Serenity now!
Commentary
Reading the texts for this Sunday I am reminded of the episode from the television series,
Seinfeld, in which George Costanza's father, Frank, pleads for serenity. He
seems trapped in the midst of a life that has taken on particularly crazy hues in the middle
of a world that often seems to be living in the shadows rather than in the presence of the
kind of light that leads beyond the selfish mentality of the characters.
Who can blame him? We, too, say, "Serenity now" -- in the midst of war, economic uncertainty, constant change, impending environmental challenges, continuing economic inequality, and never-ending energy shortages. Frank Costanza's particular contribution to the search for serenity is the creation of his own holiday to compete with the usual Christmas craziness. A Seinfeld-fan website gives this description of his invented holiday: "During the last few weeks in December when Festivus takes place, families and friends get together at the dinner table and have something called the 'Airing of Grievances.' During this time, we share with family and friends all the ways they had disappointed us over the past year. After the Airing of Grievances, we get together right in the same night to do something called 'Feats of Strength.' This is where the head of the household tests his/her strength with another friend or family member." Now this seems to be more about venting than celebrating. Of course venting will no doubt bring some momentary serenity, but at a price.
Though one might not appreciate the outcome, I can understand Frank Costanza's search for some alternative sources of personal serenity. It does seem that there are plenty of people who have found something less than complete serenity in their faith community. We long for a time when the church was serenely perched above the conflicts and controversies that divide others. Yet, idyllic hope bumps up against practical reality in each of these texts. One can almost hear some in the early church say, "What? Welcome the Gentiles on equal terms. Serenity now!" If the book of Revelation is correct, it will take a lot of serenity to face the passing of the old which needs to be made new. Death no more and tears wiped away will dig into our usual sources of serenity that come from denial of death and repression of emotion. Judging by the shape of the world we have not gotten too far down the alphabet from the A to the Z where this will all happen. We emphasize the "now" part as much as the serenity part.
Some churches look like they are perpetually gathering around the six-foot aluminum pole that is part of the holiday as Frank Costanza designed it. One enterprising company actually sold Festivus poles for the celebration. We think that a mere airing of our grievances will bring serenity. True serenity might only come from entertaining the way God handles the grievances he might have for the way we have allowed things to take shape in our world. Human feats of strength seem to fall far short of being able to roll away the stone from all that blocks life. God's power is not made manifest with the celebration of Festivus but the beginning of knowing that God's power is made perfect in the midst of our weakness.
Each of these texts testify to the reality of the conviction that the serenity God offers us comes from accepting that it is not our place to hinder what God is doing once we recognize what God is about and accept it. Serenity comes from knowing that the final word over our lives and world begins with traveling from A to Z and that anything that claims finality short of this is off the mark. The bad news is we cannot rest easy with that. The good news is that serenity comes from knowing that anything that opposes the purposes of God cannot rest easy. Love as a commandment does not come across as a cure-all for what is denying us serenity. We hardly feel like we are ready for this. However, following in the loving footsteps of Jesus gives us a feel for what it means to be human and what the rule of God can mean in our midst.
Acts 11:1-18
Peaceful, composed, tranquil, unruffled, and untroubled are not always the adjectives that leap to mind when we think of the church. The root of serenity lies in the notion of there being a clear, cloudless path ahead without storms. This can hardly be the church. Yet, we can scarcely be a church if our desire for serenity causes us to steer a course around all forms of potential turbulence. After all, the Christian community was known early on as a disturber of the peace. It is not for the sake of disruption that the church got such a reputation. Rather, the church's identity and theology would prove disconcerting to a world that found war easy, people expendable, and structures of injustice permanent. In the table fellowship of the church there would be a challenge to the comfort zone of many people.
Yet, we can understand the quest of Frank Costanza for "serenity now." While we cannot make a habit of steering our way around all the potential forms of turbulence, neither is it is possible to sail into one storm after another without the storm taking a toll. There are only so many flying hours in any given plane and they will be greatly reduced by the amount of time spent flying in storms.
