Sermon Text

June 27, 2010

LOOKING BOTH WAYS
1 John 4:7-12, 18-21

Once upon a time, there was a very old, very wise man, who lived in a little house beside a road connecting two great cities. He would sit on a wooden stool in front of his house each day, grinding corn and watching the travelers pass by.

One day, a traveler saw the old man sitting in front of his house, grinding corn. The traveler stopped and said, “Old man, tell me of the city at the far end of this road.” The old man responded, “Tell me of the city from which you have come.”

The traveler answered, “It is an evil city, full of hatred and fear, and of people who say mean things to each other. No one trusts anyone but himself, and it is a very unhappy place. I am glad to be gone from there.” “Even so,” said the old man, “the city to which you are going you will find to be the same.”

Later on, another traveler, going the same way as the first, stopped at the old man’s house and said, “Old man, tell me of the city at the far end of this road.” The old man responded, “Tell me of the city from which you have come.”

The traveler answered, “It is a wonderful, warm, and loving city, full of caring and hope, and the people trust and respect each other. It is a very happy place, and it saddens me to be leaving.” “Even so,” said the old man, “the city to which you are going you will find to be the same.”

This is a sermon about looking both ways, where we have come from and where we are going, about the assumptions we make along the way, and about the community of the Church, the body of Christ, the people of God. It is a sermon, first and last, about love. It is, necessarily, very personal, and I hope you will bear with me through it.

Betty Anne and I began our ministry with St. Philip Presbyterian Church on Sunday, April 4, 1999. It was Easter Sunday (what a way to ensure a full sanctuary on your first Sunday!), and I preached a sermon about our need to suspend our natural skepticism and dive into rejoicing over something totally unpredictable and totally wondrous. In that sermon, I tried to begin introducing myself to you -- personally, pastorally, theologically -- and I told you that the time we would be spending together in worship, study, fellowship, and service would be spent sharing and living out a gospel of grace, good news, and love.

A couple of weeks later, I ended another sermon by asking you to look around you, at the people sharing the pew with you, and in front and behind, up in the choir loft and here in the pulpit. I challenged us all to see a people who were struggling, sometimes in joy and sometimes in fear and trembling, to be the Church of Jesus Christ, to be a loving, challenging, welcoming presence in the world, letting the world know through our life together that God is love, and that God’s love extends to all people. That is still the challenge I would place before you as I leave you. Betty Anne and I have enjoyed our journey together with you, and we are convinced that we have been blessed in the traveling.

Many things have been running through our minds over the past few months, as we have prepared for this day. We have been reviewing memories -- of faces, events, and feelings -- of eleven years of life and ministry together.

--the excitement we began to feel almost immediately after receiving that first letter from Everett Marley and the Pastor Nominating Committee, and the growing sense that God was leading us to be together;

--being called before our first Sunday to help Molly and Bill Boren deal with the sudden death of Molly’s son, Cliff; and in the next week, helping Huston Lobingier through the death of his wife, Jane;

--encountering Ruth Hobbs in the receiving line in the Fellowship Hall after our first worship service, and having her take our faces in both of her hands and kiss us on the mouth (it was to become her usual way of greeting both of us);

--the ways you took our family, our children, and later, our grandchildren, who did not live here, into your hearts so quickly and made them feel at home;

--having church groups and events at our house -- Christmas staff parties with white elephant gifts, Presbyterian Women, all our Dinners for Eight dinner partners, our Pastor Nominating Committee, senior highs and junior highs, visitors and new members, and many more;

--wonderful picnics at the Poe Farm, with fried chicken, kite flying, hayriding, chiggers, and bluebonnets;

--the enjoyment and pride I have always received from working and ministering with Betty Anne as my partner;

--the deep and collegial relationships I have shared with my fellow staff members over these years, and with the amazing number of ministers who worship with us;

--the strange thrill of Betty Anne and me performing, at our first Mo-Ranch weekend, as TeleTubbies, and the joy of all our Mo-Ranch weekends;

--the trips we took to Scotland, Germany and Switzerland, Wales and Ireland, and the wonderful folks who accompanied us;

--the year and a half we spent worshipping in the Fellowship Hall, while the new Educational Building was under construction and the Sanctuary was being renovated; and the excitement of “moving in day” for the new organ;

--Christmas Eves in this sanctuary, sharing the light of Christ with people who have become so dear to us -- the carols, the children, the beauty of the message of love and grace;

--the faces of all the children, and the youth and adults, who have sat here on these chancel steps for special times with the children during worship;

--the strong support and encouragement you offered to us through Betty Anne’s mother’s illness and death, through the death of her father, and in our nephew Mason’s illness and death;

--the tears we’ve cried, the laughter we’ve shared, the middle-of-the-night phone calls telling of births and tragedies;

--all the dear, dear friends we have lost to illness and death during these years, as well as the 40 weddings and the 65 baptisms I have performed, and the approximately 300 new members who have joined our church; now, with our union with Central, the number is closer to 400; in fact, you may be interested to know that, even before the union, half of our present congregation has joined in the last eleven years;

All these things, and so many more, have been on our minds the past few months.

So, what is the city at the end of this road like? I am convinced that this congregation will continue to thrive, grow, and serve precisely because it is a loving, committed, joyous and welcoming congregation dedicated to serving its members, its community, and its Lord by offering open hearts, open hands, open minds, and open doors. It has always been so, in our experience of it, and by God’s grace and your working together, it will continue to be so.

But much of the outcome will depend upon the assumptions with which you start. If you look upon this transitional time as a frightening time of instability, then you will probably find it to be so. But if you look at it as a time for congregational rededication, for continued growth and service, continued love and support of one another and of your leaders, then that is what you will experience.

We have been given a great treasure -- the gospel of God’s love and grace in Jesus Christ and the life he makes possible for us and for all people. But, as Paul reminds us, we carry the treasures God entrusts to us in fragile and imperfect vessels -- ourselves.

One of the true treasures you have been handed in trust is this congregation. Betty Anne and I are convinced that St. Philip Presbyterian Church of Houston is unique, even and especially in its new, united incarnation. We have never seen, or even heard of, another congregation quite like it. That is a true treasure of which you all need to be good stewards. But remember your own fragility and imperfection, and give the glory and thanksgiving to God, for it is only by God’s grace that we worship, serve, and love.

Betty Anne and I are thankful to God to have been a part of you for eleven wonderful years, and we look forward to continued friendships and caring. We have been truly blessed, and you are a true treasure to us!