Pulpit
Rock
5.20.12
This weekend is "Heritage/Pilgrim/Pulpit Rock" Sunday. We will worship outside, surrounding the historic Methodist monument of Pulpit Rock (picture below). In years past the preachers has ridden in on a horse and climbed to the top of the rock to preach. I don't think I'll be on a horse and I have conveniently lost my bonnet. While I do appreciate history and all it has to teach us, I am more interested in where God is directing us. So, this is a reflection on what do we do with our history and how can it propel us into God's future.
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Well,
as the Minnesota intern who has only been in The Dalles a year, I
definitely fit into the “only knowing the story a little bit
category”. Fortunately, the very last class I was to take through
Luther seminary was “Religious American History” and I just
finished that class online about 2 weeks ago. The material for the
course was filled with information on the movements of Methodists,
Lutherans, Baptists and so many other sects of Christianity that made
their way across the country east to west. The class came at a great
time as I'm living here on the Oregon trail, preparing to worship
next to the Historic Pulpit Rock. So, I've heard the stories of
Jason Lee, the intersecting of European descendants and Native
Americans encountering one another. I've walked with members of
First United Methodist Church and we came right up to this rock and
prayed – and I looked at this monument of history and just wonder
what stories this piece of God's creation could tell us if only it
could spill all the history it contains. And I've heard the phrase,
“This is where it all began! Pulpit Rock is where it all began”.
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| Pulpit Rock -- then |
This
rock marks a beginning among beginnings. This rock is a beginning of
a chapter that lies within a much larger, wider, more encompassing
story – this rock is a witness, a testimony to God's great,
unfolding story. And the beginning of that story takes us much, much
farther back, all the way back to “in the beginning God created...”
That, my pioneering
brothers and sisters is where God's story begins.
I
hope that line I just quoted was familiar to some of you, “In the
beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” – that is the
first phrase from the Bible. And this is what we do, as Christians,
as God's church – we look toward the future, sometimes confident,
but more often than not we're sort of scratching our heads. We look
towards this future and to find purpose, meaning, inspiration,
direction, hope, anything – we look backwards. We go back to this
book that is our history as God's people, this is where it all began
and we study and read this book in order to have any idea where God
may be leading us into the future.
And
every story told in this holy book, every character we learn about,
every war, every act of forgiveness, every miracle and healing and
sermon and letter – they are all a beginning among beginnings, a
story within a story, a chapter among chapters. This holy book is
like our family scrap book – tell us tales about those that have
gone before us, some good, some bad, all worth hearing and knowing
and having them written on our hearts.
I
have seen some of the stories of the Old Testament come to life in a
whole new way this year. Confirmation students? These youth are
masters of God's story. Not only do they read the Bible, just plain
old Bible reading, but they are eager to bring the story to life –
act it out, dig into the tough stuff, and really embrace the story
that is told about our history, our families, our faith. And then,
these kids take it to a whole other level – they enter the story.
Without fail, every week, one of them will reflect on how the story
of Job is like their life. Or how they can relate to the mistakes
King David made. Or that recognize that if God is as faithful as God
was to the Israelites, then maybe God is faithful to us to. Or if
Esther can use her position of leadership to save a whole people,
maybe God can use us to do great things to. And these confirmation
students know how to ask really difficult questions – they do this
by entering the story, not simply leaving it in the past and holding
up a story as a nice piece of literature. But they hold up God's
story as a narrative that say something about their lives – their
teenage lives in Oregon in the year 2012 – they enter God's story
with confidence because they know it is their story, too.
Jesus
entered this story – certainly already in “THE” beginning, and
then again in human flesh. Jesus entered God's story as he came to
earth as a helpless, innocent baby and Jesus had his own beginning,
middle and even end upon this earth. Today's Gospel lesson wasn't
really so much a lesson – it was a prayer. It is a rare and
delicate glimpse into Jesus' relationship with God. Have you ever
wondered how Jesus prays for you or even if
Jesus prays for you? Well, in the gospel of John we get to hear the
words that Jesus prayed to God as he was about to leave his
disciples. We can only imagine Jesus' emotions – rising anxiety
and that feeling of “have I done enough?” as he is about to leave
the disciples alone (physically) on the earth. Jesus wisely lays
these cares in the hands of our loving God and prays these words for
the disciples that had been following him, “
6 ‘I
have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world.
They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your
word...And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the
world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them in your name
that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one.
..I
am not asking you to take them out of the world, but I ask you to
protect them from the evil one. 16They
do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world.”
(Jn 17)
Jesus
knows that this story we hold so dear, is not an easy one to tell and
it certainly is not an easy one to live. Those that stood upon this
rock and preached God's story knew that it was difficult to tell and
even more so to live. So, what does Jesus ask for? What does Jesus
know the disciples need to live God's story while on earth? Jesus
asks that God will protect the disciples, because the disciples are
in a world that is hostile and harsh. Jesus asks that the disciples
will be one – as God and Jesus are one. Now, that kind of unity
was difficult even in Jesus' time – when those who followed Jesus
should have been so united – there were no denominations and sects
breaking off one after another. Yet, Jesus prayed for a unity that
went down to their very souls – being one as God and Jesus are one.
Completely unified so that their telling of the story might be
strong, effective and heard. And then Jesus says a peculiar thing in
the middle of his heart-felt prayer, Jesus says,
“20 ‘I
ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will
believe in me through their word, 21that
they may all be one.”
This
is not a prayer for only those gathered in Jesus' day – not just
for those disciples. Jesus knew that the story was going to keep
unfolding, that there would be many beginnings, many chapters to
write and live out. And so, Jesus prayed for us, too – Jesus
prayed for those that would believe in Jesus through the telling of
the story...and Jesus prayed that we would all be one.
My
Methodists brother and sisters, my Lutheran sister and brothers,
other denominations represented here, unbelievers, young and old,
pioneers of faith or seekers on the way, or anyone else that doesn't
fit into any sort of box I could list – Jesus prayed for every
single one of us and Jesus' prayers was that we might hear the story,
and that we might be one.
We
are not to be defined as Lutherans or Methodists, first generation or
twentieth generation, we are not to stand at this rock today and lift
up the story of great history then stop there. No, this rock is a
symbol of a beginning among beginnings – we have our own story of
faith to engage and live and tell. We are live the story of great
faith, enter the book, enter the narrative, enter God's mission which
is for us, which is before us.
And
the great Author and perfector of our faith, Jesus Christ has gone
before us to write the story and Jesus continues to pray for us, for
our unity and for our telling of the story so that more and more may
come to believe in Jesus through our telling. And Jesus knows that
this is not an easy to life of faith to live out – so Jesus prays
for our protection, our unity and what else?
What
else might you need to be cast into the loving hands of God this day?
How might you remember the stories of the preachers that stood upon
this rock, of Job, Esther, Moses, your parents, your pioneers, your
children and the generations to follow you – what do you need to
tell your great story of faith? Will you plant a huge rock in the
backyard and start preaching your sermons? Maybe not.
But
this story is yours, because of Jesus' death on the cross and rising
again we get to enter God's story and live it. We look back to the
past because we want to live into God's future.
May
the Holy Spirit inspire you to write great chapters...
May
God protect you so you have the strength to live in faith...
May
we all be one, in Christ Jesus alone, so that our story is strong,
effective and heard.
And
may all people, here today and for the days to come, believe in Jesus
through our telling of the word. Amen.
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| Pulpit Rock -- now. |
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