Sustaining Word

Sermon John 1:1-16 January 12, 2020

My first Sunday back in pulpit after a 15 week sabbatical. Our congregations Naomi Makemie & Francis Makemie Presbyterian Churches and my husband Mike and I were granted the gift of the CTS Clergy Renewal Grant funded by the Lilly Endowment. As part of our renewal we made the transatlantic crossing with our sailboat NEVERLAND. The congregations were served by two amazing pastors in our absence. And they were able to have a renewal time of their own.

Sustaining Word

Let me open with a word of prayer. An ancient and favorite prayer that I never knew would be the ungirding prayer of our passage. 

Steer the ship of my life, good Lord, to your quiet harbor, where I can be safe from the storms of sin and conflict. Show me the course I should take. Renew in me the gift of discernment, so that I can always see the right direction in which I should go. And give me the strength and the courage to choose the right course, even when the sea is rough and the waves are high, knowing that through enduring hardship and danger in your name we shall find comfort and peace. Amen. Basil of Caesarea 4^th century.

Prayer words.

Scripture words.

Written words.

Words in pictures.

Sustaining words.

In this prayer I just prayed and in the words of the prologue of the gospel of John we recognize words that have been etched into eternity. These are words which have lived through time and will continue to. They are not forgotten and they keep coming forward to the surface, they appear and reappear in the lives of many publicly, privately, they show up in books, on the internet, in movies, TV shows, podcasts, newspapers and magazines, and they make a difference.

On our send-off Sunday in September, Susan Grove handed me a tray of beautifully ribbon wrapped cards. She resists taking credit for this amazing work and turns to all of you who helped her bring an idea to life. 

In these cards Mike and I discovered good words, real words, words drawn and written with love. In these cards we discovered how they sustained us, challenged us, made us chuckle, giggle and roar with laughter, and sometimes made us uncomfortable, and yet most importantly these cards did and do *‘illumine us, heal us’ and give us renewal of life and faith. (side note-your hard work and openness to share for the devotion book, that Donna created, edited and compiled and you wrote, is the way Mike and I will go forward in 2020 as we continue to be surrounded by words etched into eternity).

In these cards we discovered Scripture verses, original poems and writings, good strong thoughts and well wishes, prayers, artwork, designs, and stories. As you can see, we saved each one. They hold in them words for eternity.

Perhaps that’s why the prologue to the gospel of John is so appropriate for us to hear today. They are words etched in eternity. God begins with Word, creates with Word, dwells with Word and sustains with Word. The Word causes us to see, to see light, to see life, and to be embraced by grace. The Word showed up in flesh in the middle of our mess and became a finite mess with us. “Jesus is the fleshed-out truth of God.”

In the prologue and throughout the gospel we understand the power of Christ. We begin up close and personal with the very God of creation. There is no historical context of the beginning only a cosmic one. There is no DNA Ancestry lineage, only the truth that in the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. It’s a profound proclamation of who Jesus is and a profession of faith of the truth of God in Jesus Christ. It’s a word about the Word with no doubts and with no confusion of words of God incarnate.

Why does all this Word talk matter to me?

Perhaps its because of the 90 cards that were sent with us on our passagemaking journey of awe and wonder.

There were 20 different Scriptures shared,

five original writings and poems,

two warnings to look out for pirates,

10 hymns, and many, many other poems,

wise sayings and warm thoughts.

When we opened our first card it said, “See, I am sending an angel ahead of you to guard you along the way…” Ex 23:20.

We knew we were not alone.

We were also given an angel to hang in our boat with the saying, “Sometimes angels sing to you in the wind, all you have to do is listen.” 

When we approached Gibraltar at sunrise and watched the rock change colors as the day broke across sky, the hymn, “How can I keep from Singing” was rolling through my head. The beauty of a rock-it’s just a giant rock sticking out of the water, but its incredible. I can see why an insurance company used it as their symbol.

When we left the straits of Gibraltar we realized two things. One, we were really out on the ocean. We were in the Atlantic Ocean and it was different than being on the Mediterranean Sea. The ocean produced swells instead of peaked sharp waves. The second thing we realized was that we had taken our last remaining link to Europe away from there. NEVERLAND, our sailboat, had sailed the seas there since 2006 and would not return, at least not with these owners. Sometimes its hard to face the reality of our story of life. But, we know God sends us on to new experiences and encounters and gives us the language we need to share it.

