Sermons for the Month

We Belong To God - In That Alone We Trust
DATE: March 23rd, 2003
SERVICE: Third Sunday In Lent
TEXT: I Corinthians 1:18-18-25

“To all of you Saints here this morning, grace and peace to you from God our Father, from His Son, Jesus Christ and His Holy Spirit. AMEN

An odd event occurred on Tuesday. When I returned from a couple hospital visits Judy - our Administrative Manager - told me that she had received an unusual phone call. The person was calling to congratulate us; he said he had driven by on Market Street and seen our flag hanging upside down at half-mast. Evidently a flag hanging upside down is an international signal of distress - something that I did not know. In any case, the caller said he had seen the flag out front hanging in that position and wanted to congratulate us.

He evidently felt we were making a statement about the war - I gather a statement of protest - and was glad to see it. In fact, he had called the newspaper with this news about us and wondered if this was something all Lutheran churches were doing.

Judy had no idea what he was talking about, nor did I, until we went outside and discovered that one of the hooks on the flag had come undone. So, indeed the flag was hanging upside down at half-mast - but not intentionally. We were not making a statement about the war with our flag, as the caller had given us credit for doing, but were plagued by a faulty hook.

I have to tell you that as I debated whether or not to take the flag down, concerned that it might come unhooked again, it occurred to me that we are a nation in distress. That's certainly what the caller was feeling when he noted our flag and felt relieved that someone else was experiencing his pain.

I would guess that most of us are feeling that distress. As Christians we should be feeling it especially because the Bible speaks again and again of peace as God's will. As is noted in the ELCA Social Statement, "For Peace In God's World", Jesus taught love for one's enemies; he reached out to the oppressed, downtrodden and rejected of the earth; he prayed for his enemies while himself being rejected on the cross and he died to redeem the entire world.

As I said once before in a sermon, I am confident that war is not God's will for the world. And I do believe that we Christians are compelled to act to prevent wars and seek alternatives to them, especially given modern weaponry. One of our older members - who served in World War II - said to me this week that war is not glorious in the suffering it brings.

We all know this to be true. So, on the one hand - to quote the Social Statement again - "For us, love born of faith calls us not to harm others and to help them in every need." Yet, on the other hand, we live on this imperfect planet, and sometimes helping the neighbor in need may involve protecting innocent people from injustice and aggression.

So here we are - in distress - because we love our country and we pray for and support Robert and Erika, children of members of our congregation who are serving in the military in that region. Yet, we also love our God and struggle with whether or not this is where our faith and our God wants us to be.

This week I read about a statue of a British nurse that is in London. It's a depiction of Nurse Edith Cavell. In 1915 she was tied to a stake in German-occupied Belgium and shot as a traitor for the crime of assisting soldiers in their flight to neutral Holland. Her last moments were described by an eyewitness: "After receiving the sacrament, and within minutes of being led out to her death, she said, 'Standing as I do in view of God and eternity, I realize that patriotism is not enough. I must have no hatred or bitterness toward anyone.'" On the base of her statue these words are carved, "Patriotism is not enough." ("Patriotism is Not Enough", Sojourners Magazine, January-February 2003)

Does this mean that patriotism is bad? Of course that's not the case, we should be thankful for our country and the blessings we have because we live in this place. But, as Christians, it just is not enough. Patriotism cannot become a religion to us. We must struggle with being conscientious citizens and faithful Christians because we do not follow the world's agenda, we follow Jesus.

In today's second reading from I Corinthians we are reminded that in the cross God has turned the world upside down. The first time I preached on this text was here at Faith in 1986 when I was on internship. I remember that I began the sermon by describing the sanctuary as being upside down. Worshippers were standing on their heads. The candles were balancing on their flames. The organist's feet were in the air and the choir members' robes were falling down around their ears. It was a memorable image of the fact that as Christians we live differently from the rest of the world, and indeed what we believe may seem foolish to others. Our salvation is not based that which is logical or reasonable. It does not hinge on our having gained knowledge of Jesus or on how we live our lives. Instead, our salvation is secured through the cross of Christ, and there is nothing reasonable, or practical about that.

Jesus Christ, God's son, died. It might be more accurate to say that he was tortured on an instrument of death that we call the cross and through that crime we were saved. It's foolish, as is the fact that forgiveness and eternal life are offered to those who believe, whether or not it seems that we deserve it. That's ludicrous. And it may also seem foolish to speak of loving neighbors, praying for enemies and seeking peace in the midst of war, and yet that's what this upside-down faith of ours' calls us to do. I hope the closing words of the second lesson speak to us, "For God's foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God's weakness is stronger than human strength."

So, at times like this we are in distress and we feel pulled in many directions. Yet, we are not without hope because God knows our struggle.

Perhaps some of you saw the editorial in the April edition of the Lutheran written by David L. Miller. He writes that while sitting at a traffic light he asked his wife Dixie, "What are you feeling about the future?" She responded, "I'm afraid of what it means for our children. But whatever happens…." Tears choked off her answer. Then, tears gone, she finished her sentence, "Whatever happens we belong to God. We trust that."

It is true, as Pastor Miller reflected that we never know what each day will bring. However, this Lent, the challenges of "whatever happens" are greater than usual. And yet, as Jesus journeys toward the cross he also walks with us, helping us to deal with distress and to learn what it means to be disciples in confusing times.

This too is part of what it means to be "Growing In Discipleship", to realize that life brings no easy answers and that it's often difficult to discern what to do as we strive for love and justice, that is as we follow Jesus.

Yet there is a clear word for us, and for our friend who saw a message in our accidentally upside-down flag. Whatever happens, we do belong to God, as do God's children throughout the world.

AMEN

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