April 29, 2007 Sermon
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Easter 4 – C
Emmanuel San Angelo
April 29, 2007 Allan Conkling
The Bible is full of dreams and dreamers as our readings today will show. And Church people—those who ponder upon these old and dusty texts- are criticized for having their head in the clouds. So much of what we do in church is built upon the sacred writings, and old, old traditions—the hymns, the way we dress, the way we kneel, stand, and sing; the prayers, and the Communion itself. To an outsider I am sure that we seem far more interested in clinging to things of the past than facing the present; of keeping old traditions, and dreaming up ways of escaping reality. I would like to think that being a dreamer is not necessarily a bad thing. Dreams can keep us from living in mediocrity and open new windows to faith. Dreams can also challenge us to think big, to take risks, and to open us to new possibilities.
The wonderful Old Testament story of Moses calling forth Joshua to be his successor is an example. Joshua (or Jehoshua, Yeshua) whose name means “Yahweh is Salvation” is commissioned to carry on the works of Moses, and so the people of the Lord would not be like sheep without a shepherd. On the other hand being too much of an idealist can get us into to trouble. Jesus, whose name in Hebrew is also Joshua was a person who dreamed big dreams. Like his namesake he led his flock like a shepherd. He convinced his followers to pray for a kingdom that would come, “on earth as it is in heaven”. Of course his plans did not square with the dreams of the secular world and he was put to death. Even so his witness, and the witness of the Apostles who would come after him was one of hope not despair. For the future belongs to God, and God calls dreamers… even today.
In our second reading from Acts we have an account of Paul and Barnabas traveling forth into what is now modern day Turkey. They stopped to preach in a Jewish Synagogue on the Sabbath. (Remember there weren’t any churches yet!) According to Acts wherever he went Paul always preached the same sermon. And this was it:
1. That God sent Christ into the world just as had been predicted in the old days;
2. That Jesus was rejected and killed through the fault of those who would not listen to him;
3. But God raised him from the dead to prove that God would not be defeated;
4. And everyone who believed in Christ is set free from sins and given the promise of everlasting life with God.
That’s it. Then he’d sit down and wait until folks responded. In most cases he would be thrown out—talk about a tough audience! But Paul never gave up; and because he did not give up the message spread. And because he did not give up, we worship together this morning.
The older I get the more I realize that it is the urgent task of each generation to pass this message along to the one that comes after. The message of Christ carries with it the promise of a life without boundaries, the call to make this world a better place, and the responsibility to treat others justly, while exercising compassion and mercy for all of God’s creation. This is too important to keep to ourselves! There will come a time when we are not here, but I am convinced that what Emmanuel and the Episcopal Church in this town will be like in 20 or 50 or 100 years will be in no small part due to our prayers, our intentions, and our work which we do today.
I said earlier that to an outsider we probably seem more interested in holding on to things of the past than facing the present or the future— but is that always a bad thing? Theologian Hans Kung once wrote:
“The world does not last forever. Human life and human history have an end. But the message of Jesus tells us that, at this end, there is not nothing, there is God. As God is at the beginning so too he is the end…It is with this future, God’s future, that we have to reckon…In the light of this future of God we must shape the present, both of the individual and of society.”
The message of these dusty old passages is that there is a shepherd who wants each person to hearken to his voice. The power of Christ can overcome our doubts and fears. God’s grace and favor is there for all who accept it. As John says,
“People gathered around him and said to him, ‘How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.’ Jesus answered, ‘I have told you…’”
In Christ there is meaning and purpose that nothing can destroy. It cannot be “snatched away” from our hands as long as we are in the Lord’s hands.
Together with all the saints who have gone before, the dreams of the Kingdom are inspired within us. With one eye toward heaven and the other set on big things we are called to accomplish, we have our work cut out for us.
O God of our dreams, dreams of a better world, of more gracious, more generous relationships within the world: However far our dreams are from reality, keep us striving after them, sure that in the end you will bring them to pass; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
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Quotes taken from Selected Sermons, 4/24/1983
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Revised: 05/09/07