We sailed a total of 5000+nautical miles over the three months. There were several times when we dealt with high winds and rough seas. The rough seas and acceleration winds occurred as we left on each passage/leg. It was rough from Gibraltar to Agadir, Agadir to Arrefice, Las Palmas to Cape Verde and on to St Lucia, and again to our final destination in Aruba. Yet after two or three days the winds would calm down, the seas would settle and we would enter into the rhythm of the sailing.

During those rough times the words we had to sustain us were, “always remember you are stronger than you think, braver than you know”; “everyday we set sail in our ship…it’s the little things that remind us God is at the helm”; “God is the wind, faith is the sail”; “God is your life compass”; “awake my soul, stretch every nerve”; those cards reminded us of the courage we needed. And then were the jokes, “Why can’t sailors play cards? Because they’re standing on the decks.” Humorous jokes like this and the pictures of the kids capsizing boats, or the photos of pirates reminded us not to take things too seriously.

Language is the key to all experience-to share life’s moments requires language.

How does each moment, each encounter, each event find words to hold it into eternity? 

We (you here and Mike and me out there) have had the opportunity in these past few months to witness moments, holy occasions, sacred pauses.

How have we found the language to share the stories?

Often we watch our little ones work so hard to tell us their stories and we witness them struggling to find expression. We realize they are trying to ‘express in words they do not yet possess.’* And so we listen and share our stories and the language becomes rich and refreshing, new and joyous. And our children’s vocabulary increases with all the wonders they hear and can now find ways to share themselves.

I saw the sea as described in Psalm 104 “vast and spacious, teeming with creatures beyond number, living things both large and small.” We saw dolphins, whales, birds of so many kinds, and yes, we saw turtles. I was at a loss for words at the encounter with these amazing creatures. And yet, there was a phrase from one of our cards that reminded me we were on a “hair raising, mind blowing, alluring life adventure.” Our language to share our awe and wonder moments may not yet be there, but it will come.

When we joined the community of the World Cruising Club ARC+ (Atlantic Rally for Cruisers), we discovered that the encouragement of the group and the friendly competition caused us to completely rethink how we sail our vessel and how we work as a team.

It made me think of the church.

We seem to be able to learn a lot about ourselves when we work together. But, we also learn a lot about the capacity and capability of the church as a whole.

Mike and I have been sailing NEVERLAND for 20 years.

But it wasn’t until we joined the ARC+ group and the challenge of crossing the ocean without using our engine that we recognized the capability of our little sailing vessel. We had to think differently, plan a new way of trimming sails with our little boat in the big blue sea. We had to pay closer attention to our speed, our direction, our chart plotting, and our time. We were more vigilant and more attentive. Not only for the boat but for each other as well.

Friends, your words were grace upon grace. They did not come by accident. They did not appear on paper without purpose. Your holy pause with God and pen and paper were essential for the sacred holding they were for us as we opened each envelope, one at a time, day after day. Those penned words, creative drawings were paused for just the right moment as we took a deep breath and quizzed each other. “What’s our word for the day?”

This passagemaking experience, you here and we out there as not by accident. It was through long intentional hours, days, months, years of preparation by teams of the church and Mike and me. It is true that ‘intentionality leads to creativity and spontaneity’*. It wasn’t by accident that Steve and Donna have been active in our congregations before the passage. It wasn’t by accident that we are all surrounded by sea and beauty, the tangible, visible sign of God’s grace. Grace upon grace is who you are as children of God (whether you choose to believe it or not-God claims you). It is the driving force of the Word alive in you. It is what propels you forward through the actions of your day.

There were transitions in our departure and there will be transitions in our return. God’s grace was in all of it. What remains for us is the sacred holding of those moments before God. How will we remain with the Word today and tomorrow? As we transition together may we remember the wisdom gained, the encounters with those who were our guides. May we keep our vision renewed. We are all changed and we trust God’s Word that we are better for it. Steve and Donna are changed too. Your courage and openness have allowed God to work a blessing for you through them. We cannot be more grateful.

Prayer words.

Scripture words.

Written words.

Words in pictures.

Sustaining words.

Let us be nourished and sustained by the Word at Table.

Amen.

Resources: NIB Gospel of Johnn-Gayle O’Day; Encounters with Jesus by Francis Taylor Gench; Faith Words-essays by writers. * Doris Betts; *Blenden C. Lane; *Katherine Patterson;