June 21, 2015: May God’s words alone be spoken, may God’s words alone be heard. Amen.

Several years ago, when I was in my late teens/early twenties (no, let’s not talk about exactly how many years ago that was – but it was more than a couple)… Anyway, I was with a group of Explorers – the young adult co-ed division of the Boy Scouts (I think they now call them Venturers). I was the National Chairman of one of the subsets of these Explorers, and was with a group of them at a Marine base watching a demonstration of rappelling. The marines rappelled down this 90 ft. cliff on the side of a small mountain (small by their standards) several times, even once face forward while holding a machine gun. We were all really impressed. Then they wanted to know who would like to try it.   When it seemed that none of them would do it, all eyes turned to me (being sort of the leader in this whole thing). I’m thinking – IT’S 90 FEET!!!!!! YOU’VE GOT TO BE KIDDING!!!

But… I figured, I have the perfect out! I am not wearing appropriate shoes. I was in sandals. So, I told them, “Gee, I would, but it isn’t safe – see – sandals!” I said, pointing to my feet.   And then I heard a voice say, “what size do you wear.” Well, of course she was willing to lend me her sneakers, and darn it all – they fit.

So, up to the top of the mountain I bravely went (bravely on the outside anyway…on the inside, I telling myself – why didn’t I just stay home today). They got me all rigged up, and then the marine who would rappel down next to me walked me toward the cliff face. We turned around and backed toward the edge, and he said, “Ready? Now lean back.” I’m thinking – ARE YOU CRAZY? But, I did my best to hold tight to the ropes and to lean back. He kept saying I needed to be at a 90 degree angle to the cliff, but I was too afraid to lean back that far – I felt more secure staying upright, nearer to the rope and the side of the cliff, holding on for dear life as I tried to plant my feet on the rock face. And, then…it happened. My feet went right out from underneath me and my whole body was airborne.

When I saw the readings for today, my mind went right back to the moment on the cliff. Right to that…wait for it…cliffhanger! Sorry, couldn’t resist.

But there are no cliffhangers in what we heard today…though I can just imagine if the TV networks were doing them, there would be a commercial break just as David went out to face Goliath with his slingshot, or just as the camera panned the stormy sea and the frightened faces of the apostles a voiceover would say…”Will Jesus continue sleeping, will the storm toss them all to the sea, will Peter ever get anything right?…Tune in next week to the Gospel of Mark!” Thankfully, we get the full stories in our lectionary without commercials.

Now, as I have said before, it is usually better to pick one of the lectionary readings, and work solely with that when preaching, and I usually do. But like other times, I am hoping you will bear with me because they really are all leaning on one another, and they are all so very important in the face of what has happened this past week.

Now remember on Ascension and Pentecost when I talked about Star Wars and a scene from the first Star Wars film, A New Hope? Remember there was the pinnacle scene where the hero – the young Rebel fighter Luke Skywalker, is the last one left who can hit the right target to destroy this huge Death Star ship of the evil Empire – a teeny hole on the side of this massive ball. And, like all fighters flying their spacecraft, he is using all the technology at his disposal to accurately target his last missile.   And as he is nearing the target, he hears a voice in his mind – the voice of his mentor – saying…“Use The Force, Luke.” He shut down his targeting computer – all the technology that was available to him he turned off. He closed his eyes, and opened his heart to The Force, allowing it to guide him. He hit the target and saved the day.

Well, I wanted to remind you of that – no, not because Star Wars is the be all, end all, of movies, and I promise, no more analogies from it for a while. I am reminding you of it because the story of Luke Skywalker vs. the Empire and Darth Vader, is a lot like the story of David vs. Goliath.

In the story of David & Goliath, we have a young hero, David. Here was this big ole Goliath – with all his bling (coat of bronze, big helmet and all). But David, a rather unlikely hero, threw off the armor the king had given him. He let go, and let the Force of God guide him. He hit the target – no targeting computers needed either.

Then in the Gospel story, we hear about the disciples in the boat with Jesus. The disciples who were experienced fishermen, and knew full well the dangers of the sea. They had every reason to be afraid – they were not children. Their experience of life told them that they were in danger. For all their craft – their nets, their boats – they knew that nature was a powerful force. And Jesus rebuked them and calmed the storm. Now, I think Jesus rebuking them is a bit silly. They had reason to be afraid. But perhaps what he is saying is that fear, while appropriate, is also something that can get in the way. It doesn’t help the situation once you are in it. Fear can keep you from danger – fear of walking in a deserted street at night, fear of lightening. Actually, it is much like the words used for fear in the Hebrew language when the scriptures talk about “Fear of the Lord.” The real meaning of that in the original context and language was respect, not being afraid. We rightfully respect the power to harm of lightening, a storm at sea. But fear clouds the mind, freezes the brain, and closes our heart. Fear can stop us in our tracks.

