Safe?
9-30-07
Do you ever watch the news or read the newspaper and feel overwhelmed? Hostages kidnapped, missing hurricane and earthquake victims, destructive wars, starvation in Korea, child soldiers in Africa, hate crime victims, confessions of politicians, child, domestic, and prison abuse, drunk drivers going to prison, bodies of people appearing days even months after disappearing into thin air? On a daily basis, I read about the economy and nasty politics. I read about lost belongings, lost lives, lost ball games.
I don’t watch the news much anymore and I look at the paper and feel downright overwhelmed sometimes; fearful of where our nation is headed; fearful for the men and women fighting in wars; fearful about my finances and the economy, fearful of what it would mean to have a family in today’s world, fearful of some of the ways God is portrayed in society. What are some of the things you fear?
I sat down and made a list of some of the fears I have heard from others this week. "I’m afraid I overdrew on my checking account. I’m afraid that basket will scratch the table. I’m afraid my son might be gay. I’m afraid that she is not going to live much longer. I’m afraid he is developing a drinking problem. I’m afraid that I’m going to get all the way out there and they will be closed. I’m afraid the color of this dress is wrong. I’m afraid I won’t fit in my new dress. I’m afraid I’m not going to be able to pay my bills this month. I’m afraid that if I tell you, you will think less of me. I’m afraid that I won’t have time to get everything done. I’m afraid of tight spaces. I’m afraid of walking on ice. I’m afraid to take that bag out of the can because it has a hole in it, and I’ll have a mess to clean up."
We have many fears in life; some significant fears for our safety, some fears of rejection, many fears about the future. As I read our Psalm this week, a Psalm about God Almighty, I took some time to reflect on some of the ways we respond to fear, especially six years after the tragedy of September 11th. You know, the most popular movies after Sept. 11th were Spiderman and Daredevil; two movies about superheroes. Superhero movies continue to be the top grossing movies in the nations. We were, perhaps still are, in need of a superhero to save the world. The fastest selling, most popular vehicles in 2002 were S.U.V.’s and full size trucks. The Hummer had a great year, despite only getting about 8 miles per gallon. It seems that our fears create a need to build protective fortresses around ourselves. Churches, grew if only for a short time, as people sought the comfort of the church and the relief of God. Our fears take us to safe, comfortable places.
In today’s context, a world full of uncertainty, I can’t think of a more comforting image than the picture of God that our Psalmist paints, in this morning’s passage. And while most of us are unable to relate to arrows flying through the streets of Grants Pass, or cobras and lions lurking in our backyard, each of us are able to think of a fear or danger in which we seek refuge. Psalm 91 is a praise song to God; written it seems, by someone experienced in battle and in hardship. And in this hardship comes this image of God; Almighty God; God our Protector; God our shelter and refuge, God a shadow and Fortress, God our deliverer and our rescuer. These are all very powerful images of God, an image of God that tells us not that God will necessarily stop bullets and reverse gravity, but that in the midst of celebration and crisis, in the midst of the extraordinary and the everydayness of live, God is present. Whether we live or die, God is present. Whether we make it from point A to point B safely, or whether our plane spirals toward certain doom, our God is with us. Our God hears our pleas. Our God is a refuge in the midst of anger, grief, anxiety, and downright panic. Our God is a fortress in uncertainty and our rock in stability. God is Almighty. Have you felt God’s presence in such a time?
I like God Almighty, God present, God Protector, but I wonder do we live our lives as if we truly believe in God Almighty? Do we give people the benefit of the doubt? Do we trust that there is good that can come out of most any situation? What might our lives look like if we believed that God was present with us in everything?
A while back I was at a colleague’s house. He was on the phone so I wandered over to his bookshelf and perused through some of the books. I would come across a title every so often that would peak my curiosity and I would pick it up and leaf through the pages. My colleague kept talking and I kept looking. He had books on Christian history, Theology, Pastoral Care, the Bible, and of course a whole string of romance novels (he claims they were his wife’s). I came across a book with no title on the side, and I picked it up. Much to my surprise it felt hollow. I turned it around and it had a small lock on it. It was a very cleverly designed safe. He and his wife kept money and valuables in that little safe; the last place a thief might look between a Bible and a Romance novel. He told me, "I keep our valuables in that safe to keep them secure and safe from corruption."
In a box, secure and safe from corruption… When we think about this statement, it describes the complete opposite of what the church is called to be. Yet I think we, as a Church, and I mean the Church universal, often find ourselves much like that safe nestled between the Bible and the Romance novel. We keep ourselves locked within our familiar four walls, safe boxes, theologically secure, safe from any outside corruption that may come through various threats. We keep ourselves safe, quietly building a fortress of familiar hymns, rituals, and like-minded people, around us.
You see, I think somewhere between responsibly caring for our safety and being safe we take God out of the equation. We forget that God is many things, Creator, Parent, Protector, and perhaps most importantly, God is Love. God is Love. God is the purest love we can imagine. There absolutely nothing safe about love. Love risks rejection; love risks humiliation; love risks sacrifice; love risks self; love risks time; love risks change; love risks maturing, emotionally and spiritually; in love we are not only wounded, but we wound.
God Almighty, Protector, Rescuer, Deliverer, exists and is amazing, but it is very different than playing it safe. Do you understand what I mean by safe? I don’t mean we should be walking down the street with a blindfold on, speeding on the freeway without a safety belt, or jumping out of a window to see if we land on our feet. I’m not suggesting we leave our doors open at night with our life-savings lying on the table as an open invite to steal. I’m not suggesting we step out of our foxholes and arrogantly assume that we won’t be wounded by the terror of the night, or the arrows that flies by day, or the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, or the destruction that wastes at noon-day.
I’m saying that we must remember not to box God in with us. Theology is safe in a box. Worship is safe in a box. We are safe in a box, inside our familiar, beautiful, comfortable walls; our lives are familiar and controllable in a box. This building and its community has the potential of being a very tight, safe, box nestled between God and the reality of life. And God and life becomes very small if we don’t learn to love and grow, and open ourselves to God’s fullness.
Because you see, God not only comes to us in the person who we share our life story with, but also in the person who makes us extremely uncomfortable. If we live into the United Methodist motto of "Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors." Than we open ourselves to welcoming God in many forms. Who knows who that could include?
If we live our lives for God Almighty, we live our lives in the belief that God is present in everything and everyone. We can be scared out of wits, fearing death, but God is there. We can choose to acknowledge God in our lives and the lives of others, by taking the radical risk of loving, welcoming others in the space, and actively going forth and engaging with those people and tasks who challenge us most. These people are usually starving for a loving touch. Or we can continue along nestled in our comfortable space and never experience the fullness of God, both God-mysterious and God-revealed.
It is our choice and I hope we encourage each other to risk, to love, to grow, to discover God in the most unlikely places. God’s love isn’t about playing it safe, being a Christian isn’t about being safe, look at where Jesus’ life took him, but don’t forget God’s wonderful works in his story. Remember how it all turned out? Jesus’ journey was not safe, certainly not pretty, but glorious and life-giving. My friends, God’s love isn’t about playing it safe, it’s about standing in the midst of life and all of its complexities, living in the midst of the fowler and pestilence, and still being able to stand and sing a praise song to God for God’s presence throughout it all. God’s love is what being a disciple is all about. So go forth boldly and love. Love is risky, but then again, God is too. Thanks be to God, Amen.