The Rev. Neale L. Miller

Sermon for February 8, 2009

Texts: Mark 1:29-39/1 Corinthians 9:16-23

Title: “Pioneers and Settlers”

              The pioneers always come first.  They are the intrepid risk takers who are willing to go where others have not been. Somebody had to go first, and putting considerations like danger, hardship, and the fear of failure aside, considerations that would stop the vast majority of us in our tracks, they have endured vulnerability, ridicule, and peril in their quests to turn their dreams and visions into reality. They left home and kin behind to answer the call in the beckoning forest, sea, or mountains. They spent their lives peering into the lens of a microscope.  They toiled in machine shops. They did and redid calculations searching for the illusive answer that would unlock an equation. They risk their money, their reputations, and in many cases their lives, to achieve goals deemed out of reach by the community surrounding them.

              The pioneers always come first.  I am reading a biography of Walt Disney. Some of you may know that Disney was the subject of a piece I wrote for our most recent church newsletter. Disney was no Meriwether Lewis, Admiral Byrd, Ferdinand Magellan, or Leif Erickson, men who risk life and limb in great breakthrough expeditions.  But pioneers show up in all fields.  Madame Currie in Medicine.  Abner Doubleday in baseball.  Orville and Wilbur in flight.  Andrew Carnegie in commerce.

              Disney shared with those I have named a vision, but also a deep, deep passion to convert his vision into reality. A child who received a rather conventional Midwestern upbringing by parents who for the most part struggled throughout their lives to make ends meet, Disney, a high school drop out, accomplished nothing into his mid-twenties that would have been predictive of the success and fame he would later achieve.  Disney was to those who knew him very non-exceptional, just an average guy trying to find his way in the first decades of the last century.    

              Little more than a rather non-impressive portfolio of cartoons to commend him for employment, Disney landed a job in advertising, which led by small steps to his own advertising business, which would in turn lead him into the field of animation, the field in which he became a trailblazer.  First crudely drawn action figures shown through primitive projection devices, then the breakthrough with Mickey Mouse, and some time later Snow White and Seven Dwarfs.  Disney was on his way to building an empire whose reach is worldwide today and espanding.

              Disney was first, with generations of cartoonists and animators following in his wake. Disney did not achieve success through some bold stroke, some breakthrough achievement. No, his fortunes waxed and waned over decades. He was close to insolvency on many occasions, but on each of those occasions he found a way to prevail. Failure may be an option for the pioneer, but he or she is stubborn, willing to take the fall, get up, and continue with a level of endurance the majority of us could never muster.

              Disney’s resolve in the face of obstacles, his unrelenting passion to break new ground in creating and presenting entertainment, was a continuing source of inspiration to those who worked for him. Though Disney could be a very difficult and uncompromising boss, he had the ability to communicate his enthusiasm and passion in such a way to command loyalty, but more importantly inspire others to levels of achievement beyond anything they might have otherwise attained.         

              Disney’s staff fed off of his creative energy and commitment to his art. Even as his company grew to number hundreds and later thousands, Walt Disney remained the mainspring that kept the enterprise innovating and expanding.

              The pioneers come first. They are the people to watch. They may lead the way to riches and fame. 

              I was living in San Francisco in the early eighties, where unbeknownst to me and the millions of other residents of the region, two young men labored in a Berkeley garage in their quest to realize a vision. Steven Jobs and Steven Wozniak were computer geeks decades before the term geek was coined. Scraping money together from friends and family they worked tirelessly to build the first personal computer. 

              I have often fantasized that I might have been one of their first investors.  A couple hundred dollars invested in the original Apple stock would have put my financial concerns to rest forever.

Establish a relationship with a pioneer and you could very well reap substantial rewards. It’s been proven time and time again, however, that it is often difficult to establish and maintain a relationship with a pioneer for the same brilliance and energy that attracts notice and wins a following also creates barriers. The brilliance and energy of the pioneer can, and often does, require more from others then they are willing or able to give. 

              Ferdinand Magellan, the Portuguese explorer, was able to find a crew to man his expedition to circumnavigate the globe. The sailors signed for what they knew would be a long and difficult journey.  When the voyage did ultimately become difficult many of the sailors became mutinous.  They insisted on turning back, something Magellan would absolutely not do, discouraging all resistance by the most severe means.

