The Rev. Neale L. Miller

Sermon for May 18, 2008

Texts: Deuteronomy 4:32-40/Matthew 28:16-20

Title: “Vision’s Midwife”

              I would once again like to take up an issue that has gotten much play around here in the last several months.  I wish to speak on the subject of transformation, transformation as in the makeover we hope to accomplish here at Lakeview Presbyterian Church that will open us to new opportunities for ministry, but even more importantly challenge each one of us to think more clearly and deeply about our individual roles as Christ’s ministers.

              Transformation involves change and adaptation, but you and I know that change and adaptation rarely occur for the sake of change and adaptation themselves. Transformation is in the majority of cases a very deliberate act, prompted by a motivation, or motivations, for initiating the transformation process. I would offer some examples, beginning with personal appearance.  Have you ever looked in the mirror and found yourself saying to yourself, “things have got to change”---too heavy, wrong hairdo, wrong clothes----“got to do better.”  Have you ever had a day on the job when you have asked yourself the question, “why am I doing this?”  Have you ever taken stock of all the stuff you have collected around the house and asked yourself, “Do I need all this?”  Have you looked at your vehicle lately and found yourself thinking, “I wonder what I could get on a trade in for something with better fuel economy? 

              Transformation is in the majority of cases a very deliberate act, an act rarely undertaken on a whim.  There are motivating factors that prompt us to think about transformation, and then take the necessary steps to accomplish it. In many, many instances that factor is vision. 

              I look in that mirror and I am disturbed by what I see. I may turn away depressed and defeated and try to erase the disturbing image from my mind, or I may choose to think of possibilities through which I might transform what I see. I entertain a vision of a different me, a more svelte me, a more patient me, or a less financially stressed me.

              One week ago you and I gathered here to celebrate Pentecost, the event that signaled the birth of a new community that would eventually become the church. On that Pentecost day the apostle Peter, under the inspiration of a vision, rose up to interpret to those gathered in the Jerusalem square what the Holy Spirit was doing.  What was happening---the fire, wind, men speaking in various tongues, he declared, was foretold by the prophet Joel in a vision centuries earlier.

              Peter was given a vision from God wherein he saw his own life, the lives of those gathered in the Jerusalem square, indeed the lives of those far beyond the square into the far reaches of the world, transformed. Most importantly, Peter was by that vision alerted that he would play a pivotal role in that transformation.   

              Biblical visions are frequently reported to have occurred on mountaintops.  Abraham, you may recall had a vision in which he was instructed by God to take his son Isaac to the mountains, and there was ordered to sacrifice his son as an offering to God. God, of course, stopped Abraham before he could do the deed, in the process disclosing that Abraham’s life would be transformed, his name perpetuated as the founder of a great nation.      

              It was from a mountaintop that Moses had a vision of the Promised Land that the Israelites would enter after their forty year sojourn in the wilderness.  Entering the Promised Land under Moses’ successor, Joshua, Israel, a nomadic people, would at last stake her claim to the land God had allotted her. Though Israel would have to confront other nations who claimed the land of Canaan as their own, her battles with those nations behind her, Israel’s aspirations were transformed.  Not merely to survive, it was time for her to establish herself on the land and create community.

              Biblical visions are frequently reported to have occurred on mountaintops.  In the fourth chapter of Matthew’s Gospel we are told that “the devil took [Jesus] to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor; and said to him, ‘All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.’”

              Jesus was urged to embrace the devil’s vision, “the world and their splendor…All these I will give you.” Share the devil’s vision, and Jesus would see his life transformed. He would be ruler of the world, an obligation to the devil being the sole condition he would be required to observe. Jesus, of course, maintained his own vision for the world and his place in it. In faithfulness to God Jesus gave his life to his vision, a vision of a world transformed through grace into the world God created it to be.

              The enticements that the devil offered Jesus, “the world and their splendor,” have proven to be irresistible to many.  The devil offered a competing vision of the world Jesus set out to transform, a word where might makes right, a world where the strong impose their wills on the weak, and values like mercy and compassion are mocked as the baggage of weaklings.

              We have seen horrendous visions consume the minds of men.  People like Stalin would stop at nothing to transform the world into the proletariat paradise he envisioned, a paradise over which he exerted absolute control.  Millions would die as his transformation project went forward.

              Adolf Hitler was a man of vision, a diabolical vision in which the Arian super race would rule the world. Millions of innocent would die as his transformation project went forward.

              Pol Pot, the Cambodian strongman, took his orders from the devil, or whomever the prince of darkness sends out to contaminate the human heart. Millions of his own countrymen died as a result of one man’s paranoia. 

              Megalomaniacs like Stalin, Hitler, Pol Pot, and hundreds of others have done their evil best to see their diabolic visions transformed into reality, and what legacy have they left behind them?  Their evil plots, viciousness, and murders have left nothing of permanence behind accept the anguish and pain that the survivors of the atrocities, and the families of the victims, have been forced to endure.              

