Title: This In-Between Time
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North Main, 8.27.17 MissionalLiminalSpaceNM82717 Title: This In-Between Time Texts: Sermon text, Psalm 137. Scripture reading, Isaiah 42:16.
. . . was taken up into a cloud while they were watching, and they could no longer see him. As they strained to see him rising into heaven, two white-robed men suddenly stood among them.“Men of Galilee,” they said, “why are you standing here staring into heaven? Jesus has been taken from you into heaven, but someday he will return from heaven in the same way you saw him go!” In between time, laminal space, living in the muddling middle. Until Jesus returns. We live in a weird time, this space between one thing and another. Our day is defined by:
Thursday morning, I formed a personal definition of the era we live in: “everything matters and nothing matters and what if it did?” Laminal space is as old as Scripture itself. The Israelites were in laminal space in Psalm 137. This is a community lament: 1-3 Alongside Babylon’s rivers we sat on the banks; we cried and cried, remembering the good old days in Zion. Alongside the quaking aspens we stacked our unplayed harps; That’s where our captors demanded songs, sarcastic and mocking: “Sing us a happy Zion song!”
in this wasteland? If I ever forget you, Jerusalem, let my fingers wither and fall off like leaves. Let my tongue swell and turn black if I fail to remember you, If I fail, O dear Jerusalem, to honor you as my greatest. 7-9 God, remember those Edomites, and remember the ruin of Jerusalem, That day they yelled out, “Wreck it, smash it to bits!” And you, Babylonians–ravagers! A reward to whoever gets back at you for all you’ve done to us; Yes, a reward to the one who grabs your babies and smashes their heads on the rocks! (The Message) In their laminal space, do you hear the rage? Thirst for vengeance? The Israelites are in captivity, exiled to despised Babylon. Their existence is cruel, hard. They are slaves. Alongside the rivers, a usual place of respite in the Middle East, they sit and cry hot, morbid tears. Musical instruments are silent. Why would they want to play them, anyway? But their sarcastic captors demand music and singing. A bitter taste rests on their tongues. A terrible acid roils in their gut: God, do to them as they did to us. Smash their cities. Wreck them. Tear them down to the ground. Kill their inhabitants, including infants, so future civilizations will recall them no more. Kill them all! The young, the old, everyone in between! Scripture does not spare us the revolting details. Under God’s guidance, this text was included in the biblical canon. It’s included in lectionary readings for the church year. Many church hymnals include a song based on this text: “By the waters, the waters of Babylon, we sat down and wept . . .” (HWB 148, By the Waters). Human nature can be ugly. But we must remember, this text is descriptive, not prescriptive. This is not God’s voice. This is an Israeli writer caught up in hot, malignant emotions. This text describes how not to be when things are uncertain, when life is volatile, the future fogged in by threatening and erratic weather, which is our context. God is doing a new thing that calls for trusting dependancy on Jesus. But it’s hard to walk by braille and not sight. In this laminal space, we are called to believe that the footprints of Jesus are leading somewhere, that Jesus is doing a new thing. In the meantime, we are called to follow this Jesus that John frequently refers to as “light”: There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light (John 1:6-8). Singer/songwriter Carrie Newcomer, uses this phrase: “Lean in toward the Light.” In her song by that name, she defines hope by repeating that phrase. The lyrics are in your Compass. As you listen, notice that “Light” is capitalized: Winter is the oldest season Seeds are stretching out and reaching Faithful as the morning glow Carry nothing but what you must Lean in toward the Light Let it go, shake off the dust Lean in toward the Light Today is now, tomorrow beckons Lean in toward the Light Keep practicing resurrection
There's no hope why try anyway? But every kindness large or slight Shifts the balance toward the light Waters wind and open wide Lean in toward the Light Don't just walk when you can fly Lean in toward the Light When justice seems in short supply Lean in toward the Light Let beauty be your truest guide
There's no hope why try anyway? But every kindness large or slight Shifts the balance toward the light The prayer I pray at eventide Lean in toward the Light All left undone be put aside Lean in toward the Light When forgiveness is hard to find Lean in toward the Light Help me at least to be kind Lean in toward the Light Lean Toward the Light: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxAUmNjWaIs Isaiah 42:16, NRSV I will lead the blind by a road they do not know, by paths they have not known I will guide them. I will turn the darkness before them into light, the rough places into level ground. These are the things I will do, and I will not forsake them. In this middle ground, in the meantime, in this laminal space, don’t be afraid to be missional, to try something new, to chart an original path as you follow Jesus. Don’t be afraid: turn your face toward the Light. Yüklə 25,91 Kb. Dostları ilə paylaş:
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