Transcribed from the Sermon preached September 10, 2006

The Reverend Max Lynn, Pastor

St. John’s Presbyterian Church

2727 College Avenue, Berkeley, CA 94705

Telephone 510-845-6830 Fax 510-845-6837

office@stjohns.presbychurch.net http://www.stjohns.presbychurch.net

Scripture Readings: Proverbs 22:1-2, 8-9, 22-23; Numbers 13:1-2, 26; 14:4, 17-19

A vibrant woman discovers she has cancer. She is faced with the reality of her mortality. She goes through the standard medical procedure; surgery, radiation…and is forced to make a decision about chemotherapy. She talks with friends and her spouse, she cries, and she prays. This is all helpful, but only to a degree. She wonders, does God hear her prayer? Will God give her an answer that she will recognize?

Another person is searching for work. The bills need to be paid. We have a degree of pride too, a sense that we have something special to contribute, and we think we know in what way we should contribute. We have put time and effort into our education and training. Why are we stuck out here?

Someone else has work, and they are working hard, and they seem to be as gifted and talented as those successful folks at that other department or that other company in town, but somehow their work keeps running into difficulties, a difficult boss, difficult personnel situations, annoying problems that threaten to drain energy and divert focus.

Since 9/11/01 even our nation seems to be wondering through a wilderness, the future of our Democracy and our comfortable way of life anything but certain. Our leaders, it seems, have reacted in grief and anger rather than with discriminating wisdom. Like a big guy slapped in the face while sleeping, we have jumped up to punish any and all potential culprits, not knowing where the true guilty party is. Now there are even more people who are angry with us, and the resources we spend for war abroad detract from our ability to care for people within our own borders.

This church has gone through some very wonderful, but also some tough times. Over the last 40 years, there have been great demonstrations of faith and righteousness, and a stretch or act or two that would not be best described with the words faith or righteousness. And now, after a long, consistent and predictable run of service from a gifted musician David Hunsberger, we are in the precarious yet exciting position of searching for a new leader of music. Thank God we have talented people like Karla and Leon to keep our spirits looking forward.

I recently had the opportunity of reading David McCullough’s 1776. With vivid narrative one is placed in the mix with common soldiers, British command, with leaders in Philadelphia, and in the head of General George Washington. What struck me about this reading of History was not only how precarious and unclear the outcome was, but also the facts and ideals which justified the cause. Americans, especially those leading the cause in Philadelphia, were in many ways better off than people in England. The land here was better for farming and there was more of it. And the American war effort was so miserably underfunded and under supplied that it was extremely tough to keep soldiers on the battlefield. Hunger, cold and dysentery took a greater toll than the British Army. After the crushing loss of New York, followed by retreat and more losses, American military command and politicians were beginning to lose their trust in General Washington, and numerous soldiers and civilians were deserting and returning back to the British side. I have to admit, I found myself sympathizing with them.

Certainly even those who would become heroes understood the sentiment that success was far from probable, and that a warm bed under British control could sound better than another month in the ice and mud. But somehow, enough people believed enough in the cause, and enough of the leadership, particularly Washington, stayed resolute and courageous under pressure, and Democracy in America did not die in the year of its birth.

In the ancient Middle East, long before Democracy, it was common practice that those advisors who offered a differing opinion from the desired or final decision of the General or King would be killed. In the case of Moses and the Israelites at the edge of the Promised Land, some of the leaders and many of the people want to choose a new leader who will take them back to Egypt. Here, God, fed up with such a rebellion, intends to wipe them all out. But once again, Moses makes the argument that God should spare the rebels.

Moses reminds Yahweh that he promised the people he would take them into the Promised Land, and so if he killed them, he would be breaking his promises to his people. This would also be visible to other peoples who would say that the god Yahweh could not be trusted, or did not have the power to keep his promises. Then Moses reminds Yahweh that such unrelenting vengeance is not really in his nature anyway. He reminds Yahweh of his own words about himself: The Lord is slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, forgiving iniquity and transgression… God decides he will be merciful, but the complaining bunch will not enter the Promised Land. Their children will.

