Sermon 5/29/11
What do Jesus' disciples, small babies and all of us here today have in common? We all suffer from separation anxiety.
Somewhere between 6-9 months old most children go through a phase where they hate to see Mom or Dad leave the room. If Mom leaves the baby's sight the baby will let out a scream as if her whole world has been lost. At this point baby has not yet learned what doctors call the concept of permanence – that just because you can't see something doesn't mean it's gone out of existence. Baby's view of the world is so small, he is so completely wrapped up in himself and his own comfort that any disturbance, like the absence of his mother sends him into screaming expressions of separation anxiety.
Jesus' disciples experienced separation anxiety when Jesus was crucified. Before his arrest Jesus said goodbye to his disciples. We heard some of that in the Gospel reading from John 14. When Jesus talked about his death it greatly disturbed his disciples. They didn't want to face the prospect of losing him. Jesus had to reassure them that, even though he was going to be killed, he was not leaving them forever. Just because they cannot see him does not mean that he has ceased to exist.
When a baby experiences separation anxiety it screams and cries. After Jesus' death, when the disciples experienced separation anxiety they cowered and hid behind locked doors. They became very quiet, lest the same people that killed Jesus would find them and crucify them too.
What about us? What does our separation anxiety look like? There are times in everyone's life when it looks to them that God doesn't exist. Can't see him. He must not be there. God must have abandoned me, or rejected me, or is punishing me.
· Some, in their anxiety will scream and cry out, “God, why are you doing this to me? Where are you? Why have you forsaken me?”
· Some, in their anxiety, will become very quiet. “OK, if this thing with God isn't working out, what other crutch is available to me?” We elevate our hurt feelings into the place we used to reserve for God. And we worship our victim status.
Sometimes, we experience separation anxiety, not because some tragedy has occurred, but simply because we have drifted away, or allowed ourselves to be pulled away from God. Maybe we just wake up one day and notice – hey, where did everybody go? God? Haven't talked to him in a while. The longer one has been away from worship, the harder it is to come back. The longer one has been away from prayer, the harder it is to get started again.
When Jesus' disciples express their anxiety about his leaving them, he seeks to assure them three ways. 1. In vs. 16 Jesus says, “I will ask the Father and he will give you another Advocate” that is... the Holy Spirit. Some translations render the word Counselor instead of advocate. The word in Greek that is used here is paraclete – one who brings comfort and hope by standing up in court to defend you. So Jesus promises that they won't be alone-- that shortly they will have a Conforter among them, namely the Holy Spirit. 2. In vs. 18 Jesus says, “I will not leave you orphanous (Gk.). I will not leave you orphans. I will not leave you deso;ae ones. Even if you cannot see me, I have not ceased to exist. 3. In vs. 20 Jesus encourages his disciples to observe his commandments while he is [apparently] gone. This is more than simply a tactic to distract them away from their own self-absorption. Following Jesus' commandments means that the disciples will be forced to think about others, and not just themselves. Their world will grow beyond their grief, fear, confusion and paralysis. They will be engaging in action, mission witness, service.
Because, what is it that Jesus commands us to do?
· Love one another as I have loved you.
· Feed my sheep.
· Go, therefore and baptize, making disciples of all nations.
· Abide in me (make your home in me).
· Go... quickly... and tell.
· Take and eat; this is my body.
How do we know that Jesus is still with us? When we can't see him? When we feel so far away? Part of the answer has to do with avoiding religion long enough to find faith. Does that sound strange? Avoid religion so as to find faith?
What is religion? Here's one definition: Religion is a discipline or system of practice that seeks to alleviate or prevent anxiety over our real or imagined separation from God by observing rituals or practices designed to keep God's anger away. Religion, when talking about all the religions of the world, both the worldwide religions and the smaller, tribal or primitive religions, is often about appeasing a god that is presumed to be angry, presumed to have a short temper. As if god is Sheherezod's wicked husband, the king, who will gladly kill us unless we give him a good enough reason not to. Or like the teacher who starts out every student in her class with an 'F', and over the course the semester you try to raise it up to a passing grade.
Does our God assume the worst about us? Is our God just looking for a reason to kill us? Do we worship an angry god?
In our first lesson today we heard about Paul at the Areopagus. The citizens of Athens were so afraid of offending a god or goddess by overlooking them that they set up an altar to an unknown god. Building altars was part of classical Greek “religion.” It was supposed to keep the god situation under control. It was supposed to assuage the gods' petty egos to the point that they won't get bored or angry and start meddling negatively in human affairs. These are religious practices in the sense that they are designed to keep things as they are, with God happy enough to leave us alone. They are designed to control God, nature, and the world. These religious practices were supposed to prevent “surprises.” Prevent bad surprises-- that's religion. (I always cross myself before I shoot a freethrough, that's why I will always do it: to prevent a miss.)
Contrast that with faith. Religion hopes to repeat the old while faith is open to the new. Religion seeks to conrol, while faith seeks to set free. Religion is a discipline (we must keep doing the things). Faith is an adventure! (Let's see what God is going to do next.)
Jesus came to give us a look into God's heart. When we see Jesus we see the heart of the Father-- healing, encouraging, lifting up the poor, loving, forgiving... raising us from the dead! We do not worship an angry God, eager to see us fail. We worship the one we know through Jesus Christ, the one who went to the cross to show us that there is no place we can be, which is as distant from God as we sometimes feel – to show us that neither hight nor depth, nor anxiety, nor death-- can actually separate us from the love of God in Christ. Amen.
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