This passage from Acts outlines a process that kept the church in balance and better able to handle storms that would come its way. Serenity came not from steering clear of all circumstance in which there might be some stormy weather. It came from an internal gyroscope that kept the early church balanced and on course in the face of whatever storms they would face. To move forward they would have to keep the gyro spinning. To move through the storms that the church would face, they would have to revisit the pattern in the book of Acts many times and give it a spin. The serenity they found lies less in a Festivus pole to bow down to than in a gyroscopic circle unbroken.
Yes, there was controversy in the novelty of Gentiles accepting the word of God. No doubt about it, this would mean a change at the table and in who would be able to rise in roles of leadership. However, the early church did not permit a matter of controversy to fester for long so that it would gain sufficient power to dominate their life together.
A recent Hartford Seminary study points out that having continuous controversy and conflict on the front burner inhibits church growth. The study concludes, in part, that healthy congregations are able to handle even minor controversies in ways that prevent the problem from so dominating the life of the church that members find themselves choosing sides. Making the rounds, keeping the gyro spinning by maintaining the open connections, helps the church ride out the storms.
In Luke's retelling, the church heads straight at the controversy. It does not take long for the Jerusalem church to get to the heart of the matter. "So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him, saying, 'Why did you go to uncircumcised men and eat with them?' Then Peter began to explain it to them, step by step, saying...." They ask Peter to tell his story. Peter responds to their questioning by answering with why they should go to the Gentiles, but with a personal narrative that explains what has brought him to the Gentiles. The object of Peter's tale is less to convince and more to get the Jerusalem church's mind spinning as he makes his personal testimony, then moves to the word of the Lord, "And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said, 'John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.' " Then he moves on to the common experience of the whole church, "If then God gave them the same gift that he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could hinder God?"
Certainly, Peter has the apostles and believers of the Jerusalem church spinning for they are silenced yet full of praise that "... God has given even to the Gentiles the repentance that leads to life." Personal testimony, scriptural citation, direct conversation that does not allow conflict to grow, and the witness of common experience spun over and over will bring enough serenity and balance for the church to face the storms ahead.
Revelation 21:1-6
The book of Revelation, with the possible exception of the Song of Solomon, is the least preached upon book in the Bible amongst the kind of churches that I have served. Thomas G. Long commented in his 2006 Lyman Beecher Lectures at Yale University that most preachers are not living in constant expectancy for the return of Jesus. While we may long for a new heaven and earth, most of us find ourselves living in ways that shows we don't really expect to be awakened anytime soon to see a new heaven and a new earth descending upon our routines and schedules.
It is hard for us to enter into the headset of John as he tells his tales of what the future holds. At least that is pretty much the mood that shaped my early years in ministry. It is a little easier to entertain where John is coming from if you no longer find yourself living in a world that seems so reliable, predictable, or manageable. I marvel at the changes I have lived through and I tremble somewhat at the changes that are ahead. It seems more than unclear as to how humankind will now master the reality of climate change, energy depletion, and political terrorism.
Increasingly, we find it a lot easier to enter at least into that part of John's experience that feels like we are living in exile cut off from the old certainties. As I watch the unfolding of events I find myself increasingly using the phrase, "Who would have ever thought that...?" Who would have thought it possible that I would be sitting here writing this on Epiphany in the state of New Hampshire as my computer tells me that we have just hit the sixty degree mark? Who would have thought that I could buy a car that gets fifty miles to the gallon of gas and still energy costs eat up my budget? Who would ever have thought that I would spend as much time as I do trying to understand the nature of Islam in part because I hear Middle-Eastern languages frequently spoken at my local supermarket? It is getting easier and easier to appreciate John's vision that the first heaven and the first earth have passed away.
However, can we be as certain that there is a new heaven and a new earth emerging? The voice that John heard says it is so and why it is so. "And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, 'See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them as their God; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them.' "
Because God chooses to dwell with mortals, we can anticipate a new heaven and a new earth. What is happening is not complete departure from things as they are, but fulfillment of how things can be.
I find myself identifying with John's vision. Recently, a major penitential liberal Democratic candidate found himself speaking at a large evangelical megachurch. Whatever the politics of the moment, the theology of the occasion was that there is a new heaven and a new earth where people find the common ground that unites rather than divides. Rick Warren and Barack Obama together at an AIDs conference looks like a new heaven and a new earth to me -- a new heaven that is not about holding up in sectarian enclaves, but a new earth where many tears may be wiped away because of their joint efforts. Who would have ever thought it? A new heaven and earth has a way of breaking into our world. In recent months, various parts of the evangelical community have taken up the cause of the environment and global warming. I see a new heaven and earth emerging here. Who would have ever thought it -- a heaven that is not about escaping from responsibility for creation, a new earth where the extinction of plant and animal species will be wiped away by human attentiveness?
