The Rev. Neale L. Miller

Sermon for September 24, 2006

Texts: Psalm 23/John 10:22-30

Title: “The Lion Casts a Big Shadow”

              “Faith in God is not an easy thing.  Who could take it seriously if it were?”  Let’s isolate the two parts of Canadian theologian Douglas John Hall’s statement. First, “Faith in God is not an easy thing.  For most of us that statement is self-evident.  Personal experience has taught us that faith is not an easy thing.  But there is a second point, “Who could take [faith] seriously if [it were easy]?

              Have you ever considered what your faith life might be like if it was uncompromised by any doubt?  Imagine living with complete certitude on all matters pertaining to God and your life as God’s disciple.  To pose Hall’s question again---could we take such a faith seriously?  Moreover, if faith were an easy thing would the term “faith” itself even apply to this new orientation of the heart?  When using the term “faith” are we not presuming effort, personal exertion?  In many cases, strenuous effort and exertion.

              The faith, or at least the ideal, with which I am familiar is active and vigorous, strong, and hardened through its encounters with barriers and setbacks.  The faith with which I am familiar risks.  It dares to believe that miracles do happen, it dares to believe that God is sovereign, it dares to believe that despite all evidence to the contrary good will prevail over evil.  Faith like this dares to hope that one day peace will reign, that weapons of mass destruction will become obsolete, that enemies will be reconciled, and that the glorious vision to which the prophet pointed, where lamb lies down with lion, will be realized.

              I recall a canvas painted, if I’m not mistaken, by Paul Gaughan.  In that painting the artist lays out his vision of the heavenly kingdom.  The focal point of the painting is a massive lion, the very embodiment of strength; regal head set on a body taut with muscle.  Nestling in an alcove created between the great beast’s forelegs and hind legs is a lamb, the very epitome of innocence, the very definition of vulnerability.  What strikes the viewer is the calm reflected in the lamb’s features.  No apprehension is disclosed whatsoever.  This is faith made to look “falling off a log” easy.

              We are reminded this morning that the gospel of John says a thing or two about faith in relationship to lambs, or sheep.  Sheep is the designation given by John to those persons who through faith appreciate and value Jesus for who he is.  “I am the good shepherd, I know my own [my sheep] and my own know me [Jesus is heard to declare].  Jesus seems to be saying that those who don’t get it, or who outwardly reject Jesus as the Messiah, the Jews bearing the brunt of Jesus’ criticism, shall receive no concessions from Jesus.  They are without excuse, period. The shepherd knows his sheep, and they through their stout faith know the shepherd.  Yet as I survey this world, at least that part of it with which I am acquainted, I know few people who maintain what I would call a sheep-like submissive temperament on matters of faith.

              The lamb shall lie down with the lion.  It is a beautiful image.  But of the two participants in that reconciling pose, I with absolutely no difficulty can tell you that I favor the lion’s position in the relationship much more than the lamb’s.  Who wouldn’t knowing the lion, “Mr. King of the Jungle,” most regal and respected of all beasts, stands on the very top wrung in the jungle hierarchy.  Bold, fearless, gallant, his status is uncontested.  Yet for all the qualities we attribute to this “king of the jungle,” in the end he is a beast, and a threatening beast at that.

              Now if you are a sheep lying there next to the lion, it is extremely likely that from time to time the respect and admiration you harbor for that “king of the jungle” may give way to other feelings.  Fear and apprehension, after all, can’t be kept at bay indefinitely.  As a sheep you know you are completely defenseless against that big lion.  Should some event break the spell of reconciliation under which you both live, you are in big, big trouble.                  Would you rather be a lion or a sheep? Remember, the lion casts an awfully big shadow, a hush of respect and anticipation following in his train.  The lion calls the shots, the match for anything that might get in his way.  Now let’s try a word association using the word sheep: docile, compliant, timid, naïve. Sheep are “babes in the woods,” innocents who can be counted upon to find all kinds of trouble unless properly supervised.  You would have a difficult time accommodating the words “sheep” and “independent” in a single sentence.  A sheep’s survival in the wild is very iffy a matter of luck more than anything else. Best as I can make out, sheep were placed on this earth to be cared for and protected.

