3/27 SERMON - "Who God Is and What God Does" (Part 4 of a 6 part series)

WAY OF SALVATION: THE BIBLE AND THE 12 STEPS - Part 4 of 6

Dear Friends in Christ -

Our seminarian intern, Kate Spelman, preached a really wonderful sermon this week. Her sermon was the fourth in our six-part sermon series "Way of Salvation: The Bible and the Twelve Steps."

Here are a couple of excerpts from her sermon. Hopefully it will stir your interest in reading the entire text of her sermon, which, along with the texts of all the sermons in this series, will be available from our parish office soon. Hopefully by the end of this week!
Blessings,
Janet+

WHO GOD IS AND WHAT GOD DOES . . .

Listen, I once heard a story –
A man, a very religiously devout man, died. And of course he went to heaven. And he gets to the pearly gates, and meets St. Peter. And Pete says to him, "Would you like to meet God?" The man says, "Absolutely!" He wants to see God face to face, and worship God like he was taught to do. So Pete brings him to a giant chicken coop, and there is God. And God is a chicken. A talking chicken, but otherwise a normal-looking chicken. St. Peter has to muck out the coop once a day. God needs some gravel to digest what God eats.

Now go ahead tell someone who missed the sermon that the intern told you God is a chicken. (And if they come after me, I will cite for them Luke 13:34 and Psalm 17:8!) But that’s not really the point to this story – and it isn’t over yet. But think – would you know God if you saw him? Would you be able to see God If he was right before you, but looked all wrong? Or would you end up saying, “This cannot be the Messiah, can it?!?” I also want to suggest that just seeing God isn’t everything. Certainly, it’s not the end of the story. Lent is about a deeper connection with God, A God who surprises us and confounds our every expectation.

The very religious man has met Chicken, that is, God, and is understandably a little upset. And he says to Chicken, “You have to send me back. I have children, I have to warn them!” The Chicken shrugs (as much as a chicken can shrug and says, “OK.” And the man wakes up in his hospital bed, with his wife and his oldest daughter standing over him. And when he opens his eyes, they begin thanking God for answering their prayers. The man has too many tubes in his nose and mouth to communicate. But he is glad to be back.

When the man is well enough to go home, he’s stewing and planning his words. The family gathers for dinner; all the kids shower and put on some nice clothes. The younger boy picks up all his art supplies from the table, without being asked. The teenage son who seems to spend all his time at his girlfriend’s house comes home for dinner. And his wife brings out the main course – roast chicken!

The man becomes so agitated he starts to get up from his wheelchair But his oldest daughter reprimands him and tells him to sit. “I have to tell you!” He yells “What, dad? What?” The kids ask. “I have to tell you about God!” He is stammering now, impatient. “OK, Dad. “ “All right” “Tell us” they all say. And he looks at the faces of all his children, the younger boy’s hair still wet from the shower, the oldest daughter looking more like her mom every day. And he looks at his wife, who put on the earrings he bought her for their anniversary last year, even though he heard her telling her sister on the phone that they’re not really her style. He looks at his family, And the man who has seen God says, “God has been so good to me. God is all knowing and all loving. Let us praise the name of the God who brought me back from the dead.” And he bows his head and leads his family in the same grace they’ve used since the kids were babies.

So what happened in that story? Did the religious man lie? Did he cover up the truth? I don’t think so. I think he told an even greater truth than he knew he was speaking.