I read the interview that the late President Ford gave before his death. Who would have ever thought that the legacy of a president would be raising the moral issues involved in the Iraq war? I sense a new heaven and earth making the rounds.
The old saying is that it is not over 'til the fat lady sings. John is saying it is not over until God gets from A to Z and we have a way to go yet. Until then, hang in and hold on. God is not done yet and neither are we -- serenity now!
John 13:31-35
On the face of it, the lectionary does not seem to offer much in the way of serenity. "Little children, I am with you only a little longer. You will look for me; and as I said to the Jews so now I say to you, 'Where I am going, you cannot come.' " Judas has just exited from the last supper leaving the disciples scratching their heads as to the meaning of the actions and conversation between him and Jesus. In the midst of this tension Jesus deepens the disciples' anxiety by speaking of his coming departure and the gulf it will leave between them.
Certainly, Jesus' prediction, "That you will look for me," has come true in the life of the church. We have certainly tried to bridge the gulf in many ways. Many have tried to find union with Jesus in meditation, or speaking in tongues, or in trying to build the kingdom. While these things may, in and of themselves, be worthy and good there still remains a gap between Jesus and us.
The gap, whatever form of spiritual practice we use or liturgy we may follow, is most completely bridged in John's community when the members of the community have love for each other. The community finds the serenity it knows in Jesus through emulating the kind of love that they have received from Jesus. The commandment is not to love as Jesus has loved, but as they have been loved.
At first hearing, this seems not to be occasion for serenity at all. How can we love as Jesus loves? Jesus did promise that his disciples would do works greater than his own. In the church, the clouds part when the basic elements can be transformed into something that is like the best wine just when everyone thinks that we have run out and the party has come to a halt. Tranquility happens when the sick find healing; when those who are weighed down by fear and oppression stride into a hopeful future. The clouds part when the hungry find enough to get them through the wilderness, when the blind can take another look at themselves and others, and when the dead are called into new life. According to John, this is how Jesus loves his people and how they ought to love one another. Serenity happens when we realize that we can love in the way that we have been loved and even do greater works than Jesus. John writes out of a faith community where this has happened. John is saying, "Serenity is now!"
Application
Walk down the aisles of any bookstore and you can see that the search for serenity is on. Technology and instant worldwide communication may have made life more productive but they have not made it any more serene. Just ask the poor soul who has inadvertently sent the wrong email to the wrong person and spends the day trying to explain away the error. They say that television is about escape but it seems that most of the programs only heighten the fears of violence and catastrophe.
Each of these texts makes it clear that serenity came for the early church in three ways. Peter and the Jerusalem church gave a process of personal testimony, biblical reflection, and open honest conversation a spin. Like a gyroscope, this spin provided enough balance to ride out the storm ahead. The book of Revelation tells of serenity in the midst of exile in the vision of a new heaven and earth. As I look around, I see tears being wiped away and death being challenged. Even in the face of storm clouds, the heavens do part sufficiently to live serenely even in the face of exile. The gospel writer in light of the experience of being loved by Jesus found serenity in loving just as Jesus loved the disciples. The church need not search for serenity, but can find it now in each of these texts.
Alternate Application
John 13:31-35. In each of these texts the faith community finds itself guided by people of vision. In John, too, is a person of vision but in a far different way. He dares to lift up the vision when the faith community will be separated from Jesus. "Little children, I am with you only a little longer. You will look for me; and as I said to the Jews so now I say to you, 'Where I am going, you cannot come.' " John has lifted up the unthinkable and the unimaginable for his community of faith. Indeed, in the gospel, John has placed the disciples at the same place as the "Jews." John is warning the community against the presumption that the community of faith will have the kind of unity with Jesus that it knew when Jesus was in the flesh.
