Easter 3

April 18, 2010

The Rev. Dorian McGlannan

In his book Why Preach? Why Listen, William Muehl suggests that on any given Sunday, a significant portion of those who are in church almost did not come on that particular day.  Perhaps you are one of them.  You had one foot out of the bed but the rest of your body was pulling you back.  You were enjoying a hot shower and just couldn’t get yourself to abandon the soothing waters.  Or you just didn’t want to push the children or leave behind that good article in the newspaper.  But the reason William Muehl suggests is that perhaps you feel your faith just doesn’t measure up to the faith of others in the congregation.   And then you hear the story of Saul’s conversion on the road to Damascus and you really wonder about your own faith.

Now I will tell you, as one who had a road to Damascus type conversion experience that it’s not all that it’s cracked up to be. Getting my life centered in Christ is the most important thing that has ever happened to me but my life prior to May of 1979 was incredibly difficult.  I was lost in many ways but spiritually I was in the desert, parched beyond belief for the living water.  My conversion experience saved my life and I have been grateful to God ever since.  That experience was exciting.  My life turned completely around; I could not get enough of church or studying. Having said all of that, I would trade that experience in a heartbeat for having been raised in the church by a functioning family that knew the importance of faith development, simply because the years prior to my conversion were so challenging.

 Wow.  I look out and see the children that are here week in and week out.  Sure they might get bored, sure they might give a fight about being here but you know as well as I do that they are being formed, slowly but surely, year after year in the love of God.  They go to soup kitchens and to Gleaner’s and they serve as acolytes and as crucifers and play and sing in music groups and…some of our very best and most conscientious readers are children.  It is all because you their parents have been so dedicated in ensuring that your children are here most if not all of the time.  The story of Paul on the road to Damascus is a story of dramatic change and that is all well and good but it is the week to week change that is happening in our lives that grounds us in a solid way.

I have just finished a stunning book called The Help by Kathryn Stockett. It is truly one of the most compelling books I have read in a couple of years. Written from the perspective of two African American housekeepers and one Caucasian descendent of a plantation owner, it is a story of conversion.   Set in Jackson, Mississippi in 1963, it is a revealing tale of life in those times.  For the two housekeepers, the role of their faith and their church community is critical.  It is a place they go for solace and a place they go for support.  It is a very close knit community where everyone knows what is going on in everyone else’s lives.   There is a fabulous scene in which one of the African American women has just published a book which could greatly endanger her life; no one is supposed to know that she is one of the authors.  The church members invite the author to a surprise gathering where she is honored by her church community.  As she walks in the door of the church, the pastor locks the door behind her.  Not having any idea about what is to happen, she momentarily panics but then the surprise erupts.  It is a beautiful scene about the love a church community can provide.   More importantly it is a celebration of the kind of change that can happen in the lives of people of faith for these two women moved from being fearful and submissive to deeply questioning the status quo life of black people in Jackson at that particular period in history.

In any given church, people are in different places with regard to their faith journey.  At any given time, some people just are feeling the love of Jesus more than others.  Some of you may be in a dry spell; some of you may have had trouble convincing yourselves to come today but come you did and God willing something will touch your heart. 

The story of Paul’s conversion is one that reminds us of the need to keep our hearts and minds open to God’s creative action in our lives. Paul was as hard-nosed and defiant as they come but God broke through that resistance and changed him into one of his greatest agents.  There are so many ways that people come to embrace God.  Some are simply raised knowing that God is a part of their life.  Others are brought to God by a friend and yet others have what are called “road to Damascus” experiences. However we have come to know God doesn’t matter nearly as much as the relationship itself.  The other thing we must realize is that our relationship with God is not always the same.  Most likely there will be times of doubt, times of uncertainty, times of fear and times when none of it makes any sense.  In the words of Teilhard de Chardin, one of the great Christian philosophers of the first half of the 20^th century, “the spiritual life is not a vacation!”  But the spiritual life provides us with meaning and that, my friends, is what all of us are seeking.  Some may go about this search in bizarre ways; some may travel around the world looking for the one true guru or the one true path that will fulfill their needs.  Some use alcohol or other drugs searching for meaning.  Some seek satisfaction in the material world but when all is said and done we don’t have to travel anywhere, we don’t have to read anything or know anyone because Christ is the center of our soul.  Christ is always there just waiting for us to notice him.  He is not hiding behind a tree or up in the clouds; he is not at the bottom of the sea or under a rock – Christ is here for us to experience every minute of the day, every minute of the night. 

Author Emilie Griffin writes: “It is clear that conversion begins with a restlessness of the human heart which can find no resting place on earth.  Often our disenchantment comes not from failure but from success.  It is success that disappoints us because we had so thoroughly expected it to be the crown of life.”  We get that new house or even that new job and we expect it to solve all of our problems.   That promotion or even seeing our children succeed at school or at sports just doesn’t give us that much satisfaction unless it is grounded in a spiritual relationship with our creator.  God is the ground our being and the horizon of our being and it is only through that lens that the world makes sense.  It is so very easy to get off onto the wrong path.  It happens to us all the time but if we listen to that still small voice which tells us in so many ways that God loves us and God will take care of us, we will forever prevail under the shadow of God’s wing. 

Whether we are in Jackson, Mississippi in 1963 or Plymouth, MI in 2010, God is working his purpose out as we open our hearts to listen and allow ourselves to be formed over and over again in the love of our creator.  The story of the Paul’s conversion on the road to Damascus  is one of the great dramas of the Bible but we too can be changed in small ways and in life-changing ways.  Listen to the rhythm of God’s spirit beating in your heart. Drink of the living water. Know that you are loved by God and you will too will walk this path in hope and peace.