Providence

Who knows what’s around the next corner? Journey with me back o a ministry memory in wild, wonderful West Virginia!

The bus ride was terrifying. The driver wore the grizzled look of a man who lived hard because life had been hard. The bus put the “worse” in “worse for wear”. And every time the driver spun the wheel all the way to the left to navigate yet another hair pin turn, the bus tilted uncomfortably over the edge of the New River Gorge. How far was too far? Headlines flashed before my eyes: “Idiot youth leader takes Chester Presbyterian youth group to its doom at the New River Gorge.” That wouldn’t look good on my resume.

It was a relief to get into the pontoon boats. As we paddled out into New River, which ironically is in fact one of America’s oldest rivers, the sun shone brightly on the verdant sides of the gorge, and my heart rejoiced with the words of the Psalm 121:1-2 (NRSV)
I lift up my eyes to the hills— from where will my help come?My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. I relaxed and enjoyed the scenery. “This white water rafting isn’t so bad,” I thought. “It’s a piece of cake.”

That would change. A few minutes later, we were paddling like mad through one of the many class 4 or class 5 rapids that make the New River a white water hot spot. The guide instructed us in navigating these rapids; he also informed us that rapids are rated based on degree of difficulty and the possible “consequences” of making a mistake. Class 4 and class 5 rapids have very severe consequences, which is what makes them so much fun.

By day’s end, we had a wonderful time. I got thrown out of the boat; that seems to happen a lot to me when I go white water rafting; and we learned to safely float through a class 2 rapid. A good time had by all.

The Greek philosopher Heraclitus said, “Nothing endures but change.” “You never step in the same river twice.” I guess he went white water rafting too. So it’s no surprise to learn that Pennside is going through change and that we are being effected by change.

The first conversation starter from the diagnostic analysis of our church based on 23 interviews of members of our church states: The social, cultural, landscape for churches in North America and for Pennside Presbyterian Church has changed and is changing. To be faithful in mission and ministry given its changing context requires that the Pennside Presbyterian Church be adventurous and open to rethinking assumptions it has held about what it will mean to be a faithful Christian community in the coming decade. Pennside exists in a secular culture and it is having a major impact on our lives. What do you think? What does it lead you to pray for? Take a few minutes and discuss.

Change isn’t an option. It’s a fact of life. It’s a fact of the spiritual life. Jesus said John 3:3 (NRSV) “Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.” (born again). Faith in Jesus Christ is more than affirming the right set of doctrines; faith in Jesus Christ changes us. It changes how we respond to change. What we are about in the Jeremiah Initiative is nothing less than Pennside being born again (again). To that end, we will run for the hills, because we’ve got it made in the shade.

]RUN FOR THE HILLS

Psalm 121:1 (NRSV) I lift up my eyes to the hills— from where will my help come? I’m not sure if this makes the Psalmist and me hillbillies, but when I lift up my eyes to the hills, I find comfort. There is something about the solidity, the stability, the sheer mass of a hill that gives me strength. Hills remind me of other challenges I’ve faced and with God’s help overcome. I got through that; I can get through this. So when the “still waters” of my life start to foam and froth, I take my anxiety and fear and run for the hills.

Here in Berks County, we don’t have to run far. Mount Penn rises above us. Neversink Mountain looms over Exeter Township. There are paths a plenty for us to run (or walk) for the hills. Most of us can probably just step out in the backyard and there it is.

Hills and mountains play a prominent role in Scripture. Noah’s arc comes to rest on Mount Ararat. Abraham is commanded to sacrifice on Isaac on a mountain in Moriah. Moses sees the burning bush on Mount Carmel, receives the law on Mount Sinai, and sees the Promised Land on Mount Nebo. Jesus goes off to pray on hills, is transfigured on a hill, is arrested on the Mount of Olives, and is crucified on a hill called Calvary.

With all that history, and all that stability, we’re in good company when we lift up our eyes to the hills. We look to the hills and we remember; we remember what we’ve overcome in the past; we remember that we’re not in this alone. The God who “made heaven and earth,” the God who made this hill is with us.

Does that mean we don’t have to change? Of course not! Even the hill is changing! Biologists could describe the impact of environmental changes on the flora and fauna. Geologists could speak of the effects of erosion and the ebbs and flows of tectonic plates. Historians both professional and armchair could reminisce about “how it used to be.”

Our hill is changing. Our community is changing. We are changing. That’s neither good nor bad, it just is.

How we respond to this change makes all the difference! This change is our opportunity to be “born again” again at this time. And yes, tomorrow’s change will be our opportunity to be “born again” again at that time. So how do we respond? Are we reactive or proactive? Do we see this as something we “can do” or as something we “can’t avoid?” Are we filled with anticipation (even excitement) or anxiety and dread?