              While answers to the perennial question of why the innocent are forced to endure extraordinary pain and suffering owing to the likes of madmen like the Hitlers and Pol Pots are not forthcoming, we do know that the visions they attempted to actualize lie in the dustbin of history, even as others who cherish similar aspirations today plot and scheme.  While the fact that the tyrannies of Stalin, Hitler, Pol Pot eventually came to end offers little comfort or consolation to those who suffered the major repercussions of the actions, the visions Hitler and Stalin maintained are as dead as they are.

              There is a visionary we worship whose vision for the world remains as alive today as it was the day his first disciples took it to the world.  It is a vision that is working in individual lives across every continent on the face of the earth, yes, even Antarctica. Next time you despair about the mess our world seems to be in with wars, injustice, discrimination and all the rest, realize that none of that has mastered us.  As long as Christ reigns, sanity reigns.  As long as Christ reigns evil will never triumph, even though casualties and suffering are tragically left in its wake.

               There is a visionary whom we acknowledge to be the very son of God, who came to the earth in human flesh, experienced life with its promise and setbacks as we do, was, in the words of the Apostles’ Creed, “crucified, dead, and buried.” “He descended into hell, but rose again from the dead” to reign with God his father in heaven. Yet we believe this same visionary is never far from us, but that his Spirit is present in the world today working through those who hear and respond to him, working through the church, to the end that his will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

               There is a visionary with us today who is seeking to transform this world in which we live, seeking to transform this ministry.  He has set before us a comprehensive vision which comes to us elaborated in Holy Scripture, but it for us to identify how we can bring that vision to life in our circumstances right here, right now. He has made us agents of transformation, people he has chosen to transform his intensions for the world into reality.

              Visionaries often see things that escape the rest of us. It turned out that Jesus attracted this crowd over all 5,000 in number.  Evening arrived, and the crowd had no access to food.  A quick inventory revealed that his disciples could put their hands on no more than a mere five loaves of bread and two fish, an amount of food obviously much too small to satisfy the hunger of a handful of those gathered. Being realists rather than visionaries, the disciples were prepared to tell the crowd to disburse and fend for themselves, a perfectly logical thing to do. Logically correct, the visionary, Jesus, had another solution.

              “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.”  “We have nothing to give them,” they responded, or words to that effect.  Now look, there is no real explanation to be offered for what happened next except to say, after a blessing, the meager provisions of fish and bread fed the 5,000 with baskets left over.

                  The lesson doesn’t spell out how exactly the feeding was carried out, what part Jesus played, what part the disciples played.  All we know is that the disciples partnered up with the Lord to get the job done, though the twelve could not begin to envision how the challenge of feeding that multitude could possible be met. Folks, sometimes you just have to trust what the visionary is doing.

                 Transformation in many, many cases begins with a vision, but as was the case with the disciples in the feeding of the 5,000, the vision doesn’t necessarily have to originate with us, but is one we embrace sufficiently to make our own as prompted by our individual circumstances. I regard the disciples as being vision’s midwives. While they themselves didn’t have the vision, they helped deliver it.

                Our lesson from the Gospel of Matthew, the Great Commission, is one of the most notable visionary texts in all of Scripture.  The scene is a Galilean mountain, and Jesus is heard delivering final instructions to his disciples before he leaves them to take his place with God the father. He charges them to take on the greatest challenge of their ministry, and by extension the greatest challenge conferred on the church. “Go and make disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.”  And he doesn’t stop there, does he? He concludes his statement with these words of assurance, “Remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.

               In the mind of Jesus there is a vision for the transformation of the world, one baptism at a time.  The church is called to be the vision’s midwife, to do what we can make the transformation of the world occur. It is a daunting challenge to accept, even on the small stage that we occupy.  Yet can we expect Jesus to accept our polite, “no thank you,” we don’t wish to be involved?

               “Five loaves of bread and two fish, Jesus, that’s all there is.”  That was not how Jesus saw it.  “You give them something.” 

              We are operating out of Jesus’ vision for the world, called as a church to be the vision’s midwife.  To us, as to his disciples, Jesus says, “you give them something.” But what will we give?  That, friends, is the question our church is on a course to determine with greater clarity as we seek to adapt Jesus’ vision of the church to our particular circumstances here on the corner of Brooks Street and Canal Boulevard in New Orleans.

             I would compare the effort we are called to make to the effort of a certain marble cutter in an anecdote told about the great Michelangelo. The story goes that Michelangelo hired the marble cutter to assist him in producing one of his great masterpieces.  “Cut this way…level that…polish here.”  Observing the finished product that he had helped create under Michelangelo’s precise supervision, the marble cutter was impressed, if not amazed, by the beautiful piece of art that stood before him. 

             “What do you think of it?” asked Michelangelo.  “I think its fine,” replied the stone cutter, “and I am much obliged to you.  By your means I have discovered a talent that I did not know I possessed.”