Restraining for a time our desire to distance ourselves from the rather brutal reality of ancient war, ancient conquest and politics, and from the obvious desire by our ancient scribes to make Moses, Aaron and Joshua and, by inference, their political descendents look good, we may learn a couple of things. At first it is God who has to convince Moses to take the job of his chief liberator. And it is Moses who loses heart and courage and wants to give up the whole effort. Now it is Moses convincing God to stay the coarse. It is like, hey, we have come too far for this to end by internal meltdown.

     On the other hand, we learn that it is a long way from Egypt to the Promised Land. The full answer to a prayer can take a while. It may take a bit of wandering through the wilderness for us to learn and grow strong enough to make it. There are enough difficulties which beset a people from the outside to make keeping faith hard that we might wish everyone would be mutually supportive and faithful. But the reality is, that dealing with the pressures of the outside demands the insight of group members who are human beings who do not always see things the same way. There are things over which men and women of good will may differ. This lack of clarity slows things down, and can even draw energy away from the formidable outside forces, but it need not spell the end of hopes and dreams.

     A key ingredient is mutual encouragement. In difficult times, even the faithful have lapses of faith. If we are going to continue to succeed, we need each others support. All of us will reach a time when we need someone else to go to God on our behalf. As Christians, of course, we believe Jesus has gone before God and pleaded, O Lord, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Even when we have momentary lapses of judgment and faith, we can still be carried by Christ and the faithful forward.

     Our fellow More Light church in El Cerrito will soon may shut down after a slow decline and internal conflict. In addition their female pastor of the church has been brought up on charges for violation of ordination standards. A man just so happened to sit down next to her partner at a Sports Bar near this years national Presbyterian Church gathering, the General Assembly. In their conversation the man found out that the woman he was speaking to had a partner who was a minister in his own presbytery of San Francisco.

Believe me there are those who are already saying that the progressive Church has lost its faith in God, and will therefore reap the Lord’s vengeance and disintegrate. And while it remains a fact that it is hard for a lesbian woman, regardless of her gifts and faith, to find work in anyplace other than a small, struggling church where prospects of success are slim: the inverse is claimed by many, that her lack of success and the church’s conflict is a product and sign of their rejection of God. It may be true, as Jim Wallis has argued, that progressives have tried to go it alone, without God, making our intellect and personal desire our idols. Yet, God has mercifully seen us this far, and damned we are if we let God let us go.

     Wasn’t it you God who said “I have heard the cries of my children who suffer from oppression?” That we’re not to covet, steal, murder, or commit adultery? Who said, do not rob the poor because they are poor? Wasn’t it your prophets who said, one day swords will be beat into plowshares and spears into pruning hooks? Wasn’t it your Son who said, he who has not sinned cast the first stone? Who shared living water with the marginalized woman and sent her out to spread the Good News of your amazing grace? Who taught us that we were not to rely on mindless adherence to beliefs and law when it leads to harm or scapegoating others? Who said the law was made to do good and not harm? Was it not Jesus, who said that all the law was summed up in these: love the Lord your God with all your heart mind and soul, and love your neighbor as yourself? Who healed the sick and gave sight to the blind? Who led us to the end of exclusion of the handicapped from the temple? Who led us to end slavery? Who led us women to use the myriad gifts you created them with? God, would you have us stop before Paul’s vision is fully realized, In Christ there is no longer Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for all are one in Christ Jesus?

     We repent of our small faith, and promise once more to love you with all our heart, mind and soul! By the grace of Jesus Christ unite us, by your Spirit give us strength and courage to stay this path you have set before us, that others would see your promises are true.

     Jesus, you have said, pick up your cross and follow me. We understand that you may call us to suffer and die, to fail from the point of view of the world. So many of your great successes were delayed for so long. If you live, then let us succeed in faith. Whether we live or die, may we do it together, faithful to you.