The church needs people who can envision the unimaginable. As the church has worked its way, and as I have worked on policies and procedures that deal with sexual abuse, it needs people who can think the unthinkable. Often, because the church cannot imagine the unimaginable, it has been exploited by those who would take advantage of its naivete. Seeing the church as a place of exploitation and abuse is not easy, nor is it easily supported.
Serenely facing the storms ahead is often contingent on what kind of hearing those who envision the unthinkable will have in the life of the church.
Preaching The Psalm
Psalm 148
Most people spend their lives hungering after praise. Children thirst for it from parents, family, teachers, and friends. Young adults warm to its glow as they take on professional responsibilities and enter into adult relationships. As the mid-life years approach, men and women are nourished by praise that comes as a result of committed and long-term relationships. Even in old age, praise continues to matter a great deal. Many people, of course, learn to live without praise, but it's a bleak existence.
People need affirmation and uplifting care. Counselors and mental health professionals will attest to this. Without praise, the spirit withers and the heart contracts. Without the wind of appreciation flowing under life's wings, it's hard to fly; difficult to soar. People who live their lives without praise tend to be cold, distant, and lifeless. And the reason is that praise, simply put, is life-giving. It is the water that soaks into the roots of our souls causing us to blossom and grow.
Thinking about how praise operates within human community makes for interesting fodder when it is time to give praise to God. Today's psalm reverberates with the joy of this praise. It resonates with wonder and bursts the restraints of normal expression with shouts that are both urgent and loving. "Praise the Lord!" comes, in this instance, almost as a command. Everyone and everything should echo God's praise, and they should do it now!
Yes, of course God should be praised. Few seriously challenge this notion. But the question comes as to whether we praise God because of God's need ... or because of our own need. Can it be that the Creator of the universe needs affirmation and praise in the same way that human beings have need of it? Or does the sound of our singing and prayer emerge from our own need to surrender to that which is greater than ourselves?
The temptation to create God in our image is virtually irresistible. Scriptures are full of such mirrored images, and it is an understandable misstep. As humans, we inevitably translate the world through our own experience. But it's important to recall that the reality is exactly the opposite of our own feeble efforts. God created human beings in God's image, not the other way around.
It is likely that God has little need of our praise. Human beings, on the other hand, have a deep need to give themselves in worship and service to their Creator. And so it is that we lift up our voices with this powerful psalm: "Praise the Lord!"
Who can blame him? We, too, say, "Serenity now" -- in the midst of war, economic uncertainty, constant change, impending environmental challenges, continuing economic inequality, and never-ending energy shortages. Frank Costanza's particular contribution to the search for serenity is the creation of his own holiday to compete with the usual Christmas craziness. A Seinfeld-fan website gives this description of his invented holiday: "During the last few weeks in December when Festivus takes place, families and friends get together at the dinner table and have something called the 'Airing of Grievances.' During this time, we share with family and friends all the ways they had disappointed us over the past year. After the Airing of Grievances, we get together right in the same night to do something called 'Feats of Strength.' This is where the head of the household tests his/her strength with another friend or family member." Now this seems to be more about venting than celebrating. Of course venting will no doubt bring some momentary serenity, but at a price.
Though one might not appreciate the outcome, I can understand Frank Costanza's search for some alternative sources of personal serenity. It does seem that there are plenty of people who have found something less than complete serenity in their faith community. We long for a time when the church was serenely perched above the conflicts and controversies that divide others. Yet, idyllic hope bumps up against practical reality in each of these texts. One can almost hear some in the early church say, "What? Welcome the Gentiles on equal terms. Serenity now!" If the book of Revelation is correct, it will take a lot of serenity to face the passing of the old which needs to be made new. Death no more and tears wiped away will dig into our usual sources of serenity that come from denial of death and repression of emotion. Judging by the shape of the world we have not gotten too far down the alphabet from the A to the Z where this will all happen. We emphasize the "now" part as much as the serenity part.
Some churches look like they are perpetually gathering around the six-foot aluminum pole that is part of the holiday as Frank Costanza designed it. One enterprising company actually sold Festivus poles for the celebration. We think that a mere airing of our grievances will bring serenity. True serenity might only come from entertaining the way God handles the grievances he might have for the way we have allowed things to take shape in our world. Human feats of strength seem to fall far short of being able to roll away the stone from all that blocks life. God's power is not made manifest with the celebration of Festivus but the beginning of knowing that God's power is made perfect in the midst of our weakness.
