May 12, 2013 "One-ness In-Between"

Acts 16:16-32 John 17 More than Christmas's Incarnation, More than Easter's Resurrection, More even than Pentecost's Life in the Spirit, this morning embodies the identity of believers in the world today. The other day I was listening to a couple preparing for their wedding, who identified so much going on in their lives, the stress was overwhelming. They had found one another and claimed their love, they had sent out invitations, bought the rings, bought property and were building a new home. All of these “things” were done, and yet their wedding was still weeks off, the house was not yet finished to move into. Anxiously, they waited for summer to come, when all this would be done, ignoring the reality that we would then have other things. Later, I sat with a beloved friend, who described that after more than 80 years of life, and surpassing all life expectancies, they were ready, but still we are here, not yet taken. In the midst of the here and now, after all that has been and before all that is to come, God is with us, watching over us, Christ is praying for us. We are not alone. There is a story about Heaven, that we appear before St. Peter at the Pearly Gates, and everything exceeds our wildest imagination. Existence is fuller, more meaningful than any of us ever knew. Yet, as incredible as Heaven is, as awesome, St. Peter instructs that as we go passed each separate house we have to be absolutely silent. After the 12th house, someone asks Peter Why when everything is so glorious we have to be quiet whenever we walk passed one of the separate houses? And Peter explains that every different religion, every different people of God, think that they are the only ones who can get to heaven, and we do not want to disillusion them! Thursday of this last week was the 40th Day after Easter. While much of the world acknowledges Easter, according to the Scriptures, the Resurrected Jesus appeared to the disciples over and over again throughout those 40 days. Having completed that season, Jesus ascended to sit at the right hand of God; and a week from now, according to the Calendar on the fiftieth day we celebrate Pentecost, the coming of the Holy Spirit. But we live and move and believe, in a time in between. What defines us, are not our accomplishments, or our dreams, but who we think we are in the here and now. There is a poem called “The Dash”, which describes that none of us are in control of when we were born, or where, or to whom, even how, or why. Few of us are in control of when we die, where, with whom, how or why. But on Headstones in Cemeteries, in between the dates and circumstance of our birth and of our death, is a Dash, and how we run that Dash determines all of life. A week ago, we read of Paul and Silas going to Europe, where they were listened to by Lydia. This morning, still in Philippi, no longer in Jerusalem not yet in Rome, they again went to where people congregate, but circumstance was different. A young girl was possessed by a demon that does not allow her do what she wants, but speaks through her like a ventriloquist through a puppet. Her gift/ her affliction, is so great a curiosity, that the girl was bought and owned as a slave, who made money for those who owned her by telling peoples' fortunes. This young slave-girl begins following Paul and Silas, the spirit declaring that these men are slaves of the Great God Almighty. Paul is not a man known for exceeding patience, and frustrated that she is doing this, he turns and commands the demon to come out of the girl. Once the demon is gone, the girl no longer has the affliction/the gift of telling fortunes, so those who owned her no longer stand to make a profit. Upsetting the balance of things, these local entrepreneurs identify Paul and Silas as outsiders, troublemakers, foreigners. As Strangers, they were arrested, beaten and imprisoned. In those days, there were cells with windows, that allowed light and air to pass, while the inner cells for solitary confinement had no windows, the air was heavy with sweat and stale air, the only light in a time before electricity, would be from a candle or torch brought in, and when taken out, everything was as dark as chaos. Having been beaten, Paul and Silas had their legs put in stocks and locked. Yet, instead of weeping and mourning, they prayed. Instead of singing “Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen” they sang “Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost”. When suddenly there was an earthquake. Often when there are earthquakes, people run in chaos. But Paul and Silas remain where they were. The stocks binding their legs were broken open, the doors racked off their hinges. The jailer seeing the cell doors open, jumped to to conclusion that the prisoners had escaped and prepares to kill himself. When suddenly he hears Paul, calling to him, that they are safely where they should be, and describing what salvation from chaos and imprisonment in life are all about. The Jailer, so awed by what has taken place, asks that he and his household be baptized. In the morning, after Paul and Silas had been beaten and spent a night in jail for disturbing the peace, the magistrates came to release Paul and Silas, telling them that they can leave. But Paul describes, wait a minute, we did nothing wrong, and were beaten and imprisoned. Not only that, but although you see us as foreign, we are in fact Free Roman Citizens who could not be punished by a Village Court but only by the Roman Empire. There accusers, and the Town Justices suddenly recognize that they could be accused of wrongs against these men. SO the question of this story becomes, who were those who really were slaves and who were free? The slave-girl who was owned because she was possessed by a demon, had that demon removed and no longer was of worth to her owners. Paul and Silas who were named by the girl as Slaves of God, beaten and imprisoned in darkness for being strangers, were set free, and in the light of day found to be Roman Citizens. The Jailer, was saved from executing himself and with his family was Baptized. The Accusers and the Judges, were found to have actually done wrong. Many of us do not feel competent to pray, honestly we do not feel confident in our faith to pray. So we close our eyes and wait. We plan all the details and control as much as we can in life, then worry about how the circumstance will be judged, rather than praying. In the act of prayer, two things occur. First, we claim and affirm that we are not alone, there is a God, so we do not have to be in control, to be God. Second, prayer is an act of Hope. Prayer anticipates something might happen, beyond our ability. Norman Cousins was a man afflicted with terminal illness, twice. Both times, he was given a death sentence and because he had hope, proved the world wrong. Cousins eventually became a faculty member at Yale Medical School, then at UC Berkley Medical College. Cousins describes two Clinical Oncologists discussing Papers they were going to present, and comparing notes one said “I just do not understand, we each used exactly the same drugs, in the same dosages, on the same schedule, with the same criteria. Yet, I only had a 22% effectiveness, and you report a 74% result against metastatic lung cancer!” The other doctor reported “We both are using Etoposide, Platinol, Oncovin, and Hydroxyurea. You describe to your patients that you are giving them EPOH, I describe that I am giving them HOPE. Sure I tell them that this is experimental and lay-out all the possible side-effects. But I tell them that with HOPE we have a chance, and sometimes all we need is a chance.” After everything else, after the Last Supper was over, after Jesus had washed their feet and Judas had left, Jesus went to the Garden to pray. In this prayer, he names that he did not do this on his own. God was in Christ Jesus. Jesus was one with God. In the beginning God had formed humanity as a companion for God, but we chose to fulfill our desires instead of loving God. In this prayer in the Garden, Jesus names that through him, we are now one with God and God with us. Mother's day is not about Hallmark Cards and idyllic perfect families. As wonderful as each of us are, I know there are no perfect families. Being family is messy. But no matter what. No mater if our mother was the worst person in the world, still they were our mother. Jesus' prayer to God, is no matter what these are Children of God. The region in which we live bears a unique mark in Religious History. This part of Central New York is described as The Burned Over District. There was a pastor named Jonathan Edwards, who led a movement of Religious Revivals which ignited peoples' passion. When asked what he did, Edwards described simply that he invited people to pray, to believe in the power of prayer. Would that in this time in between, we could unite as one, in prayer.