              Lamb or sheep, are not terms of address I would favor.  How about you?  Nonetheless, those are the very terms Jesus uses in referring to those for whom he has greatest affection.  “My sheep hear my voice, I know they follow me.”  Should we assume, then, that those who find favor with our Lord must necessarily become like sheep to make the grade?  Are timidity, dependence, and compliance the qualities that the Lord most reveres in those who would bear his name?  You might have grounds for making such a case, for Jesus castigates those who by their actions have excluded themselves from the flock.  “My sheep hear my voice.” “My sheep know me.”  Recall that when the Jews requested that Jesus “state plainly” whether or not he was the Messiah, Jesus got right in their faces.  “If you were my sheep you wouldn’t have to ask that question. “My sheep know me.”

              Our lesson speaks in an uncompromising tone.  Come to Jesus as a sheep, or you can forget about coming at all.  Now the question begs to be asked, are you and I really willing to sign up on such terms?  Or do our personal reservations about what God is doing in the world, or calling us to be, automatically exclude us?  I ask you, what unforgivable sin were the Jews committing by asking Jesus for clarification?  After all, the biblical text in no way suggests that the Jews had any hidden agenda in coming to Jesus.  And there is nothing in our lesson to suggest that they weren’t ready and willing to believe that Jesus was the Messiah.  They brought their doubts to Jesus not their disrespect.

              Come as sheep, or don’t come at all.  I seriously doubt that many Presbyterians I know would make the grade with that condition attached.  Docile, compliant, and timid are not adjectives I would use in describing the folk in this church or in any congregation with which I have been affiliated.  We Presbyterians aren’t afraid to ask questions, to read the Bible critically.  Our suspicions are raised when someone announces that he or she has the truth direct from God.  We respect the individual conscience, and withhold condemnation of those who reject our views.  But most of all we are not afraid to voice our doubts, to admit when we don’t understand.

              If it is somehow wrong to pray to God for clarity, to ask God to open the curtain a bit farther, then you and I have much, much company.  You have doubts, it is no sin to voice them.  Frederick Buechner counsels, “doubts prove that we are in touch with reality, with the things that threaten faith as well as the things that nourish it. If we are not in touch with reality, then our faith is blind and not worth much.”

              Blind faith is an oxymoron.  Can faith be blind and still hope to apprehend God who is pure light?  Faith approaches God, the world, and the mysteries of life, with open eyes, unafraid to voice the doubt that challenges it.

              The lamb lying next to the lion is in serious denial if it thinks it has nothing to fear from the lion---at least this side of paradise.  The lion casts a big shadow, and that shadow will not withdraw merely because we wish it would withdraw.  Faith in the experience of most of us is always undermined by doubt.

              People have attempted all means of strategies to dispel the shadow.  They have sought to attain religious purity by retreating from the world.  They have holed up in the desert with like-minded zealots, digging deep spiritual bomb shelters.  The world views many of these groups share is that the world is caught in one continuous struggle between the forces of good and evil, light and darkness. Blind to ambiguity, they believe their grasp of the truth is absolute. 

              The notion of a non-ambiguous world, a world cast in black and white has captured the imaginations of people from the dawn of time.  There are many, many people who must have the right answer.  They seek it in their politics, their ethics, and their religion.  The philosopher Eric Hoffer referred to such people as “true believers.” Their credo is, “establish a position and dig in.”  Don’t get bogged down with questions and debate. Defend your position.

              Don’t waste my time by voicing a contrary opinion, I have the right answer. Our pet position and prejudice emboldens us to say and do things that can be plain outrageous, particularly if we insist on seeing the world as black and white. Religious faith cannot be distilled into black and white, right or wrong, in or out.

Faith for those living in this challenging world isn’t easy.  Jesus of all people knew that, for he knew, he knows, what resides in the human heart.  Yes, Jesus may have expressed affection for sheep, but the sheep to which he was referring weren’t sheep of one color, one intellectual persuasion, one opinion, compliant types incapable of thinking for themselves.  Friends, we are all sheep, not perhaps by temperament or intellectual persuasion, we are sheep because of our basic dependency as children created by God. We are sheep who freely acknowledge our personal limitations, our fallibility. 

              No, we are not excluded from the kingdom because we harbor doubt. Our sins do not exclude us from the kingdom, nor do our racial or ethnic identities, nor our denominational affiliation.  We may error in interpreting the message Holy Scripture teaches, but our ignorance does not exclude us from the kingdom.