             Pioneers come first.  They are the trailblazers, the risk takers, the visionaries who open up paths in the wilderness, who invent new products, and who encourage us to think and act in new ways. The kind of attention, notoriety, or fame the pioneer attracts comes not, as one commentator reminds, [not] by doing something better than rest of us have ever done it, but by “reinventing the form,” or moving outside the parameters in which the activity was conducted.

               There were a number of sea captains who risked their lives and fortunes at sea during Magellan’s lifetime, but Magellan “reinvented the form.”  He single-mindedly built support and earned financing for an expedition no one else was willing to take on.

              Pioneers come first.  Then come the settlers.  The westward expansion of our country was led by pioneers, men and women who braved great obstacles in their quest to unlock the continent.  In their wake came men and women who cleared the forest, built shelter, and planted crops. The settlers established communities and created the infrastructures and institutions that allowed those communities to prosper and grow. 

              The vision and passion that inspire and animate pioneers are demanding taskmasters.  The pioneer is on the move, seldom remaining in one place very long. Settlers, on the other hand, send down roots. If pioneers lay the track and set the train on the track, the settlers keep the trains running.

               There are pioneers, and there are settlers, both of whom perform vital functions, whether the project happens to be the taming of a continent, creating and distributing a new product, or curing disease by means of a new drug.

             Jesus was a pioneer. Inspired by his preaching, healing and other works, crowds followed him wherever he went. Jesus was given a choice.  He could remain in place to carry out his ministry, or he could elect the pioneer option.  He could go to where the people were.

              He elected the pioneer option, the option from which he never wavered, “Let us go on to the neighboring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also; for that is what I came out do.” The gospels portray Jesus on the go, constantly taking his good news to places it had not been before.

              The Apostle Paul, of course, was a pioneer unrivaled, even by Jesus.  Where Jesus focused much of his ministry on the region of Galilee, Jerusalem, and the surrounding areas, Paul cut a wide swath across the Mediterranean, ultimately ending his life in Rome.

                 Paul, however, was not merely a pioneer in physical terrain opened to the good news of Jesus.  He states that he willing made himself “a slave to all,” going wherever the Holy Spirit chose him to be, and among whom the Holy Spirit directed him to be.  “I have made myself a slave to all that I might win more of them.” To the Jews I became a Jew, in order to win Jews.  To those under the law I became as one under the law so that I might win those under the law. To those outside the law I became as one outside the law.”  “To the weak I became weak so that I might win the weak.”

                 Jesus and Paul lived out their vision for ministry as pioneers. They were committed to taking the good news of salvation to places and among people, it had never been. Both Jesus and Paul, like pioneers before and after them, were risk takers who accepted hardship and danger as a matter of course.  As pioneers before and after them their example attracted and inspired others.  Likewise with pioneers before and after them they were demanding taskmasters.  They expected much from their followers. Many followers drifted away.

                  The pioneers come first, then come the settlers.  It would take decades of difficult effort by many pioneers who were won to the message of salvation taught by Jesus, and later by Paul and others, [it would take decades] to establish places where settlers could safely put down roots.

                 The settlers found the going difficult at first. In their attempts to put down roots they found rock instead of fertile soil.  They persisted, however, and soon their planting took hold.  Worshiping communities, and then churches, once rarely seen on the landscape, began to proliferate. The settlers were doing their job. In just a few centuries the church was well established. The church was now an institution with property, money, and ranks of clergymen, clergymen who were more often than not more concerned to protect their prerogatives rather than preach the gospel. The pioneering spirit was lost.

                The pioneering spirit originating with Jesus, and continued by St. Paul and others, a spirit born of a vision to transform the world into the kingdom of God, survives in our world today, but its pulse is weak among the settlers.  The settlers, you see, have settled. They are comfortable.  Life moves along in a predictable pattern. The settlers have everything they need. They are satisfied. The frontier, insofar as the settlers are concerned, is settled territory. No reason to exert themselves.  Or is there? Or is there?

                The settlers, you see, have begun to realize that their numbers are shrinking, and with it their resources.  The settlers recognize that they are getting older, and their children have for the most part left the settlement, and THEIR children rarely see the settlement.  