            “By your means I have discovered a talent that I did not know I possessed.” For generations now faithful people have been discovering talents they did not know they possessed.  Quite ordinary people like us have found themselves captivated by the vision of the world Christ presents. Witnessing the transformative power of God in Christ at work in others, in themselves, they have accepted the challenge to go forth and spread the good news of Christ.

              The church has been called to be vision’s midwife.  God, in Christ, has provided the instruction manual, “cut this way….level that…polish here.”  And we have within us what it takes to execute his plan, not perhaps in the audacious way of the first disciples whose efforts would in time shake the very foundations of civilization, but in ways no less vital.  There are people within the several square blocks of this church who are adrift and searching to be connected with something greater than themselves, something they cannot name.  Christ loves them with the same love in commits to us, and out of the provisions he has placed in our hands----five loaves, two fish seemed so pitifully inadequate---he says, “You, Lakeview Presbyterian, you give them something.”  And, he adds, I will be right there at your side in the giving. AMEN  

PRAYER

            O God, by whose providence we have gathered once again in this place to worship you, we come as seekers who have but an imperfect image of you, who confess imperfections in ourselves that prevent us from faithfully serving you. Yet though we are flawed, O God, though we have failed to honor the holy covenants upon which your relationship with us is based, you love us still. But for the constancy of your love, O Lord, we would be lost.  Were it not for our Savior Jesus Christ we would lost, shipwrecked in sin. O God, who gives so much to receive so little in return, have mercy upon us as we attempt to find the path upon which you would have us to walk.

          O God, you humble our efforts to probe the mystery in which you are enshrouded.  The mystery by which you reveal yourself to the world, as Creator, Redeemer, and Intercessor, yet one God, stretches our comprehension.  Baptizing in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, you have revealed that it is not from three persons that the gift of new life is conferred, but it is from one God made known in three separate persons. Even as we ponder that reality once again, we celebrate the work of Bible scholars and theologians who throughout the course of centuries have devoted their lives to gaining a more perfect grasp of how your grace is mediated to us.  We give thanks for the theologians who gathered in the second century to produce the Apostles’ Creed, likewise we give thanks for the theologians who gathered in Nicea in the fourth century to give us the Nicene Creed. O God, we thank you for the gifts of discernment with which you have blessed women and men of every century who have made knowing you better their life’s work.

           O Christ, you commissioned your disciples, and through them, us, to take your word to the world.  “Go baptize.” “Go teach.”  In obeying your charge, often at great person sacrifice, knowledge of you, and evidence of the power attached to your name, spread throughout the world.  We remember with gratitude the saints of the church whose legacy of faithfulness has been recorded on the pages of history, acknowledging that the strength of the Christian movement was evidenced not merely in the witness of those who were ordained to preach and teach, but by parents in the home who created an environment where love for you was faithfully nurtured. We celebrate parents today, O God, parents who take seriously their responsibility to impart the values Christ taught and lived.

            O God, as another school year draws to a close we celebrate students who pass milestones in education, those graduating and moving on to the next academic level, those graduating to enter the work force.  Times of transition impose challenges. May those students who are making transitions do so confidently, alive with energy to engage new challenges. 

             We lift up teachers, mentors, who have shared their knowledge with their students, but also freely given themselves to their vocation. May they reflect upon the school year now ending with a sense of accomplishment and pride.

              Even as the relief effort in Myanmar was beginning to gain momentum, O God, despite the paranoia and ignorance displayed by that nation’s leaders, a tragedy of great proportion was striking another part of the world.  We lift up the people of Myanmar in their time of suffering, even as the scale of the Chinese devastation is revealed.  May those who must suffer the burden of these tragedies, O God, find within themselves courage and strength equal to the demands placed upon them. Even as we call upon you, O Lord, on their behalf, we know that we do not share a common religious identity with many of the afflicted. Yet we know we are all brothers and sisters who share a common origin in you. May not the diversity of custom and experience we see so prominently displayed across the many cultures of the world, O God, prevent us from acknowledging the common humanity we share, and in acknowledging it, act to find new ways to build international understanding and cooperation.

              We give thanks, O God, for the continuing progress being made in the restoration of the communities of greater New Orleans. Prosper efforts to make our city and region a more accommodating location for business, but also for families considering relocation here.  Even as we pray for the renewal of the city and region, we acknowledge the burden of poverty, crime, and ignorance that retard all efforts to move forward.  We pray for those in are city charged with responsibility to fight crime, and those who serve in the public agencies chartered to counsel and assist the impoverished.

              Lord, hear our prayers for those who face special personal challenges, those present today who must deal with setbacks at home or at work. Support the ill, O God, and those who have too little time on their hands, and those with too much time on their hands.  Be with parents of young children as they face the challenges the newly concluded school year presents. Abide with those who will make important decisions bearing on their futures, particularly those who are entering the work force or are seeking new employment.

              Lord, hear our prayers for those with special needs today.  We continue to pray for Pam, Amelie, Mary Ann, Rudy, Joyce, Shane, Guy, Sally, ...