Orchard Ridge United Church of Christ

Preached by Winton Boyd on November 25, 2007
Psalm 46, Colossians 1:11-20

Today is the last Sunday in the liturgical year, the last Sunday on the Christian calendar.

As a whole the church year rehearses the history of God’s relationship with her people — from the anticipation of the Messiah during Advent, through Jesus’ incarnation, ministry, crucifixion, and resurrection.

The church celebrates Pentecost and calls her members to discipleship.

Finally, the church year ends with Christ the King Sunday, or what we now call the “reign of Christ” Sunday. Regardless of title, this day is an acknowledgment of something that has not happened yet.

We move from past history into future history and name Christ the Lord of all, even as we wait in a world that seldom behaves like Christ’s realm. Next Sunday, we will begin the year again with the First Sunday in Advent.

The end leads into the beginning.

Our text from Colossians is fitting to this image –

It speaks of God’s “glorious power,” …saying God has “rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son.” In Christ “all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers–all things have been created through him and for him.”

On the one hand, these are incredibly strong and powerful words regarding Jesus’ role in our faith. On the other hand, they present an often confusing, sometimes troubling image of Jesus’ role in the world.

This Sunday is one in which we acknowledge that in Jesus, God has given us a glimpse of the future – on earth and in heaven. At the same time, it highlights our confusion about Jesus’ role, his place in our faith and the impact of his death and resurrection on us all.

Is it any wonder that Christmas is easier to celebrate? Is it any wonder that we can grab onto the stories of a new child – the bearer of new hopes, new light, new possibilities; but find the promise of the resurrection, eternal life, the and Christ’s reign in our hearts and in our world confusing and even troubling?

As Tammy mentioned we are offering a unique kind of labyrinth as a spiritual exercise this week. Broadly speaking, labyrinths can be thought of as symbolic forms of pilgrimage; people can walk the path, ascending toward salvation or enlightenment. In prior times, many people could not afford to travel to holy sites and lands, so labyrinths and prayer substituted for such travel. For us, labyrinths are an invitation to reflect on our lives in a more contemplative state. Walking among the turnings, one loses track of direction and of the outside world, and thus quiets his or her mind. Ideally, the result is a relaxed mental attitude, and a form of meditation.

I have come to see our growing into maturity in the Christian faith much like walking the labyrinth. What we think of as a maze – something with dead ends and trick paths and wrong turns – is actually a road to our own growth. Labyrinths do not have dead ends, yet at the same time it is often hard to see how we are going to get from here to the center of the labyrinth. In the same way, our life of faith often feels confusing, foggy and lacking in direction.

It may be however, that the issue is our model for spiritual growth. Faith development – contrary to the old spiritual We are Climbing Jacob’s ladder, is not a ladder climbing ever to clearly and uniformly up to some enlightened state of grace. It may be that what doesn’t make sense to us is simply the labyrinth, the mysterious but progressive path of our lives.

As a young teen steeped in evangelical faith I had great certainty and confidence in the God of love and grace and power. But for most of the my life since that time, the Christian faith as I have experienced has ALSO included confusion, hypocrisy, and intellectual doubt. Like the “prayer path” labyrinth that, there have been points along the way that seemed to offer clarity and delight, followed by periods of barrenness and confusion. In these last years, I have come to appreciate that this is often the nature of our faith journey.

One of the “paths” of my childhood was the one between my home and a neighbor’s house behind us. Between our yards there was a hill, some hedges, some woods and an old, often forgotten path of flagstones. From where the path started at the corner of our house, one could not see the neighbor’s back door, which was the end of the path. When I was little, it was a fun game to see if I could step from stone to stone without ever touching grass. The stones were spread out enough that, at times, it was a challenge to make the “leap” from one stone to another. The focus of our “walk” however was less on where we were going overall, and more on how to simply make the next step.

As we look back on our faith, and the course of our lives, I suspect we each have had such stepping-stones, such touchstones, that connect the many different experiences of the Holy One in our livers.