The church has often told us that David and Goliath and the disciples in the boat are stories about true faith. David who put his trust in God to help him defeat this gigantic foe as an example of how we should be, and the disciples who Jesus rebukes for being afraid of the storm, an example of a lack of faith. We don’t really read Paul too much to kids – he is confusing enough to us as adults. Anyway, well meaning folks will stand in pulpits on Sundays and declare that these stories tell us that with faith – all will be well.

But the truth is…sometimes Goliath wins the battle.

Sometimes, the sea overtakes the boats and passengers, and people drown.

Sometimes the Empire Strikes Back.

And sometimes, a young man will take a gun into a church and kill 9 people all in the name of hate. 9 people gathered to read scripture…to read the Word of God and to reflect on its meaning…and this gunman sat there during it, welcomed by them, and then…being killed by him.

The tragedy of this past week, or for that matter, the past year, is unfathomable to us. How could this happen? Why would God allow it? When will this hate no longer infect the world? It can try the faith of anyone – or, perhaps that is what saves us – our faith.

This faith thing…it isn’t easy. Especially in the face of this – of hate so vile and dark. How do we praise God and believe in love in the face of this? So many questions, and the easy answers elude us – they seem cheap, hollow. Because – the truth is, there is no explanation – no answer that makes it all better, that makes it all comprehendible. And faith in God is not the easy fix.

No, it isn’t the easy fix – it is far more powerful than that.

See, faith is not about living in a utopia. Life just doesn’t work that way – God is not a vending machine for what we want, or what we hope for. Life is full of ups and downs, joys and tragedies. It just is. As I have said before, crap happens sometimes – but some of it, some of that crap, we have a part to play in preventing, and that is where God can be found. God is in the response to what happens. And some of the crap that happens can, if we live into who we are, and what we are capable of – can stop happening, with God’s help.

But over time, as we weather the storms in our life, or watch others suffer them as we have this week, we can sometimes get mired in fear, becoming afraid of losing what we love, risking what we have, believing in what we cannot see. We start to trust manuals over instinct and experts over our own common sense. We stop believing in ourselves, and look to technology, governments, agencies, anyone or anything that will help us. We begin to believe we can’t do anything about the Goliath’s in our midst – the people or systems that work to marginalize and oppress.   We think we don’t have the right shoes, so to speak, not a big enough weapon – we aren’t capable of putting an end to racism, sexism, heterosexism, religious intolerance, and all the rest – these are the Goliath’s of our day – and we can feel so very small in the face of it.

What these scripture stories are telling us is that we need to, as St. Paul writes, open wide our hearts to the working of God within us – to know that no matter what happens – what storm overtakes us – what enemies seek to defeat us – we are never alone in that moment. And, that we have the right stuff to stand up to it, to speak the truth, spread genuine love, because truth and love, not guns and hate, are the “weapons of righteousness” that Paul was talking about. God is always with us, always walking alongside us, grieving when we grieve, rejoicing when we rejoice, and guiding us in our efforts too. David had nothing but a sling shot, and great faith. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. had a voice and a vision. Rosa Parks had a seat and determination. Harvey Milk had a dream and the guts to go after it. Bishop Oscar Romero had the poor in his heart and the faith to fight. Malala Yousafzai had a desire to learn and a determination no bullet could stop.

The Psalmist says, God “is a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble.” And as children of God, we can take that refuge…but we must also BE that refuge.

Because trouble will come.

And has come. It unfortunately always does.

It is at times such as these when we are most in need of having a heart wide open – of not shutting down in fear. We can’t experience the fullness of relationship – with God, and with each other, we cannot change the world, if we are stopped in our tracks in fear and weighed down by the armor we think will protect us. We have to shed that armor and walk boldly forward to face our deepest fears, knowing that God will be with us – no matter the outcome. Jesus was trying to prepare the disciples for the day when they would not have him physically there. If they always looked to him in times of trouble, or to know what to do in the world, they would be lost to fear in the storms that lay ahead for them. Like our own children, he was preparing them for when they would step out on their own journey. When they would become the teachers.

