need help, sir?" The preacher calmly said "No, I prayed and God will save me." A little later, another boat came by and a fisherman asked, "Hey, do you need help?" The preacher replied again, "No I have called on God. God will save me." Eventually the preacher drowned & went to heaven. The preacher asked God, "Why didn't you save me?" God replied, "Fool, I sent you two boats!"
Hidden in plain sight.
Ok – This may be better-
A man is talking to God. "God, how long is a million years?" God answers, "To me, it's about a minute." "God, how much is a million dollars?" "To me, it's a penny." "God, may I have a penny?" God replies, "Sure, just wait a minute."
My prayer is that we will all quiet our lives and learn be open to the many ways God wants to communicate with us.
Amen