Each of these texts testify to the reality of the conviction that the serenity God offers us comes from accepting that it is not our place to hinder what God is doing once we recognize what God is about and accept it. Serenity comes from knowing that the final word over our lives and world begins with traveling from A to Z and that anything that claims finality short of this is off the mark. The bad news is we cannot rest easy with that. The good news is that serenity comes from knowing that anything that opposes the purposes of God cannot rest easy. Love as a commandment does not come across as a cure-all for what is denying us serenity. We hardly feel like we are ready for this. However, following in the loving footsteps of Jesus gives us a feel for what it means to be human and what the rule of God can mean in our midst.
Acts 11:1-18
Peaceful, composed, tranquil, unruffled, and untroubled are not always the adjectives that leap to mind when we think of the church. The root of serenity lies in the notion of there being a clear, cloudless path ahead without storms. This can hardly be the church. Yet, we can scarcely be a church if our desire for serenity causes us to steer a course around all forms of potential turbulence. After all, the Christian community was known early on as a disturber of the peace. It is not for the sake of disruption that the church got such a reputation. Rather, the church's identity and theology would prove disconcerting to a world that found war easy, people expendable, and structures of injustice permanent. In the table fellowship of the church there would be a challenge to the comfort zone of many people.
Yet, we can understand the quest of Frank Costanza for "serenity now." While we cannot make a habit of steering our way around all the potential forms of turbulence, neither is it is possible to sail into one storm after another without the storm taking a toll. There are only so many flying hours in any given plane and they will be greatly reduced by the amount of time spent flying in storms.
This passage from Acts outlines a process that kept the church in balance and better able to handle storms that would come its way. Serenity came not from steering clear of all circumstance in which there might be some stormy weather. It came from an internal gyroscope that kept the early church balanced and on course in the face of whatever storms they would face. To move forward they would have to keep the gyro spinning. To move through the storms that the church would face, they would have to revisit the pattern in the book of Acts many times and give it a spin. The serenity they found lies less in a Festivus pole to bow down to than in a gyroscopic circle unbroken.
Yes, there was controversy in the novelty of Gentiles accepting the word of God. No doubt about it, this would mean a change at the table and in who would be able to rise in roles of leadership. However, the early church did not permit a matter of controversy to fester for long so that it would gain sufficient power to dominate their life together.
A recent Hartford Seminary study points out that having continuous controversy and conflict on the front burner inhibits church growth. The study concludes, in part, that healthy congregations are able to handle even minor controversies in ways that prevent the problem from so dominating the life of the church that members find themselves choosing sides. Making the rounds, keeping the gyro spinning by maintaining the open connections, helps the church ride out the storms.
In Luke's retelling, the church heads straight at the controversy. It does not take long for the Jerusalem church to get to the heart of the matter. "So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him, saying, 'Why did you go to uncircumcised men and eat with them?' Then Peter began to explain it to them, step by step, saying...." They ask Peter to tell his story. Peter responds to their questioning by answering with why they should go to the Gentiles, but with a personal narrative that explains what has brought him to the Gentiles. The object of Peter's tale is less to convince and more to get the Jerusalem church's mind spinning as he makes his personal testimony, then moves to the word of the Lord, "And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said, 'John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.' " Then he moves on to the common experience of the whole church, "If then God gave them the same gift that he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could hinder God?"
Certainly, Peter has the apostles and believers of the Jerusalem church spinning for they are silenced yet full of praise that "... God has given even to the Gentiles the repentance that leads to life." Personal testimony, scriptural citation, direct conversation that does not allow conflict to grow, and the witness of common experience spun over and over will bring enough serenity and balance for the church to face the storms ahead.
Revelation 21:1-6
The book of Revelation, with the possible exception of the Song of Solomon, is the least preached upon book in the Bible amongst the kind of churches that I have served. Thomas G. Long commented in his 2006 Lyman Beecher Lectures at Yale University that most preachers are not living in constant expectancy for the return of Jesus. While we may long for a new heaven and earth, most of us find ourselves living in ways that shows we don't really expect to be awakened anytime soon to see a new heaven and a new earth descending upon our routines and schedules.
