FEB. 12, 2006 PASTOR SCOTT FULLER
Isaiah 55:6-11; Philippians 4:4-7; Matthew 19:23-26
Prepare our hearts, Lord, to receive your Word. Silence in us any voice but your own that in hearing we may believe and in believing we may obey your will revealed to us in Jesus Christ. Amen.
Dear friends in Christ: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
If only…
If only I were taller/shorter; older/younger; lighter or, for a very
few athletes and teenage boys, maybe, heavier…
If only…my hair was black/blonde or red; straight/curly or even there…
If only…we could turn back the hands of time or push them on ahead…
If only…I had a better job/bigger house/newer car/more cash in the bank…
We love to dream, to fantasize, to play with the possibilities that life has to offer. Truly, imagination is a wonderful gift. This is a truth that turns out to be tangible in the triumphs and trials of tots, teens, adults and the aged alike.
This week in Pre-School chapel, some of Miss Betty’s five year olds let their imaginations convince them that I was a first rate magician! They had no trouble at all believing that I could pull out a quarter from behind a little girl’s ear – in fact, after I did my hokey little stunt, they were so impressed that three of them just had to give me a hug!
With God, all things are possible, says the Lord to the disciples. And something deep within the core of our being, each and every one of us, young and old alike, says, Oh…, could this be true…for me?...for you?
But then…those of us who are the most worldly and wizened, quickly shake off the gospel pixie dust that had us daring to believe, even if only for a moment, and we say, Yeah, but what about…? Then we cite case after case of dashed dreams, disappointments, disease, disaster, death…
The movie Finding Neverland takes this tug-of-war over a promise that seems too good to be true, and turns it inside and out. It’s the magnified story of James Barrie, the playwright who penned Peter Pan. Barrie befriends a widow’s four sons, encouraging them to use their imagination to do what children must: work out their grief and anger and loss through play. But two people in this dance stand firmly on the sideline as skeptics.
The worldly disbeliever is Barrie’s wife, Mary, who thinks that the playwright’s fascination with imagination is far too childish in nature. The wizened disbeliever is captured in the young child Peter, who, struggling with his father’s recent death, now also must learn to carry the burden of his mother’s impending death. There is no room in his tragic young life for foolish things like faith and hope.
The same is true for those of us who have known pain and disappointment in life. In fact, these two cynics are our shadow champions, our midnight heroes. Taking their lead, we might phrase our question like this, How are we to believe this promise from God that all things are possible, when our own experience of life seems to prove the opposite?
Well, let’s turn to the Gospel lesson for today and see how things unfold there. The disciples have just had their world view shattered, the foundation of their reality shaken, a primary principle of their hold on life trampled into the dust. For Jesus, just moments before, uttered the unthinkable. Said the Lord It’s easier for a camel to fit through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven (Mt. 19:24).
The problem for the disciples is that they, along with just about everyone else, believed that only the wealthy could be assured of a place in heaven – their wealth was proof that God had blessed them. And they thought that the opposite was true as well: those who were poor or sick, penniless or suffering were obviously sinners and getting what they deserved from God.
So, if the best, the finest, the most deserving among us don’t have a snowball’s chance in Hades of making it into Heaven, then what does that say about us? And that is exactly what the disciples ask Jesus, Then who can be saved?
Well, to attain the truth, we must bow to the spiritually wisest among us, kneel before their greatness, and learn from them the answer. Does anyone know the identity of these sages to whom we should turn?
I’ll give you a clue: in from the movie Finding Neverland, a subplot is that the playwright has had a string of box-office disappointments. So with his credibility on the line, Barrie’s indulgence in imagination further incites the adults around him, causing them to caution him to be careful.
But Barrie throws caution to the wind. He writes Peter Pan, then insists that the show’s producer hold 50 seats on opening night for some surprise guests. The man agrees thinking, I’m sure, that Barrie has pulled a publicity stunt and convinced some business bigwigs or royalty to attend the show.
Well, opening night arrives…and to the producer’s horror, those 50 seats go to (gasp) non-paying children from the orphanage sprinkled among the adults throughout the theater! As the play begins, the disapproving adults can hardly mask the frowns on their faces. And yet, before too long, something magical starts to happen. As the story of the Darling boys and Wendy and Peter Pan starts to unfold, those children, those unfortunate, unsophisticated, unworldly wisps watch, listen…and believe.
And soon their spirit acts like yeast in the dough, and even those old fogies start to smile, then laugh, and even clap their hands when Peter defeats a pirate with his sword.
Peter Pan is the story of an imaginary safe-haven for abandoned children, a place where they are welcome, a family to which they belong. The Church is meant to be a safe-haven for all who feel abandoned, a family to which we all belong. And miracle of miracles, it sometimes happens. With God, all things are possible.
Now, does this mean that all we have to do is let go of our skepticism and God will grant our every wish, sprinkle some pixie dust and help us: find a job, be healed, win the lottery, find contentment? Obviously not.
But it does mean that the trick, the clue, the secret to making faith work, is to become like children. For with them, truly, all things are possible. Says the author H. L. Mencken, Love is the triumph of imagination over intelligence.
Here in the Church that triumph of imagination, the gift of love is seen when tearing eyes are dried with hugs of love; broken hearts are mended with a quiet presence of support; burned bridges are rebuilt with caring hands; swords are turned into plowshares; lions lie down with lambs; and you and I feel blessed to say, This is family, this is where I belong. With God, indeed, all things are possible. Amen.