Sunday, June 28, 2015

Trusting the God of New Life

St. Paul’s Church in Bergen, Jersey City NJ
June 28, 2015

Year B, Proper 8: The Fifth Sunday after Pentecost
2 Samuel 1:1, 17-27
Psalm 130
2 Corinthians 8:7-15
Mark 5:21-43

Trusting the God of New Life

            A while back I mentioned to you that when I was a teenager I participated in my high school’s retreat program – retreats that had and continue to have a deep effect on my life.
            The retreats took place over a long weekend down the Shore in a rambling old Victorian house, bringing together classmates, some of whom knew each other very well and others who might not have even known each other’s names.
            Since over the course of the retreat it was common for us kids to share some personal stuff, it was important for us to build trust right from the start so we could share without fearing it would be the talk of the cafeteria after we got back to school.
            So, early on we were asked to do a trust exercise that began with all of us pairing off.
            Then, we took turns turning our backs on our partner, stretching out our arms and falling backwards, hoping – trusting – that our partner would catch us before we fell onto the hardwood floor.
            Some of us had no trouble taking the plunge while others had great difficulty believing, trusting, that the other kid would actually care enough and/or be strong enough to save us.
            But it was only through trust – through trusting each other and trusting God -that we could be open to – could receive - the experience of the retreat.
            In today’s gospel lesson, we heard the stories of two miracles performed by Jesus – miracles that seem to require people to trust Jesus.
            In one, a man named Jairus, a leader of the synagogue, comes to Jesus because his twelve year-old daughter is gravely ill. This distraught father somehow trusts that Jesus can heal her. He says to Jesus,
            “Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well and live.”
            But, first there’s an interruption.
            The second story is sandwiched in the middle of today’s passage. A woman who had been suffering from hemorrhages for twelve years, spending all of her money only to be tortured and disappointed by doctors – this woman trusts in Jesus enough that she boldly touches his cloak. She said, maybe to herself or maybe out loud,
            “If I but touch his clothes, I will be made well.”
            The woman trusts Jesus, reaches out her hand, and the hemorrhage stops immediately. Her twelve long years of suffering are over.
            And then we’re back to Jairus’ daughter.
            It seems that Jesus may be too late when people arrive with the news that the girl is dead.
            But, Jesus tells Jairus, “Do not fear, only believe.”
            The bleeding woman trusted that Jesus would give her new life.
            Jairus trusted that Jesus would offer his daughter new life.
            So, here’s the point: Faith isn’t so much a matter of believing certain religious statements to be true.
            That’s what people often think but it’s just not the case.
            No, instead, faith is much more a matter of trust – for us, faith means placing our trust in God and in Jesus the Son of God.
            Faith is trusting the God of new life.
            Unfortunately, and for lots of good reasons, trust is hard.
            On my high school retreat it was hard for some of us to trust and let ourselves fall back into a stranger’s arms.
            I’m sure it was hard for Jairus to trust there was new life for his daughter when everybody was saying that she was dead.
            It was hard for that poor suffering woman – bleeding for twelve long years – to trust that Jesus might actually offer her new life.
            And, trust is hard for us, too.
            Many of us have faced betrayal.
             And, maybe some of us ourselves haven’t always been trustworthy, haven’t always lived up to the trust that others placed in us.
            So, yes, trust is hard for us.
            But, it’s necessary.
            All God really asks of us is to trust – to trust God who never betrays a trust – to trust God who is always standing by, ready to catch us, to heal us, to offer us new life.
            It has been a very emotional, roller-coaster week, hasn’t it?
            The Supreme Court has been busy saving the Affordable Care Act and declaring same-sex marriage legal in all 50 States.
            And then there’s Charleston.
            Like many of you, I’m sure, this past week I’ve continued to follow the story, reading many different articles about Emanuel AME Church, its amazing pastor, Rev. Clementa Pinckney and the eight others who were killed in the attack, about the alleged perpetrator and especially about how the people of this church – the relatives and friends of those who were killed - how the people of this community have responded to horror.
            Over and over they have shown themselves to be people of faith. They are people of faith not because of the different religious ideas they have in their heads but because they have a radical trust in the God of new life.
            This trust must have been built over the years through practice – through practice so that when the time of testing came they trusted God completely.
            The sister of one of those killed said, “Emanuel does not harbor hate in her heart. That’s not the God we serve. It’s important for us to know that the young man (the alleged killer) is a mother’s son, a father’s son. If he can earnestly repent, God will hear him.”
            Trusting the God of new life.
            One family who lost a loved one has started the “Hate Won’t Win Challenge” that invites people to “commit an act of love” and post it on social media.
            Trusting the God of new life.
            Another said, “We are here to combat hate-filled actions with love-filled actions. And is what we want to get out into the world.”
            Trusting the God of new life.
            The sister of another victim said, “Forgiveness is the only way. Others may not agree with me but that’s the way it has to be.” And, she added, “I believe that our God is a god of purpose.”
            Trusting the God of new life.
            Over and over the families and friends of those killed at Emanuel Church have, despite the evil hatred and deadly violence they have endured – despite the racism they have faced their whole lives – despite the perfectly human desire for revenge – over and over these beautiful Christian brothers and sisters have radically and wholeheartedly put their trust in Jesus Christ the Son of God.
            Faith is trusting the God of new life.
            And, look at what’s happened in our country in the days since the massacre!
            New life. New life all around us.
            For decades many, many people have been deeply unhappy about the display of old Confederate symbols on public property – at state capitols, as part of state flags, on license plates, and so on.
            And yet there just hasn’t been the political will to do much about it.
            Until now.
            New life.
            And, I sense a new spirit in our land – a new spirit that President Obama expressed in his amazing eulogy of Rev. Pinckney on Friday – a new spirit, a new grace, a new willingness to finally, finally face our old problems and prejudices.
            I sense a new spirit in the land to set aside our own misgivings and misunderstandings, our own prejudices and to accept – and, yes, even celebrate – when, yet again, love wins, as it surely did at the Supreme Court last week.
            New life.
            Faithful Jairus trusted Jesus with the life of his daughter.
            The faithful woman bleeding trusted Jesus with her very life.
            Their trust led them to new life.
            And, what was true for them long ago is true for the people of Emanuel Church - and for us - today.
            All God asks us is to trust – to trust the God who is always standing by, ready to catch us, to heal us, to offer us new life.
            Faith is trusting the God of new life.
            Amen.