Doxology for 35
Ephesians 3:14-21
Lots of people were asking me last week if I was getting sermon material from being on the Red Ribbon Ride. I actually did have a few ideas that came to mind – like when we had just left the Mall of America and we started on a long slow climb up the first hill in Eagan a sermon title came to mind, “What the heck am I doing here?” Or when we reached the edge of suburbia and came into the endless fields of corn and soybeans. I was ready for the fresh air of the country. I took in a deep breath and all I could smell was cow manure. Mind you, there wasn’t a cow in sight, but evidently corn fields must need a lot of it. There would be more rural aromas to enjoy – including pig farms, goat farms, turkey farms and my favorite – skunk, three times. I really began to long for the smells of the city.
There was a mantra we heard over and over on the ride. It was, “drink and pee.” Evidently, lots of people assume that drinking and sweating is sufficient for the body, but not so. Sweating doesn’t eliminate some of the important toxins from the body. I have to tell you, though, that it is a bit disconcerting to have so many people that interested in your urinary schedule.
There were some wonderful moments on the ride. Several of us from AGC were riding together along the trail of the Cannon River when we spotted a pair of wild turkeys with several chicks. We saw eagles, condors, beautiful vistas and lots of corn fields. There were several deep moments. For instance, I found a deeper understanding of the meaning of “insignificant”. It is the experience you have when you are biking on the shoulder of Highway 61 while tractor trailers, dump trucks and huge farm equipment rumble by inches away at 60 miles per hour. Highway 61 has rumble strips for much of the route. Those are those gouges along the edge of the road to warn drivers that they have slipped out of their lane and onto the shoulder. It is not a sound you want to hear just behind you when you feel the ground shaking under the weight of an oncoming truck.
It was a great experience to get to know the other riders and crew, to see all the folks from All God’s Children at the capitol waiting to welcome us home and to know that we helped raise over $450,000 toward organizations serving people with HIV/AIDS. The AGC Team alone raised almost $17,900 thanks to everyone’s generosity who supported us.
Some have asked whether I will ride again. That would be a “No.” I’m glad I did the ride because it was a good experience. I would not call it “fun”. Brutal is the word that more aptly describes it for me but it was something I was glad I experienced. It is one thing to know about something and it is another to experience it.
Our reading from Ephesians reminds us of this insight. To “comprehend” and “know” the fullness of God’s love in its “breadth and length and height and depth,” one must experience it rather than simply contemplate it. This means putting ourselves in situations where we must rely upon grace. This means looking for those opportunities life presents where we glimpse the in-breaking of God’s presence. Has life presented you with any opportunities like that – where you’re not sure you can do something on your own or you wonder if you have the right skills or insight or stamina? Taking those opportunities to experience grace teaches us move about understanding the breadth, length, height and depth of God’s love than all the teaching you’ve heard about it combined.
For thirty-five years this congregation has been living the experience. Through the ups and downs, the discouragement and the triumph, the political and legal battles – through the constant greater scrutiny from those who mistrust our need to exist to the moments when great accomplishment moves us to tears this church has been a bridge lending our voices, our hearts, our lives and our passion to integrate wholeness – that is what it means to be fully human in the grace of God. It is a risky thing to step out into the arms of grace.
I know that all of us have had those moments where we have felt foolish or a failure. We instinctively protect ourselves from having to repeat those moments. But that caution can cloud our spiritual experiences. We dredge through the cobwebbed tapes in the recesses of our brain to find the ones labeled “not good enough” “not loved enough” or “not holy enough” to deserve grace. That’s the amazing thing about grace. It is always for the undeserved. Not only is God able to meet us in those moments when our own strength fails us, but God is already at work doing so. Not only can we experience the power of being part of something greater than ourselves, it is happening all around us all the time. We just need to pay attention. Not only can we have our minds and hearts and lives expanded, grace is ever reaching out to you and me nudging us to grasp the opportunities presented.
During the offertory today you will see some images of what this grace has looked like over 35 years. These are just a few of the thousands of moments where grace has touched this congregation or touched through this congregation. Happy Anniversary, All God’s Children. May God continue to amaze us for the next 35 years.
Sources:
www.homileticsonline.com “Where’s the Typo” July 2009.