May 14, 2006: How Come You Know and I Don't?
Acts 8:26-40, 1 John 4:7-21, Psalm 22:25-31

Eileen Parfrey - Springwater Presbyterian Church

How believable do you find the story of Philip and the eunuch? Other than the part about Philip being literally spirited away. What about Philip getting a voice mail from God to go out to the Gaza road-does God still do that kind of stuff? And if so, how come I never get any? The closest I've come is when I met my friend, Shelley. After a year of seeing a sign advertising "Barn Sale" and "antiques and collectibles," I finally had this urging to go in and check it out. Though I didn't need a barn, I found that what Shelley called "antiques and collectibles" were things from my childhood, which meant that I was able to pick up a copy of my favorite Golden Book, Tawny Scrawy Lion. She admired my dog, and we established a kinship. A couple of months later, as I was thinking about the practicum for my spiritual direction training, I had another urging to respond to Shelley's sign, so I drove in, and the next thing I knew, I was inviting this woman I'd only met once before to be part of a group spiritual direction experience I was co-leading.

The practicum ended last week, and Shelley claimed that the group had been a God-send. She didn't know how literally true that was! But that's the closest I've gotten to being sent by God. The irony was that God's sending turned out to be a group thing. Each of the participants in that group said her relationship with God grew as a result of our time together. And I didn't pay them to say that.

Pastors love to hear that kind of stuff, and it's the sort of thing that our new Mission Statement says that we aim for as a fellowship of believers. Item two, on our list of six goals, claims that we want to grow in our relationships with God and each other. Together. Which begs a few questions. How to we know we're growing and what does that look like? The reading from 1 John today says "growing relationship" looks like commitment, mutuality, and accountability. Which are abstractions. Jesus didn't do abstractions. He did parables. We're Americans. We make to-do lists and write goals and objectives.

Several years ago, we unpacked the parable of the prodigal son-for six weeks. We found that it wasn't a story about a son, but about a whole family. The younger son who demands his inheritance before dad dies, only to run off to spend it on cigarettes and whiskey and wild, wild women. The older son who stays home, running the business with dad, the perfect son until baby brother turns up again, penniless and starving. The dad who throws a homecoming party and goes outside to invite the good son to give up resenting his grace toward the younger, to join them inside.

In his meditation about this parable, Henri Nouwen recognized himself, not just in the younger son (so in need of forgiveness). Not just in the older son (so frozen-stuck in being good). What Nouwen resisted recognizing was himself in the father. To be the father is a call to maturity. Growth. It is so much easier to remain as the sons-baby Christians. Like the younger, you know you don't deserve it, but you long for forgiveness, even while you are afraid to feel forgiven. To be the father, you might have to think of someone else's pain, define yourself or be something other than need. Or like the elder, you've staked your life on being The Good One, the generous one, the one who volunteers when no one else does. Even though you resent it. But now it looks like undeserving people are getting the credit you deserve! To be the father would require you to let go of self-righteousness, the blame game, your agenda, running away by over-filling your time. You might have to seek out others who need forgiveness. You might have to give yourself away.

Two weeks ago we dedicated the Mission Statement, and we agreed that one of the things on our to-do list was to deepen our relationship with God and with each other. According to 1 John, growing our relationship with God means "participating continuously in an intimate relationship with God." But to "grow in relationship with each other" means building community. Doing mission and study and prayer in the room with other people to whom you have made a commitment, agreeing to hold each other accountable for meeting deadlines and goals. Pass on the faith. Be a mentor, participate in group discussions, no more just passively sitting and waiting for "a leader" to tell you what to believe and do and give. Coming up with your own ideas about what the text means and checking it out with others.

I thought all week about how to illustrate this, and a bolt of lightening came and hit me upside the head. Don't just talk about community building-do it. This is going to be scary, but I think you can handle it. We're going to talk to each other. In worship. Find two or three others sitting near you and to spend a few minutes in conversation about concrete ways Springwater as a whole (and you in particular) can help each other grow in relationship with God and each other. You might want to think about what a "mature" Christian look like-naming names or the kinds of activities or faith practices a mature Christian engages in. You have four minutes, and then we're going to share those ideas.

We have done this as part of worship because it is in worship that we are shaped. And worship is the only time we're all together. Growing is scary. Growing takes work and exercise and good nutrition. It involves risk. Trying new things. Giving each other a break. According to 1 John, the goal is for every Christian to "participate continuously in an intimate relationship with God." Unlike the Ethiopian eunuch, we're not without resources. We've got each other. We're not wandering the wilderness road of faith, arbitrarily opening the book at random, taking wild guesses about what it might mean. But we might as well be when we act as if we can be a faithful disciple alone in the privacy of our own homes. Or if we think devoting as much as an hour-and-a-half once a week is faith nurture (if we can refrain from mentally writing the week's to-do list). We need each other. We need to grow. Because the point of confessing our faith that Jesus is God's Son is that we get to "participate continuously in an intimate relationship with God." And for that, we need each other.