We too have to let go of our fears, our reliance on what we think is important, our belief that we are not good enough, strong enough, that the problems of the world are just too big, and we are too small, or that we are all alone. Why? Because we are now the teachers – we are now Christ in the world – we are David in the face of Goliath. And Lord knows, we need to step up!

I remember something circulating on Facebook. It is a picture of Jesus sitting on a park bench next to a young man, who asks Jesus “Why do you let all the wars, the violence, the hatred happen?” And Jesus says to him “I was about to ask you the same question.”

We have work to do folks, and we have to believe that our effort, our gift of love to the world, our truthful speech against the evil of hate, will be enough – because it is, and it will make a difference – if we let go, and lean back on the side of cliffs.

You see, that day on the cliff I didn’t trust anything or anyone but that rope, and my hands. I didn’t want to even be up there, thinking I couldn’t possibly tackle that cliff. And once I was up there at the top, I couldn’t think about leaning so far back as to be at a right angle to the cliff, because that would make mean I was vulnerable. I clung to that rope and hoped I could hug the cliff enough to get through it. I thought I had to do it all myself – me and my tools… but when my legs went out from under me… I ended up flailing in the air… but, I didn’t fall!   It was then that I realized something…I wasn’t in this alone. Down at the ground, the belayer was holding fast to the rope – it was the belayer, diligently at watch, that allowed me to swing in the breeze and not fall down the side of the cliff when I refused to let go of my fear and lean back to the right angle. And, in that moment, I realized how foolish I had been to hold so tightly to what I thought would save me. I placed my feet back against the cliffside…and I leaned back to a 90 angle. I let go, and trusted the belayer to see me through if I got in trouble – and the journey to the ground was an incredible ride.

Letting go of our fears…letting go of our grip on our precious things – trusting in ourselves and in God to work in us and through us – it won’t mean we will always defeat the Goliaths of the world. It won’t mean that storms won’t blow into our lives. It won’t mean that our open hearts will not be broken, our souls kept safe from deep despair. It won’t mean that despite all work to love and to spread love in the world that hatred won’t rear its ugly head.

But it will mean that we will live lives of purpose and meaning – the lives we were meant to live as children of God. It will mean that God will be with us – walking along with us most especially in those darker parts of our journey. It will mean that every effort, no matter how small we think it is, will make a difference in the world. It will. Remember that all those who have worked for justice around the world never saw it to completion – we are still living in a world where hate exists. But, their efforts made that hate weaker, brought light into dark corners, and let the world know that hate will not win – not here, not now, not ever! Their efforts set an example for us all, and many paid with their lives to do that.

As a people of faith, we understand that faith in God isn’t about everything going smoothly, or getting what you pray for, or even peace all over the world. Faith in God is about being given the strength and the love to face the bad, and to embrace the joys, to step boldly towards life’s challenges, and to stand up again when at first we don’t succeed, or when life just knocks the wind out of us. Faith is about “opening wide our hearts,” to let go of the armor we have built up, the tools we think will save us, and to let God work in us and through us, so that we may be the incredible children of God that we are for a world in need of us. Faith is about putting what we believe into action – to be the body of Christ alive in the world today, working as he did to set the captives free, and to speak truth to power, and to stand firm against injustice.

Faith is about freedom from fear, and then taking that freedom out into the world, and helping others to be free too. Because at the base of all hate is fear.   It is not something anyone is born with. It is learned. But there is one thing more powerful – love. And the love of Christ is the only slingshot we will need to slay the Goliath of hate. We have the right stuff to scale that mountain, to step off that cliff.

Faith is about knowing that the Holy Spirit will guide us, that the body and blood of Christ will sustain us, and that God, our belayer, will be there with us always to the end of our journey.

So let’s get on with it, because as our bishop always reminds us “The world is too dangerous for anything but truth and too small for anything but love.”[1] We have work to do in this world of ours. We have the right stuff within us, and we have God to sustain us. All we have to do is to say “YES” – to say “YES” to the call to be Christ in this world full of need. To be the ones to put a shot into the head of hatred, to calm the seas of anger, to spread the light of love.

Let’s get going!

Amen.

[1] William Sloane Coffin Jr., as quoted in the blessings of The Rt. Rev. Mark Beckwith.

[Sermons as written may not be as delivered on any given Sunday]

Diana Wilcox
Christ Church in Bloomfield & Glen Ridge
June 21, 2015
Pentecost 4 – Year B
1st Reading – 1 Samuel 17: (1a, 4-11, 19-23), 32-49
Psalm – Psalm 9:9-20
2nd Reading – 2 Corinthians 6:1-13
Gospel – Mark 4:35-41