Extreme Church – Extreme Expectations

Rev. Stan Moore

First United Methodist Church, Schenectady, NY

August 17, 2008

Scripture: Matthew 10:26-42 The Message “Don’t be intimidated!”

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It is a privilege to be in the presence of this reconciling community of faith. Consistently and for a long time, this community has been a model of extreme church challenged by extreme expectations. I am here today, not to pontificate, but rather to share pres= sing concerns. Also on a personal note, I’m still trying to process grief = and aloneness following the death of my beloved wife Peg in December of 07.

Teilhard de Chardin makes an interesting observation about all of us in his text, The Future of Man. Humanity= is divided in its very depths into two irrevocably opposed camps - one looking towards the horizon and proclaiming with all its new found faith “We = are moving.” The other, wit= hout shifting its position, maintaining, “Nothing changes, we are not movi= ng at all”. These latter, Chardin calls the “immobilists”, though they lack passion, have common sense on their side, habit of thought, inertia, pessimism, and also = to some extent, morality and religion. So, being an “immobalist” is not all negative, nor is it all bad.

We feel very much at home listening to Lo= uis Armstrong’s rendering of “What a Wonderful World” –= the rainbow in the midst of nature, the wonder, the awe and the reverence that comes as people are shaking hands with one another and saying “how do= you do”. We feel good about this scenario because we have experienced it often ourselves. The sophistication of today’s technology is very muc= h a part of that wonderful world. We are driving cars that talk to us, tell us how to reach our destination, and even tell us how much air we have in our tires a= nd how much fuel we have in our tanks. Through Nano Technology with a cell pho= ne in our hand we can communicate with almost anyone, anywhere throughout the globe. Aboard an aircraft we = can be anywhere in the world within 24 hours. We are living longer because of dram= atic movement forward in the realm of medicine.

But there is a dark side, 20 to 30 wars continue in various parts of the world, 30 thousand babies and children die daily, poverty and people being marginalized are on the increase, the trage= dy of AIDS affects millions of people. We are continuing a seemingly endless w= ar in our own nation. The question is with all of our intelligence and all of = our sophisticated technology why is it that we can’t stop hurting each ot= her? Why can’t we stop the killing and the violence here and throughout the globe?

My frustration and frequently my despair = are exacerbated by the unacceptable postures of the religious right. Across the last 20 years a substan= tial cross section of the evangelical Christian community, sometimes called reco= nstructionists Christians or Dominionist Christians have been enamored by a vision of power which they have decided to use politically. Our present administration has = been highly influenced by reconstructionist Christians. In their theology, they = consider the world to be freighted with sin. They assume there will be a rapture whe= re all believers will be taken up in a cloud and Christ will return to earth. = In support of their expectations, two authors have written 12 best seller book= s, called the Left Behind series. This eschatology is a doctrine of final things. Absent from this disturbing real= ity is the presence of unconditional love, justice for all hands, constructive dialogue, and the willingness and ability to forgive.

Now, how do we as a community of faith respond to many of these postures that are so terribly wrong? Perhaps a personal reference can be helpful. Years ago, I developed a regimen of quie= t at the beginning of each day. It is not a discipline of prayer, but an exercis= e in connection. I think about persons I’m going to meet today, friends, people I’ve upset, situations seemingly without solutions. Anyhow, when I get underway, I become “an unanxious presence” and in this mode I have discover= ed myself to be part of a redemptive process.= I am no longer intimidated, I am no longer afraid; I can look each person in the eye.

In placing scripture in this morning̵= 7;s agenda as we talk about extreme expectations, I’ve been strongly influenced by Jesus’ instructions to his disciples as he sends them f= orth to serve. It is the phrase; “Don’t be intimidated” and in= the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus is saying, “It was said in old time, you s= hall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say unto you, love your enemi= es. Bless those who curse you. Do good to those who hate you. Pray for those who despitefully use you.” These are expectations that are extreme, but totally valid and essential if we are to move forward.

Across the years I’ve struggled to = know who and what God is. Personalism, theism, process theology, all great in the evolution of one’s own theology and thought, and presently with the h= elp of Bishop Spong, Borg, and many, many others I find myself to be a “B= eliever in Exile”. I am convinc= ed that as a spirit, God, is a vital living part of my very soul and of your s= oul, as is also the risen Christ. Once we believe this ultimate being , this ultimate reality is with us and a part of us, we a part of it, that Christ = is with us, we are no longer afraid, we stop being intimidated, we stop being silent, we stop supporting empty patriotism, we speak our minds. We dare to= be whistle blowers. We finally have recovered our integrity. We are whole. We = are free. We recognize that many of our metaphors are now empty and meaningless, that ancient creeds and dogma have often exhausted their usefulness. Robert Frost walking in the hills = of Ripton Vt, stopped to write that two roads diverged in a wood, and I, I cho= se the one less traveled by, and it has made all the difference.

Is it possible, that you and I could choo= se to walk untraveled roads and become the extreme church, forever challenged = by extreme expectations?