It is hard for us to enter into the headset of John as he tells his tales of what the future holds. At least that is pretty much the mood that shaped my early years in ministry. It is a little easier to entertain where John is coming from if you no longer find yourself living in a world that seems so reliable, predictable, or manageable. I marvel at the changes I have lived through and I tremble somewhat at the changes that are ahead. It seems more than unclear as to how humankind will now master the reality of climate change, energy depletion, and political terrorism.
Increasingly, we find it a lot easier to enter at least into that part of John's experience that feels like we are living in exile cut off from the old certainties. As I watch the unfolding of events I find myself increasingly using the phrase, "Who would have ever thought that...?" Who would have thought it possible that I would be sitting here writing this on Epiphany in the state of New Hampshire as my computer tells me that we have just hit the sixty degree mark? Who would have thought that I could buy a car that gets fifty miles to the gallon of gas and still energy costs eat up my budget? Who would ever have thought that I would spend as much time as I do trying to understand the nature of Islam in part because I hear Middle-Eastern languages frequently spoken at my local supermarket? It is getting easier and easier to appreciate John's vision that the first heaven and the first earth have passed away.
However, can we be as certain that there is a new heaven and a new earth emerging? The voice that John heard says it is so and why it is so. "And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, 'See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them as their God; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them.' "
Because God chooses to dwell with mortals, we can anticipate a new heaven and a new earth. What is happening is not complete departure from things as they are, but fulfillment of how things can be.
I find myself identifying with John's vision. Recently, a major penitential liberal Democratic candidate found himself speaking at a large evangelical megachurch. Whatever the politics of the moment, the theology of the occasion was that there is a new heaven and a new earth where people find the common ground that unites rather than divides. Rick Warren and Barack Obama together at an AIDs conference looks like a new heaven and a new earth to me -- a new heaven that is not about holding up in sectarian enclaves, but a new earth where many tears may be wiped away because of their joint efforts. Who would have ever thought it? A new heaven and earth has a way of breaking into our world. In recent months, various parts of the evangelical community have taken up the cause of the environment and global warming. I see a new heaven and earth emerging here. Who would have ever thought it -- a heaven that is not about escaping from responsibility for creation, a new earth where the extinction of plant and animal species will be wiped away by human attentiveness?
I read the interview that the late President Ford gave before his death. Who would have ever thought that the legacy of a president would be raising the moral issues involved in the Iraq war? I sense a new heaven and earth making the rounds.
The old saying is that it is not over 'til the fat lady sings. John is saying it is not over until God gets from A to Z and we have a way to go yet. Until then, hang in and hold on. God is not done yet and neither are we -- serenity now!
John 13:31-35
On the face of it, the lectionary does not seem to offer much in the way of serenity. "Little children, I am with you only a little longer. You will look for me; and as I said to the Jews so now I say to you, 'Where I am going, you cannot come.' " Judas has just exited from the last supper leaving the disciples scratching their heads as to the meaning of the actions and conversation between him and Jesus. In the midst of this tension Jesus deepens the disciples' anxiety by speaking of his coming departure and the gulf it will leave between them.
Certainly, Jesus' prediction, "That you will look for me," has come true in the life of the church. We have certainly tried to bridge the gulf in many ways. Many have tried to find union with Jesus in meditation, or speaking in tongues, or in trying to build the kingdom. While these things may, in and of themselves, be worthy and good there still remains a gap between Jesus and us.
The gap, whatever form of spiritual practice we use or liturgy we may follow, is most completely bridged in John's community when the members of the community have love for each other. The community finds the serenity it knows in Jesus through emulating the kind of love that they have received from Jesus. The commandment is not to love as Jesus has loved, but as they have been loved.
At first hearing, this seems not to be occasion for serenity at all. How can we love as Jesus loves? Jesus did promise that his disciples would do works greater than his own. In the church, the clouds part when the basic elements can be transformed into something that is like the best wine just when everyone thinks that we have run out and the party has come to a halt. Tranquility happens when the sick find healing; when those who are weighed down by fear and oppression stride into a hopeful future. The clouds part when the hungry find enough to get them through the wilderness, when the blind can take another look at themselves and others, and when the dead are called into new life. According to John, this is how Jesus loves his people and how they ought to love one another. Serenity happens when we realize that we can love in the way that we have been loved and even do greater works than Jesus. John writes out of a faith community where this has happened. John is saying, "Serenity is now!"
