We Share the Journey
© Rev. Dr.
Gary Blaine
University
Congregational Church
July 5, 2009
Reading: “Lauds” – Morning
Prayer
We offer
prayers for all those with whom we share the Journey:
For our loved
ones, those who have been given to us,
And to whom we
have been given:
Lord, have
mercy, Christ, have mercy.
For those whom
we have loved who are now absent from us:
Lord, have
mercy, Christ, have mercy.
And for those
we know who face particular trials and tests this day:
Lord, have
mercy, Christ, have mercy.
We entrust all
who are dear to us to Your never-failing love and care,
For this life
and the life to come;
Knowing that
You will do for them
Far more than
we can desire or pray for.
Amen.[1]
Many
years ago I was taking my youth group on a five day hike along the Appalachian
Trail. There were about eight of us all
together, girls and boys in their teens.
One morning we broke camp and headed up to Wayah Bald where we would
have lunch. We had hardly been on the
trail an hour when a group of Boy Scouts passed us. They were in their mid-to-late teens and
making remarkable time. Another hour or
so we were passed by another small group from their troop. They too were hiking at a good clip. We arrived at Wayah Bald where we broke out
our lunches. As we ate we watched other
small groups of two or three boys wander up to the bald. It took about one hour for the whole troop of
25 scouts to arrive. Several of the
younger boys were crying. They were
exhausted. They had drunk all of their
water. There was no access to water on the top of Wayah Bald. They had eaten all of their food during the
morning. They had nothing left to eat until supper.
I recognized their scout leader as someone I
had gone to college with. He was a
pre-ministerial student at Florida Southern College and did not like me. His complaint with me was that I did not
believe the Jews were going to hell because they did not receive Jesus Christ
as their Lord and personal Savior. What
was worse, I did not even believe in hell.
We exchanged awkward
pleasantries. After lunch and rest we
moved on to the shelter where we would spend the night.
The
troop, or at least the lead party, had already arrived but decided that the
scout troop would camp in a small meadow.
We thanked them and set up for the night. After we had eaten dinner and were sitting
around the campfire, the scoutmaster came into our company and asked if he
could talk with me.
Glen
told me several of his boys were having a miserable experience and wanted to go
home. He observed that my youth group
seemed to be having a good time and wondered what he might do to help his
scouts. I told him that; in the first
place, my rule was that the group would only walk as fast as the slowest hiker. Of course that was usually me. That was something my father taught me from
his years in the U. S. Navy during World War II. The fleet sailed as fast as the slowest ship,
which were usually the oil tankers that carried their fuel. The ships needed the fuel; the tankers needed
the protection of the fleet. Glen wanted
to know the connection to hiking.
I
told him that it was a matter of safety for the whole group. I also asked him who carried the troop’s
first aid kit; and given the spread of his scouts along the trail, how would he
know where the first aid kit was in case of a major injury. I also pointed out that the younger scouts
apparently did not know how to manage the rations of energy snacks, food and
water. Furthermore, buddy cooking was
pretty inefficient and group cooking guaranteed that everyone would eat or all
would go hungry.
The
next morning, about nine o’clock the scout troop passed us. They were all together. That evening when we arrived at the next
shelter they were playing in a river.
They were laughing and splashing each other. They were wet, but not from tears.
Whether
it is a scout troop, a youth group, a family, or a congregation, I have learned
that we share the journey. If we do not
share the journey we often arrive angry, exhausted, and weeping. Some arrive very late and some not at all.
This
nation is in the midst of war on two fronts – Iraq and Afghanistan. The reality is that whatever success the U.S.
military will achieve in either place depends on sharing the journey with the
Iraqi and Afghani people. We are also in
a deep recession with unemployment at 9.5%, representing over 14 million
people. Our ability to work our way out
of the recession will depend on every one of us sharing the journey. This is not President Obama’s journey, or
Wall Street’s journey, but our
journey. Given the debt that we will
incur in this process, it appears that unborn generations will share this
journey with us.
I
dare say that the future of University Congregational Church depends on our
willingness to share the journey. If we
imagine that we are Bob Meyers’ people, or Gary Cox’s people, or Jim White’s
people, or Gary Blaine’s people, we will be scattered out all along the
trail. Many of us will be tired, angry,
and hungry. If we imagine that the Board
we serve on or support – be it Christian Education, or Deacons, or Music, or
the Guild, or Outreach – are of superior value and importance to any other we
will all limp to the shelter and some of us will not make it. If we think of our membership as political
units comprising the “Old Guard” vs. “New Members,” “Adult Discussion Group”
vs. “Minister’s Bible Study,” “Libertarians” vs. “Democrats,” or “Council” vs.
“Congregation” we will not complete the journey. Heck, we won’t even be on the same trail any
more.
I
say all of this, not because I want to offend anyone. I have worked hard for you these past two
years and I respect you and my own work too much to intentionally cause
offense. I care for you too much to do
that. It is my opinion that UCC has
struggled through four years of transition.
They have been difficult years, filled with grief and change. And they are years of important
decision-making, including the calling of a new minister, the adoption of a
strategic plan, and the decision to build administrative offices. These are on just a few examples of a
tremendous amount work and energy that you have given to the church. With change comes conflict and we are all
aware of that reality. I say all of
this because like the rest of the nation we are caught up in a financial
recession. We made some very tough
decisions about the 2009 budget. We are
now beginning the budget process for 2010.
Now
let me say that I expect people to have opinions about the church budget,
program, and strategic plans. We would
not be Congregationalists if we did not have opinions and express them
confidently. Indeed, we have more
opinions that we have members, and that is the way we are! We would not be Congregationalists if we did
not have differences of opinion, even conflict about important issues. But we would not be Congregationalists if we
did not finally compromise and make decisions together. It is probably important that we disagree but
even more important that we continue the journey together after the decisions
are made.