                 If only there were some pioneers to send out to replenish the settlement.  Problem is the settlers haven’t groomed any pioneers, only settlers like themselves.

                We, friends, are settlers, but our future is in the hands of pioneers.  But who are they?  Where are they? 

                Instead of puzzling over that question, perhaps its time we consider taking up the pioneering vocation ourselves.  Each of us might begin the process by prayerful completing the following statement:  I have chosen to follow Jesus Christ because…. When you are satisfied that you have made the clearest possible statement you can possibly make, you might look for an opportunity to share your answer with a family member or friend.  Practice doing that a few times. And after that, when your comfort level and confidence level have risen, you might do some risk taking and share what you have discovered about yourself as a follower of Christ with a person you do not know. Who knows, you may discover that you have introduced Christ and the kingdom of God into some virgin territory.

                  Friends, make no mistake, there is a great need for pioneers in the church today. I recognize that, and I think a growing number of you recognize that. Now we can’t recruit pioneers, we have to grow them ourselves, and that activity involves a crucial first step. “I have chosen to follow Jesus Christ because.” Please take time to ponder that statement.

                As our identity as disciples becomes more established, God will find ways to use us in ways beyond our imagining.  It has happened before, and it can happen again. AMEN.

 AMEN.

PRAYER

              Heavenly Father, who has ordained us to live in this mere fragment of eternity, we present ourselves before you as brothers and sisters by birth of all the people who have ever lived or will live on this earth.  The mind cannot fathom the breadth of your sovereignty, the depth of the love, whereby the earth was populated with people of such vast diversity. Yet despite the differences that so define us we are one.

             You created the human heart, the soul, and the mind, O God, with the capacity to do wondrous things.  In worship we transcend the limits of space and time to unite our voices with the saints both living and dead who proclaim your glory.

              By thy provision, O God, we have set aside one day out of seven to worship you, yet a mere twenty four hours devoted to Sabbath worship and Sabbath rest are wholly insufficient, O Lord, to show forth our gratitude for the blessings you confer upon us in a single day, a single hour. May our very lives, O God, be living prayers of gratitude. May our thoughts, speech, and action be such as to accord with your holy purpose in creating us.  Where we stray, and stray we do, into base thoughts, speech, and action there be to correct and redirect us.

             O Christ, you built a reputation that saw the world gather at your feet.  Yet you did not remain in place to be the pastor a single flock, you lived your life on the move, always pressing the boundaries outward that all might hear your voice, experience your touch, and receive your blessing. 

             O Christ, we praise you for raising up followers like St. Paul and others to go forth as pioneers into the world.  Out of sheer joy and gratitude they went forth to preach the good news you placed on their hearts.  In praising them for their devotion we praise you for the transformation that overtook their lives that made them vessels of thy grace.

            O Christ, we praise you for the saints you have lifted up in every generation, people of profound faith and ardor who share your truth with the world.  We thank you for the saints in our midst, the pioneers whose commitment to you is expressed not in the sanctuary alone, but out on the streets among people who have not previously heard or responded to your word.

                Socialized into an institution maintained by settlers, O God, many of us feel uncomfortable sharing our faith, or our lack of faith, even among other settlers. We fear what we do not know.  We will not risk praying in public, or offering a testimony in your name. We fret over the inadequacy of our prayers, we worry that in offering a testimony  in your name people might think us intrusive. O God, we know that transformation of the world cannot occur until we are transformed ourselves, transformed from sanctuary Christians to pioneer Christians.

              Lord, we raise our petition for relief on behalf of all who are suffering in the current worldwide recession, which is all of us, acknowledging in particular the extreme challenges so many confront as jobs are lost and savings erode.  In your mercy, strengthen those who are fast losing hope, those subjected to financial worries from which they have no relief.

             May your Spirit, O God, direct our President and legislators that they may make decisions that will slow and halt our economic slide.  May there arise a renewed commitment to address the serious problems the nation confronts in a non-partisan way.

           Light of the world, shine light into the lives of those who grieve, who harbor guilt, who seek revenge, and who lack the will to live.  May your Spirit, O Christ, brace and support them through their tries.

            As we have done so many times before, O God, we lift up particular concerns arising in the lives of this church family…