May 24, 2020 - We Will All Be Changed - 1 Corinthians 15:1-26, 51-58

We Will All Be Changed
1 Corinthians 15:1-26, 51-58
Easter 7 – May 24, 2020

 

“Listen, I will tell you a mystery! We will not all die, but we will all be changed…”

- 1 Corinthians 15:51

 Podcast from several years ago about what happens to caterpillars while they are in their chrysalis

·       We all know they change from caterpillar to butterfly but I’ve never given much thought as to what exactly happens in that process

o   Would probably have assumed that caterpillar stayed intact, with wings emerging, whatever other changes happen like add-ons

o   but that’s not what happens!

·       Open chrysalis – what’s there is “goo”, viscous, thick – nothing recognizable as what the caterpillar once was; it all dissolves!

Fascinating to me!

·       Wonder what the caterpillar might think about that process of going through this time of being goo – if it could think

o   Would it be mystified? Befuddled? Anxious? Uncertain? Terrified??

o   If the caterpillar would want to go back to life pre-chrysalis, pre-goo, b/c it cannot envision or imagine the transformation that is in store, the future that waits for it, thinking perhaps that this gooey existence is it, forever

As Paul continues his letter to the Corinthian church, it seems to me that they are a little gooey themselves

·       He writes to them of Christ’s resurrection, reminding them that this is the good news that he proclaimed to them – handing it on to them as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the 3^rd day in accordance with the scriptures – and then appeared to many, many witnesses

·       Yet it seems that some of them have not understood what this means

o   Some of them are saying that there is no resurrection of the dead

§  Scholars suggest that some of the Corinthians thought that they had already experienced a spiritual resurrection, that this life and world in which they find themselves is all there is, all there is to hope for

o   They are in a goo – they are not what they were, but not yet what they will be – and yet they don’t recognize that there is transformation yet to come

This time of the world feels gooey to me

·       Much of life this side of the grave feels gooey, honestly

·       We see the world through caterpillar eyes – this world is what we have experienced, all that we have known

·       In this time of pandemic, in other times of crisis and great change, we may feel confined by our circumstances, hemmed in by our own chrysalises, not able to experience the freedom that we once knew

·       Confused, anxious, concerned, loss, grief

·       Life as we knew it dissolving; things we took for granted gone or changing

o   No matter what we may think individually about this novel coronavirus and the diseases and health challenges it creates, there is no denying that it has rocked our world and made us rethink so many things, from health and hygiene practices to how valuable and necessary certain essential services/job really are, to grappling with injustices surrounding poverty and health care and child care; so many pieces of this societal puzzle have come apart – trying to figure out a way to put them back together in a way that is just and sustainable – for individuals, for households/families, for our culture, for the global community, for our planet/creation

o   Even something as simple as celebrating birthdays (Blow out your candles and then we’ll serve everyone the cake you just breathed all over!!)

·       We don’t entirely know what things are going to look like on the other side, even as we begin to slowly and cautiously emerge from this chrysalis of staying safer-at-home

o   And we may be tempted to try to emerge as caterpillars again – to return to doing the same things that we have done in the past, to revert to old ways of worship, of work, of relating to the world and one another

·       But Paul’s words remind us during these times, “we will not all die, but we will all be changed!” (taking a little liberty with what Paul was getting at – b/c he was talking about what happens after this life, but it fits what happens in these kind of world-changing times as well)

·       There is no going back to being a caterpillar, church. The world has changed. We have changed. We will keep changing.

 But back to the caterpillar for a minute

·       B/c scientists have looked at what happens in that goo and beyond

·       Though the caterpillar mostly dissolves, there are tiny microscopic parts that remember what it is to be a muscle cell, or a brain cell

o   In fact, one researcher did an experiment to see if caterpillars retained any memories on the other side: sprayed strong smell, zapped the caterpillar, over and over til caterpillar associated smell with getting zapped and started to move away whenever smell came

o   Control caterpillars didn’t have an such reaction to this smell

o   And when moths emerged on the other side, and exposed to same odor – they’d move the opposite direction!

o   And so some part of what the caterpillar comes forward through the chrysalis to the adult form

·       And even more amazing – when scientists dissect a caterpillar – beneath the skin are some structures of the butterfly yet to be – wings, antennae, legs are there, already formed, before the caterpillar enters its chrysalis –

o   These tiny adult parts are rolled up and hidden along the edges of the chrysalis, not going through the goo – becoming part of the adult butterfly when the goo is transformed

·       The caterpillars carry with them part of their future selves, long before they fully become those creatures!