In
the midst of strategic plans, budgets, growing programs, changing ministry, and
building expansion it is often the case the people forget we share the
journey. All of the plans and programs
that we create are meant to keep us together and on the same trail. By all means let us put forth our best plans,
strategies, and tactics; fully engage our every member canvass pledge drive,
and work together on our shared journey.
And let us pray for one another
with every step we take. Meetings will
not replace the space in our hearts for one another. Spreadsheets will not substitute for the
genuine love and respect we have for every member of our congregation. Websites will not finally extend a warm
welcome to visitors.
It reminds
me of the story of the family that was moving from Johnstown to Jamestown. As they approached their new home they met a
man minding a fruit stand about half way between the two towns. “Say,” asked the head of household, “what
kind of people are there in Jamestown?’
“Well,” answered
the man, “what kind of people did you leave behind in Johnstown?”
“Oh, the
very best. They are kind and
generous. We are sad to leave them.”
“That’s the
kind of folks you will find in Jamestown,” replied the traveler.
A little
while later another family was moving from Jamestown to Johnstown. They asked the vendor a similar
question. “What kinds of people are
there in Johnstown?”
“What kinds
of people were there in Jamestown?” asked the vendor.
“They were
mean, selfish, and downright nasty. We are
glad to be rid of them,” said the traveler.
“I’m afraid
you are going to meet the same kind in Jamestown,” replied the vendor.
How we
share the journey is determined by the state of our own hearts. I offer one way to keep our hearts in
condition for long walks with old and new friends in faith. Now I am going to use a word that you would
expect me to use and may be conditioned to turn me off as soon as you hear the
word. I think the quality of any
church’s journey is determined by the life of prayer in the congregation.
Are you
still with me? Hello! Is anybody still conscious?
By prayer I
mean taking the time to hold in your love the people of this congregation, its
leadership, its church staff, and its called minister. Do you intend their well-being? Do you hope for wholeness in their lives
according to God’s will? Do you give
thanks for their gifts offered to the welfare of this congregation? Do you extend forgiveness for their
limitations and mistakes? Do any of us
ever ask what might this congregation be in the imagination of God? Or do we take greater comfort in getting our
own way? Do we take the journey of faith
with the members and friends of this church for power and control? Or do we take the journey of faith for the
joy that comes with entrusted pilgrims, gathered in covenant to bring peace,
justice, and universal fellowship in the name and spirit of Jesus?
The reading
from the Morning Prayer that I shared with you reminds us to pray for our loved
ones, those who have been given to us, and to whom we have been given. That is an amazing consideration. We seldom think of one another as gifts to
one another. Rather, we imagine that we
have earned love and respect, or that we have “won” someone over, or that we
have somehow wooed them. This prayer
says that we are gifts to one another.
We are not just another member, or employee, or minister. We are gifts to one another.
Gifts
require us to open them with care.
Sometimes we have to put a gift together or learn how to use it. We might even have to read the operating
manual. Each gift is unique, not only
the ones we receive but also the gift that we are. Imagine that each of us is one of the Magi on
the way to Bethlehem, bringing gifs to the Christ child. I wonder how much stronger local churches and
Christianity at large would be if we thought of ourselves and our brothers and
sisters as gifts.
The Morning
Prayer also calls us to pray for those whom we have loved are now absent from
us. Some are absent from us because they
have died. Some have moved away. Some have resigned because they were angry or
in search of different path than the one we are on. By all means we grieve for the loss of these
souls. Their faces and stories come to
our minds. If we will but take the time
to hold them in our hearts we can also recover the wisdom they left us, the
humor that still brings a smile to our faces, and the lessons that their living
and dying teach us. Our prayer for them
is not a pleading for their eternal lives, but the enriching of our own. Their memory is a presence in our lives that
reminds us of who we are and the eternal values that bring us hope.
Let us pray
for whose who face particular trials and tests this day. Every single day in the life of this
congregation people face the trials and tests of divorce, job loss, dying and
death, loneliness, pain of every dimension, the stress of parenting, and the
stress of maturation. Some times I read
the newspaper or watch the news on television and see the faces of natural disaster
or war or greed. Would that I could hold
the face of each one and the hands of their loved ones and assure them that
they are not alone. We are with them and
may they ride the winds of God’s love beyond our imagining.
Finally,
Morning Prayer offers these words: “We entrust all who are dear to us to Your
never-failing love and care, for this life and the life to come; knowing that
You will do for them far more than we can desire or pray for.” This is a lesson that I have to learn over
and over again. I have very definite
ideas about the welfare of my loved ones.
I think there are some things they should be doing to secure their
future. I worry when they make decisions
that might harm them. I am pretty sure I
know what is best for them. This prayer
reminds me that there is a Cause beyond my own, a Purpose deeper than my own,
and a Hope that is greater than my imagination.
When we pray for each other in our church may our faith entrust the
congregation to God’s never-failing love and care. For me that means surrendering my ideas,
plans, and hopes for them when decisions have been made.
We gather
as a congregation to share the journey.
That means we share ideas, develop plans, hire staff, build programs,
raise money, and maintain the building. Most importantly it means that we share the
gifts of one another, remember those who have walked with us in the past,
enjoin the needs of one another, and finally trust our journey to the
Cartographer of life. We walk with our
own feet and carry the burdens of the trail.
On the Journey of Faith, we shoulder one another’s burdens and carry
them if necessary. We share the journey
on the wings of prayer.
Finis