Run for the hills. Run not to escape the challenge of change, but to find the strength to rise to the challenge and overcome it. Run and remember: The God who “made heaven and earth” is with us. He helped us rise to the challenge of change in the past. He will help us rise to meet it now.

]MADE IN THE SHADE

Another beautiful morning, another youth group, and another raging river; this time, it’s the Youghiogheny River in Western PA. But this trip is different; on the New River, the guide was with us in the boat. On the “Yough” (“Yock”) the guides were nearby in kayaks. I was the captain, because I was experienced. I’d been white water rafting before – once.

That was a problem. As captain, my role was to guide the crew in paddling. To turn right, those on the left paddled. To turn left, those on the right paddled; and as someone who writes with his left hand and throws with his right, “right” and “left” have always been elusive concepts for me.

We hit the first rapid, and I was thrown from the boat into the white water. I got through it, but Janice found this a bit distressing, so she went the rest of the way with the guide who was paddling the supply boat. After a couple of rest stops, my crew and I noticed something: Here we were, paddling like mad, wearing ourselves out and not getting very far, and there she went, riding high like Cleopatra on the Nile, and her guide hardly had his paddle in the water. We were working against the river; he was working with it.

There is a sloppy spirituality abroad that suggests that “true believers” are given a free pass on the challenges of this life. Instead, “true believers” enjoy a care free existence as promised in John 3:16 “eternal life.” Psalm 121:5-6 (NRSV) The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade at your right hand.The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. We’ve got it made in the shade! If we get thrown from the boat in over our heads and struggle like mad with a “care-full” existence, well, that speaks volumes about us, doesn’t it? We’re not “true believers.” We need to have faith.

I wish that were true. I’m glad it’s not. There are days when the changes taking place in our world throw me out of my comfort zone into situations where I am out of control and in over my head. I’m tossed to and fro and cannot get my bearings amid all the turbulence. There are days when I wouldn’t mind a free pass on life’s challenges.

I’m glad it’s not true, because then my life would be irrelevant. What I do, what we do as church would not matter. We’re just standing on the shore while the river keeps rolling on by. There goes old Heraclitus shouting, “Nothing endures but change.” “You never step in the same river twice.” And then Jesus comes along and reminds us of what makes us relevant, what makes the church matter, John 3:16 (NRSV)
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.

God doesn’t stay on the shore. God doesn’t play it safe. God loves this crazy, topsy-turvy, turbulent world too much to stand idly by. God sends Jesus, his only son, to the world for the world that “everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.” God does not send Jesus to be a way out of this world; God sends Jesus to show the way through this world.

The Bible is supremely realistic about the challenges life can throw at us. God knows how hard this world can be. The Psalmist isn’t saying that people of faith don’t have any problems. He is saying that people of faith don’t face their problems alone. The power and presence of God overshadows us and our world. So when the sun strikes us (and it will), we’ll be able to take the heat. When we’re moonstruck (FYI: the root word for “lunatic” comes from the word for “moon”) and things get crazy, we’ll be able to keep a level head. Divine providence promises that there is a purpose for and meaning in every event of our lives – the good and the bad. God’s purpose is the current that runs through all of creation, which includes time, human history, your story, my story, the story of Pennside Presbyterian Church.

Marjorie Thompson in her classic book Soul Feast wrote, "The circumstances of our lives are another medium of God’s communication with us. God opens some doors and closes others.... Through the wisdom of our bodies, God tells us to slow down or reorder our priorities. The happy coincidences and frustrating impasses of daily life are laden with messages. Patient listening and the grace of the Spirit are the decoding devices of prayer. It is a good habit to ask, What is God saying to me in this situation? Listening to our lives is part of prayer.”

We can resist providence. We can struggle together against it. Or, we can learn to work with it. We can learn which way God’s purpose is flowing in this part of the river. We can orient ourselves to it and bring Pennside Presbyterian Church in line with what God is doing here. It’s never easy. Few things worth doing are, but we can be “born again” again; we can become the vibrant, vital church we know God wants us to be, we know we can be, and we know we want to be. We can respond to the changes in our world in a faith-full way and come-what- may: we’ll have it made in the shade.

“Nothing endures but change.” “You never step in the same river twice.” Run for the hills. Run not to escape the challenge of change, but to find the strength to rise to the challenge and overcome it. God loves this world. God loves us (all of us) too much to leave us to sink or swim on our own. God will guide us. God will show us the way. God will give us the grace to be “born again” again and become the Pennside Presbyterian Church we long to be and we know we can be through the grace of divine providence. Amen.

The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version. 1989. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers.

http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Heraclitus

The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version. 1989. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers.

http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Heraclitus

The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version. 1989. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers.

http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Heraclitus