 I think Paul would have loved this metaphor

·       Because though the Corinthian Christians are not yet fully what God has made them to be – the process has already started; transformation has already begun

·       Because Christ has been raised, we believe and trust that we will be raised too

o   He is the first fruits of those who have died

o   He is the model, the prototype for what humanity will one day experience in its fullness

§  Jesus, in a physical body, eating and drinking, and tangible enough to touch, still known by his scars

§  And yet transformed, different – is unrecognized by Mary M. in the garden, can pass through locked doors, has to convince the disciples it was really truly him

·       And Paul wants to remind that early church that physical resurrection is real – but also that this kind of life/heart transformation is not just something to hope for in the afterlife, but instead about transforming the way they live in the here and now

o   Christ’s life and death and resurrection change us, calling forth from us what God placed within us from the start, characteristics that are already taking shape, but haven’t yet fully emerged, like the adult wings and legs and antennae are already present in the caterpillar

o   Things like love and joy and peace and patience, kindness and compassion, generosity and mercy, wisdom, faithfulness, gentleness, and courage to face change and challenge

·       Knowing that Christ is even now at work in the world to overcome every ruler and authority and power, to put all enemies under his feet, even death!

People of God, this time will change us, has changed us, is changing us!

·       Old things, ways, expectations, systems are dissolving in this amorphous goo, but we don’t entirely know what will emerge on the other side

·       Will we embrace the changes God longs to create in our lives or struggle to go back to what once was? Will we allow ourselves to sit with this discomfort and disorientation of not being what we were and yet not quite yet knowing what we will be?

·       Will we dare to trust the God who made us, who forms us, who loves us? To believe that God can transform us into something new, and that that something new will be something good, something amazing, something beyond our expectations or imaginations?

o   Not just in some future day when we die and are raised to new life in Christ (though that is when we will experience it fully, completely) – but now? In this present time?

o   We will certainly bring along with us some of the things that were important to us and who we are before we entered this time of transformation

Just as caterpillars carry within them essential parts of their future selves, God has already placed within us all that we need to become who God has created us to be

·       What are those things will God call forth from us, already present and waiting to be released? – not just as individuals, but as a congregation, as people of faith united in Christ’s love for us and for all of creation beyond all of the divides us (both the superficial and the monumental)?

Christ’s life, death, and resurrection calls us into God’s future, where we will be like Christ

·       May Christ’s life and love transform us even now to be more and more like him, while we await our emergence into the life Jesus gives – and may we share this hope with the world who needs to know that there is new life beyond the goo.

·       Thanks be to God

·       Amen.

 

 

March 16, 2014 - Lent 2 - Born of the Spirit

Born of the Spirit

Lent 2 - March 16, 2014

John 3:1-17

Watch & listen to this sermon here.

A story from the internet:

Once upon a time, twins were conceived in the same womb.
Weeks passed, and the twins developed. As their awareness grew, they laughed for joy, "Isn't it great that we were conceived? Isn't it great to be alive?”
Together the twins explored their world. When they found their mother's cord that gave them life they sang for joy, "How great is our mother's love that she shares her own life with us."
As the weeks stretched into months the twins noticed how much each was changing. They began to feel gentle squeezes from the womb around them.

"What does this mean?" asked the one.
"It means that our stay in this world is drawing to an end," said the other one.
"But I don't want to go," said the first twin. "I want to stay here always."
"We have no choice," said the other, "but maybe there is life after birth!"
"But how can it be?" responded the one. "We will shed our life cord, and how is life possible without it? Besides, we have seen evidence that others were here before us and none of them has returned to tell us that there is life after birth."
And so the one fell into deep despair saying, "If conception ends with birth, what is the purpose of life in the womb? It's meaningless! Maybe there is no mother at all."
"But there has to be," protested the other. "How else did we get here? How do we remain alive?"
"Have you ever seen our mother?" said the one. "Maybe she lives in our minds. Maybe we made her up because the idea made us feel good."