I wonder if part of our advent reflection, part of our “reign of Christ” celebration might be to reflect on those touchstones of faith in our lives. Let me just name a few of my touchstones, my “flagstones,” and see if they help you think about and celebrate your path of faith.

* Twice in the late 90’s, I took a confirmation class to pray in silence with Hindu sisters in the hills of San Francisco and had a powerful experience of holiness, the “breath of the spirit” and the vastness of the Holy One.* Befriending Muslims, here and elsewhere, and experiencing their devout faith, has helped me consider more honestly Jesus’ call to walk in his ways, pray without ceasing, and open myself to God’s peace in ways I would not have understood without their non Christian faith.

* The writing, teaching and religious/ political organizing of Jim Wallis of Sojourners in Washington DC over the last 20 years has consistently modeled for me the Christian faith in action, working on behalf of the poor, the natural world, and the God of justice.

* Singing the music of the protestant monastic community known as Taize, especially at their retreat center in France with several thousand seekers and pilgrims from all different countries of the world exposed me to the beauty of a simple, uncomplicated, trusting faith – a way of life that has literally brought millions of people together in the spirit of reconciliation.

* Listening to the faith of my wife’s father, Doug Carlson; or reading the stories of Annie Lamott has blessed me with the power of a redeeming personal relationship with the God known in Jesus. These are not expressions of faith steeped in high intellectualism, but rather a personal experience of trust in God that is compelling and powerful.

* The ministries of both Fr.Elias Chacour and Mitri Raheb - Palestinian Christians working in the Middle East have re-connected me with an amazing and powerful hope found in the Christ of history, the son of Nazareth who spoke truth to power while living and modeling deep love and grace.

* Working on a mission trip alongside recovering, and sometimes backsliding crack addicts in Philadelphia has acquainted me to the amazing story of courage found in Jesus’ life – a life that continues to inspire and transform people each and every day.

* And finally, having the opportunity to observe so many of you in this congregation has reminded me of the amazing manner in which your faith works itself out in daily life. For while so many of you give so much to the ongoing life of this church, you also live your faith in tangible and creative ways that mirrors our tagline – spiritually alive, joyfully inclusive and committed to justice.

I don’t always understand what the “reign of Christ” means. But what I do know is that each of these experiences on my own labyrinth of life has reinforced for me the words of the Psalmist when he said, “God is my refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” It has helped me return to the potent story that begins at Christmas. Each of them reminds me that while faith and life are complicated and nuanced – the God revealed through the story of Christmas is the God who continues to show up in unexpected and often unforeseen places.

They remind me if I too can “be still and know that God is God,” if I can be inspired by the faith, life and action of others – so might my life be one that influences and touches others each day.

They remind me that AS all of us live with gratitude for God’s grace in our lives, AS we celebrate the reign of love and hope wherever it is found – so are we part of the ongoing story of God in the world.

As we live with gratitude and memory, we too witness to the miracle of faith, the possibility of growth, and the eternal nature of God’s love in the world.

So let us celebrate the fullness of God’s movement in our lives. Let us celebrate what we know and rest easy with the mystery of what we don’t know. Amen

Psalm 46
1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change, though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea;
3 though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble with its tumult. Selah
4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High.
5 God is in the midst of the city; it shall not be moved; God will help it when the morning dawns.
6 The nations are in an uproar, the kingdoms totter; he utters his voice, the earth melts.
7 The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah
8 Come, behold the works of the LORD; see what desolations he has brought on the earth.
9 He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; he breaks the bow, and shatters the spear; he burns the shields with fire.
10 “Be still, and know that I am God! I am exalted among the nations, I am exalted in the earth.”
11 The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge.

Colossians 1:11-20
11 May you be made strong with all the strength that comes from his glorious power, and may you be prepared to endure everything with patience, while joyfully
12 giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light.
13 He has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son,
14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation;
16 for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers–all things have been created through him and for him.
17 He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
18 He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything.
19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell,
20 and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross.