Planted Paws
Sermon
Sermons On The Second Readings
Series I, Cycle C
Leader Dog Treasure, Dee's second dog guide, developed a unique method of winter guiding when the team could not avoid icy conditions. The first icy night they worked together, they lasted only a few yards beyond the driveway of their home. Dee had slipped, startling Treasure. Then Treasure slid. This undermined his confidence. In wisdom, they turned back.
The next morning they returned to the same spot. This time the dog guide had a plan. He planted each paw as he walked. He snugged slightly against Dee's left knee as if to say, "I'm right here. Lean on me for stability. I will guide you through this icy mess."
In the worst of Nebraska's midwinter, the team abandoned their usual morning walking route that sprawls through the roads of the rural town. Instead, they covered the same distance by outlining an equal-sided inner cross of sidewalk borders formed by the blocks approaching the downtown intersection.
Late one winter, nature dropped a sheet of glaze ice along the north sidewalk of shops that lined the main street. None of Treasure's usual planting of the paw worked. No leaning slightly against the leg was of assistance. They could gain no footing. Again, their decision was consensual: Let's turn around and get out of here.
The following morning, having been forewarned that the swath of glaze also extended in front of the local hardware store, they remained on the sheltered side of the street until they reached the crossing in front of the store. Dee did not tell Treasure about the icy sidewalk but gave instead the directive to cross the street. By that time, the sidewalk might have been sanded. Nothing doing. Treasure exercised what the training school calls "intelligent disobedience."
The dog guide had made a visual check. He would not approach the sidewalk. Instead, he paralleled it. He led her behind a row of diagonally parked cars. Each time they came to a break between cars, the woman gave the "Find the sidewalk" command. Each time the dog guide planted his four paws. He refused to step onto the sidewalk until he finally spotted bare concrete.
Only some assist dogs have the capacity to become shepherds for persons who cannot see. A shepherd guides by definition. Its charge is to keep safe. It will not knowingly lead its partner into trouble.
Because a nonvisual person cannot make a visual safety judgment, the dog guide must. A guide for nonvisual persons must have the inner strength to refuse a command. It must also possess the grit strength to lead out when it ascertains the way is safe.
The action of intelligent disobedience surprises. It catches the attention. Even should the reason be a mystery or the action make little sense at first, to honor such a decision is integral to working within a relationship of trust. Only if both members of the dog guide team accept the dog's guide's freedom to refuse a command can such a partnership work.
As with any partnership, a team attitude invites the mutual respect of another's choices as well as the letting go of single-minded autonomy. This is not so different from a fruitful ecumenical partnership, a congregation, a marriage, parenting, a high school band, or an office work team. A team is a group of participants who are on the same side.
Let us enter today's passage from Revelation by asking what it tells us about God and about shepherding. As we stand watching with John and the elders on the sidelines, we see "a multitude of people" standing before the throne of Christ. This scene of the Revelation drama presents an intriguing picture because of its numbers and its composition.
The first lesson God imparts to us is that God is inclusive. More than a few people, John said, this was "a multitude of people robed in white." They came "from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages" (see v. 9).
Let us ponder these words in light of an inclusive multitude of people whose collective meaning speaks of unity. They reflect an openness about all people without restriction of physical ability, economic status, sexual or national orientation, or mind set.
Imagine the opportunity that ingathering must have been for the people of that diverse multitude. They would have learned to become inclusive themselves. They would have listened to and learned from each other along the way.
This is the second teaching from God: For God our active readiness is an indispensable component of our salvation. As with John's multitude, as we come through and out of great personal ordeals, we may also be so changed that others do not recognize us. We hardly know ourselves. "Who are these [people]?" the elder asked. John told the elder he should have recognized them, but they had changed.
We in turn ask what promotes such change. Growth is not a passive being done to but involves active participation. Sitting still and letting things happen to us brings little productive result.
Upon first reading, it seems a small point, but John did not report that the white robes these people were wearing had been washed by someone else. He said these people washed their own robes. They actively participated in cleaning up their own act. God wants us, also, to be proactive in our salvation.
Change, growth, and headway come from a similar listening to each other whether as a dog guide team, a multitude of pilgrims, or the shepherding of the Lamb of God. Like high school graduates after their first year of college, our readiness to grow also lets us absorb with passion what is offered us. We digest it and integrate it into a new being. We are changed. We are made whole by bringing all the parts of our being together in a unity.
What a rich, surprising mix of contrasting images we find in the book of Revelation. Among them are a throne and shepherd's field, clothes washed white from the red blood of a Lamb, shelter from one we might expect to punish, and talk of both desperation and hope.
Even this early however, in the seventh chapter of this revealing 21-chapter drama, the story is of hope. When we too are ready, when we too have washed our own metaphorical robes, we too will find ourselves transported to another spiritual place, the place of security and salvation.
The holy shelter God provides at the metaphorical spring of the water of life is simply that, shelter, not punishment. For those who make the journey, God provides salvation.
When we come to the book of Revelation, we revisit this journey of being saved from ourselves and for ourselves. We hear again that the good news of the Easter story is God's saving us from the harrowing and confining dimensions of ourselves. God saves us for the stretch and expansion of our fullest selves. God saves us for the unity of enriching the wider community.
Surprised? This is the third teaching of God: God recognizes that we need a shepherd to guide us toward what will bring us life. Listen to the language. Twenty-three times in this book, John refers to Christ as the Lamb. Christ is neither a reluctant nor a recalcitrant lamb but a triumphant, elevated Lamb seated in a high place.
The imagery is rustic. John's people knew about shepherds, lambs, gentleness, and the need for guidance. Not only are we like lambs with a shepherd, but Christ, our shepherd, also has the guidance of a shepherd. Jesus is the Lamb of God.
You and I do not always move willingly toward the springs that hold the water of life. Distraction dulls our homing sense. Even when the yearning is there, we seem unable to find these springs by ourselves.
We need someone to point the direction. Sometimes that shepherd is a dog guide whose actions show, "I will guide you through this mess." Sometimes it is another person who walks a few paces with us. Sometimes it is an ideal that draws us forward.
When we have chosen the right one to shepherd us toward the vitality of the human spirit and when we have come through change, like the cleansing that makes dirty clothes bright, we are ready to find the spring. There we find not God to fear, but God who says, "I'm right here to guide you."
Finally, let us return to the first words from this multitude, "Salvation belongs to our God." Surprised? This is God's fourth teaching: God's goal is to save us. The God who meets us is a savior so gentle and knowing of us that this savior is ready and waiting to "wipe away every tear."
The next morning they returned to the same spot. This time the dog guide had a plan. He planted each paw as he walked. He snugged slightly against Dee's left knee as if to say, "I'm right here. Lean on me for stability. I will guide you through this icy mess."
In the worst of Nebraska's midwinter, the team abandoned their usual morning walking route that sprawls through the roads of the rural town. Instead, they covered the same distance by outlining an equal-sided inner cross of sidewalk borders formed by the blocks approaching the downtown intersection.
Late one winter, nature dropped a sheet of glaze ice along the north sidewalk of shops that lined the main street. None of Treasure's usual planting of the paw worked. No leaning slightly against the leg was of assistance. They could gain no footing. Again, their decision was consensual: Let's turn around and get out of here.
The following morning, having been forewarned that the swath of glaze also extended in front of the local hardware store, they remained on the sheltered side of the street until they reached the crossing in front of the store. Dee did not tell Treasure about the icy sidewalk but gave instead the directive to cross the street. By that time, the sidewalk might have been sanded. Nothing doing. Treasure exercised what the training school calls "intelligent disobedience."
The dog guide had made a visual check. He would not approach the sidewalk. Instead, he paralleled it. He led her behind a row of diagonally parked cars. Each time they came to a break between cars, the woman gave the "Find the sidewalk" command. Each time the dog guide planted his four paws. He refused to step onto the sidewalk until he finally spotted bare concrete.
Only some assist dogs have the capacity to become shepherds for persons who cannot see. A shepherd guides by definition. Its charge is to keep safe. It will not knowingly lead its partner into trouble.
Because a nonvisual person cannot make a visual safety judgment, the dog guide must. A guide for nonvisual persons must have the inner strength to refuse a command. It must also possess the grit strength to lead out when it ascertains the way is safe.
The action of intelligent disobedience surprises. It catches the attention. Even should the reason be a mystery or the action make little sense at first, to honor such a decision is integral to working within a relationship of trust. Only if both members of the dog guide team accept the dog's guide's freedom to refuse a command can such a partnership work.
As with any partnership, a team attitude invites the mutual respect of another's choices as well as the letting go of single-minded autonomy. This is not so different from a fruitful ecumenical partnership, a congregation, a marriage, parenting, a high school band, or an office work team. A team is a group of participants who are on the same side.
Let us enter today's passage from Revelation by asking what it tells us about God and about shepherding. As we stand watching with John and the elders on the sidelines, we see "a multitude of people" standing before the throne of Christ. This scene of the Revelation drama presents an intriguing picture because of its numbers and its composition.
The first lesson God imparts to us is that God is inclusive. More than a few people, John said, this was "a multitude of people robed in white." They came "from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages" (see v. 9).
Let us ponder these words in light of an inclusive multitude of people whose collective meaning speaks of unity. They reflect an openness about all people without restriction of physical ability, economic status, sexual or national orientation, or mind set.
Imagine the opportunity that ingathering must have been for the people of that diverse multitude. They would have learned to become inclusive themselves. They would have listened to and learned from each other along the way.
This is the second teaching from God: For God our active readiness is an indispensable component of our salvation. As with John's multitude, as we come through and out of great personal ordeals, we may also be so changed that others do not recognize us. We hardly know ourselves. "Who are these [people]?" the elder asked. John told the elder he should have recognized them, but they had changed.
We in turn ask what promotes such change. Growth is not a passive being done to but involves active participation. Sitting still and letting things happen to us brings little productive result.
Upon first reading, it seems a small point, but John did not report that the white robes these people were wearing had been washed by someone else. He said these people washed their own robes. They actively participated in cleaning up their own act. God wants us, also, to be proactive in our salvation.
Change, growth, and headway come from a similar listening to each other whether as a dog guide team, a multitude of pilgrims, or the shepherding of the Lamb of God. Like high school graduates after their first year of college, our readiness to grow also lets us absorb with passion what is offered us. We digest it and integrate it into a new being. We are changed. We are made whole by bringing all the parts of our being together in a unity.
What a rich, surprising mix of contrasting images we find in the book of Revelation. Among them are a throne and shepherd's field, clothes washed white from the red blood of a Lamb, shelter from one we might expect to punish, and talk of both desperation and hope.
Even this early however, in the seventh chapter of this revealing 21-chapter drama, the story is of hope. When we too are ready, when we too have washed our own metaphorical robes, we too will find ourselves transported to another spiritual place, the place of security and salvation.
The holy shelter God provides at the metaphorical spring of the water of life is simply that, shelter, not punishment. For those who make the journey, God provides salvation.
When we come to the book of Revelation, we revisit this journey of being saved from ourselves and for ourselves. We hear again that the good news of the Easter story is God's saving us from the harrowing and confining dimensions of ourselves. God saves us for the stretch and expansion of our fullest selves. God saves us for the unity of enriching the wider community.
Surprised? This is the third teaching of God: God recognizes that we need a shepherd to guide us toward what will bring us life. Listen to the language. Twenty-three times in this book, John refers to Christ as the Lamb. Christ is neither a reluctant nor a recalcitrant lamb but a triumphant, elevated Lamb seated in a high place.
The imagery is rustic. John's people knew about shepherds, lambs, gentleness, and the need for guidance. Not only are we like lambs with a shepherd, but Christ, our shepherd, also has the guidance of a shepherd. Jesus is the Lamb of God.
You and I do not always move willingly toward the springs that hold the water of life. Distraction dulls our homing sense. Even when the yearning is there, we seem unable to find these springs by ourselves.
We need someone to point the direction. Sometimes that shepherd is a dog guide whose actions show, "I will guide you through this mess." Sometimes it is another person who walks a few paces with us. Sometimes it is an ideal that draws us forward.
When we have chosen the right one to shepherd us toward the vitality of the human spirit and when we have come through change, like the cleansing that makes dirty clothes bright, we are ready to find the spring. There we find not God to fear, but God who says, "I'm right here to guide you."
Finally, let us return to the first words from this multitude, "Salvation belongs to our God." Surprised? This is God's fourth teaching: God's goal is to save us. The God who meets us is a savior so gentle and knowing of us that this savior is ready and waiting to "wipe away every tear."