And so the last days in the womb were filled with deep questioning and fear and finally the moment of birth arrived. When the twins had passed from their world, they opened their eyes and cried, for what they saw exceeded their fondest dreams.

Birth is an awesome, exciting, but sometimes frightening thing. For as much as we know about it in our day and age, as far as medical science and technology have come, the process of bringing a new life into being in this world is mysterious. Even though we can find out the gender months before a baby is born, so we can pick names and buy clothes and decorate the nursery; and even though we can schedule a day to induce labor when baby overstays their welcome; and even though we can plan a C-section birth when there is the concern over complications, there is still so much that we don’t know, so much that remains outside of our control. Babies don’t always come when we expect or plan for them; they don’t always cooperate with ultrasounds and medications and procedures designed to give us the illusion that we are in control here. And don’t even get me started on what happens with our carefully planned schedules and our misconceptions about how life will be after they are here…

But the story I just read of twins talking in the womb helps us imagine how much more out of control it feels for the one being born. They have no experience of the world that waits for them outside the womb. In their mother’s body, they are bathed in amniotic fluid, they constantly hear the rhythmic swooshing of their mother’s heartbeat, they are fed continually through the umbilical cord. And though this story describes the twins’ wonder at a world that exceeds their fondest dreams, we can also imagine that it is terrifying to suddenly burst into a world filled with light and sound and cold air on their skin. What a shock to their system! Well might they long to be back where they came from!

This morning, we hear a familiar story from the Gospel of John. Nicodemus, a prominent religious leader, comes to Jesus by night, seeking to learn more about him and what he is about, to see how God is at work in Jesus’ life, to get some answers to the burning questions that are keeping him awake. And Jesus answers these unspoken questions bluntly. He gets right to the point. “No one can see God’s kingdom unless they are born from above, born again, first."

Nicodemus is stymied, confused. He takes Jesus literally. “How can someone be born again? You can’t go back into your mother’s womb and re-enter the world!” Hard to imagine – but there’s something powerfully appealing about that, isn't there? Who wouldn't like the chance to start over, to begin again?

But “No,” Jesus says. He’s not talking about a physical birth. He’s talking about a spiritual rebirth. “No one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit.” And much like physical birth, there is so much beyond our control here. “The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it,” Jesus says, “but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” (v. 8) Try as we may to manufacture it or harness it, the Spirit who bears us into new life is not something or someone we can command. And this kingdom of God, the place where God’s will rules – it’s a whole new world, unlike anything we've ever known. Much like the twins in the womb, it is a world beyond our imagination, and we have a hard time sometimes even believing that it could exist. We may prefer to stay in the world we know, rather than take a chance on the unknown. We hesitate to let go and let God, as the saying goes, to surrender to God bringing to birth a new thing in our lives, because giving up control can be terrifying. We see this in our individual lives; we see it in congregations. Some of us may be experiencing that now as we stand here on the cusp of Ascension Arise – hearing God call us to a huge task, one that will set Ascension free to multiply God’s mission and ministry in and through this place and you, this people – and we may wonder if it’s too much, too soon, if it wouldn't perhaps be better to wait and move forward another day.

And yet the Holy Spirit is at work, even now, laboring to bring new life to birth – in you, in me, in all of us. She is bringing the new life that comes from above, from the depth of God’s love for us – light bursting into our darkness, belief breaking through our unbelief. It is the sheltered but confined life of certainty in the womb suddenly shattered by the wide open spaces and possibilities of eternal life – which, let me remind you, isn't just about what happens when we die, but about who we are and how we live in the here and now! It’s about abundant life lived in hope and faith and trust centered in the One who gives us this life.

This is the quest – and the promise – of the Holy Spirit: to bring the things of God, the will of God, the love of God to birth in each of us and in the life of the church, that we may learn to see with the eyes of God, to hear with the ears of God, to work with the hands of God, to love with the heart of God, who loved the world so much that God sent Jesus, the only Son, to save the world – not to condemn it, but in order that the world might be saved through him and be born into this eternal life. It is a mystery that is beyond our control, but one that we are blessed to be part of. Thanks be to God.

Amen.