Application
Walk down the aisles of any bookstore and you can see that the search for serenity is on. Technology and instant worldwide communication may have made life more productive but they have not made it any more serene. Just ask the poor soul who has inadvertently sent the wrong email to the wrong person and spends the day trying to explain away the error. They say that television is about escape but it seems that most of the programs only heighten the fears of violence and catastrophe.
Each of these texts makes it clear that serenity came for the early church in three ways. Peter and the Jerusalem church gave a process of personal testimony, biblical reflection, and open honest conversation a spin. Like a gyroscope, this spin provided enough balance to ride out the storm ahead. The book of Revelation tells of serenity in the midst of exile in the vision of a new heaven and earth. As I look around, I see tears being wiped away and death being challenged. Even in the face of storm clouds, the heavens do part sufficiently to live serenely even in the face of exile. The gospel writer in light of the experience of being loved by Jesus found serenity in loving just as Jesus loved the disciples. The church need not search for serenity, but can find it now in each of these texts.
Alternate Application
John 13:31-35. In each of these texts the faith community finds itself guided by people of vision. In John, too, is a person of vision but in a far different way. He dares to lift up the vision when the faith community will be separated from Jesus. "Little children, I am with you only a little longer. You will look for me; and as I said to the Jews so now I say to you, 'Where I am going, you cannot come.' " John has lifted up the unthinkable and the unimaginable for his community of faith. Indeed, in the gospel, John has placed the disciples at the same place as the "Jews." John is warning the community against the presumption that the community of faith will have the kind of unity with Jesus that it knew when Jesus was in the flesh.
The church needs people who can envision the unimaginable. As the church has worked its way, and as I have worked on policies and procedures that deal with sexual abuse, it needs people who can think the unthinkable. Often, because the church cannot imagine the unimaginable, it has been exploited by those who would take advantage of its naivete. Seeing the church as a place of exploitation and abuse is not easy, nor is it easily supported.
Serenely facing the storms ahead is often contingent on what kind of hearing those who envision the unthinkable will have in the life of the church.
Preaching The Psalm
Psalm 148
Most people spend their lives hungering after praise. Children thirst for it from parents, family, teachers, and friends. Young adults warm to its glow as they take on professional responsibilities and enter into adult relationships. As the mid-life years approach, men and women are nourished by praise that comes as a result of committed and long-term relationships. Even in old age, praise continues to matter a great deal. Many people, of course, learn to live without praise, but it's a bleak existence.
People need affirmation and uplifting care. Counselors and mental health professionals will attest to this. Without praise, the spirit withers and the heart contracts. Without the wind of appreciation flowing under life's wings, it's hard to fly; difficult to soar. People who live their lives without praise tend to be cold, distant, and lifeless. And the reason is that praise, simply put, is life-giving. It is the water that soaks into the roots of our souls causing us to blossom and grow.
Thinking about how praise operates within human community makes for interesting fodder when it is time to give praise to God. Today's psalm reverberates with the joy of this praise. It resonates with wonder and bursts the restraints of normal expression with shouts that are both urgent and loving. "Praise the Lord!" comes, in this instance, almost as a command. Everyone and everything should echo God's praise, and they should do it now!
Yes, of course God should be praised. Few seriously challenge this notion. But the question comes as to whether we praise God because of God's need ... or because of our own need. Can it be that the Creator of the universe needs affirmation and praise in the same way that human beings have need of it? Or does the sound of our singing and prayer emerge from our own need to surrender to that which is greater than ourselves?
The temptation to create God in our image is virtually irresistible. Scriptures are full of such mirrored images, and it is an understandable misstep. As humans, we inevitably translate the world through our own experience. But it's important to recall that the reality is exactly the opposite of our own feeble efforts. God created human beings in God's image, not the other way around.
It is likely that God has little need of our praise. Human beings, on the other hand, have a deep need to give themselves in worship and service to their Creator. And so it is that we lift up our voices with this powerful psalm: "Praise the Lord!"