We can, however, exclude ourselves from the kingdom by denying our basic dependency on God.  It is through the denial of our basic personhood as children of God that we cut ourselves off from God.  It is sin working through pride that transforms me into something I was not meant to be.

              One day the lion will lie down with the lamb, inaugurating that era of uninterrupted peace and harmony to which the Bible and the testimony of the church so unwaveringly points.  But until that day, the lion casts a big shadow, and the lamb will do well to keep a wary eye focused on the beast. Yes, hold on to your doubts, little sheep.    

              People like you and I will struggle with our faith to resolves all those questions that life so predictably puts in our path.  But, though beset by questions, even undone by them, we will draw strength knowing that the shepherd is ever near.  Faith is not something we must work out in isolation.  God is with us in our moments of clarity, but also with us when doubt sends us reeling.

              Father Walter Burghardt, a very wise and perceptive Christian, offers to my mind a wonderful summary on the issues that have engaged us this morning. Burghardt writes, “Faith means saying yes to God without knowing all it involves.”  No, faith in God is not an easy thing. But, I would add, neither is it a solitary thing.  Amid the shadows of this life, the setbacks and the pitfalls, stands my intercessor, my shepherd.  “The Lord is my shepherd, and I shall not want.”  From his hand comes everything, even the power to say “yes” without knowing all it involves.  AMEN.

PRAYER

              O God, who presides in splendor over this vast, unwieldy creation, we who profess our allegiance to you do so confessing what you who created us already know: trust is a challenge for people like us. Faith is ever undermined by doubt, the agendas we maintain for ourselves often conflict with the agendas you maintain for us.  Lord, grant us patience before that which we cannot know, not so as to excuse inaction, but that we might watch and learn what you are so eager to teach.  Where we are shallow and superficial in prayer, where worship denies holy mystery by exalting human aims above godly ones, and where outreach to community and world is superseded by ambitions that keep us inward focused, there may your Spirit be.

              Living God, we lift up all those who are burdened by self-doubt, who believe they have nothing to offer.  A body of many parts, suited to many different functions, we celebrate the diversity of gifts and talents assembled in this sanctuary.  We praise you for those who prepare the sanctuary for worship each Sunday morning.  We praise you for those offer hospitality at the sanctuary entrance. We praise you for our choir.  We praise you for those who accept leadership responsibility in worship.  We praise you for those who teach.  We praise you for those who provide fellowship opportunity after worship. We praise you for the many gifts and talents yet to be discovered and utilized.  We praise you for your Holy Spirit that reaches into us and draws forth the gifts we are uniquely privileged to share.

              Lord of our lives, abide with those whose strength and stamina have abated owing to old age.  Brace with courage all who are stricken with illness, all who must struggle with the anguish of knowing that tomorrow they will feel no better, perhaps even worse.  Many of us are frustrated that we can no longer live the quality life we once took for granted.  For some retirement has proven to be more burden than blessings.  Finding too much time on our hands we are bored and disillusioned.  O God, in your mercy, heal and comfort.  Grant those of us who stand with the emotionally distraught sensitivity and forbearance that we might become for our neighbor a source of encouragement and support. 

              O God, we pray for those who have reached a crossroads in life, those who are about to marry, those who are about to move, take a new job, or retire.  Transitions are emotionally stressful, forcing us to accommodate the unfamiliar and unknown.  O God, who is the only constant in this ever changing world, we trust in you, the change and transitions we experience our opportunity to know you in new ways.  Let us not resist change but be willing to accept, even embrace it, knowing that you, O God, stand with us.

              A world rent by war and hatred, we pray your blessing on all who suffer the afflictions that war and hatred spawn.  In your mercy embrace the suffering of Iraq, Afghanistan, Darfur, and people in other lands who must suffer for the folly of others.  Abide with those women and men, who at the risk of their own lives, voluntarily participate in peacekeeping operations.  O God, strengthen international agencies that promote peace and justice, and may the leadership of those agencies discover new ways and means to accomplish their missions.

              Lord of this world, this church; embolden us to expect great things from you, to trust you with our faith, and with our doubts, but most of all, to pray to you without ceasing for such is your holy will.  For the gift of community, for faith, for prayer and all blessing we give you thanks, O God, praying as Jesus instructed.