John 20: 24, 25, 26; Acts 5: 27,28

Shaky church

Dear friends,

I believe that we need an acceptance of God’s grace to compensate for inherent shakiness as believers. I once read that the famous British philosopher who was an atheist was asked how he would defend himself if he were to face God.  He claimed he would say:”You didn’t give us enough evidence!”  Russell wanted evidence before having faith.  Thomas, our doubting disciple, wants evidence that Jesus is alive by seeing and touching the wounds of the cross. Otherwise the whole thing is shaky.  In fact what his shaky is his faith. Rather we could say that he doesn’t understand what faith really is.  It is the conviction of something for which no evidence is readily available?  The great mystic monk Thomas Merton once said:” Faith is a decision, a judgment that is fully and deliberately taken in the light of a truth that cannot be proven-it is not merely the acceptance of a decision that has been made by somebody else.” (The Opiniator-The Store- Richard Irwin/ New York Times-“God is a question, not an answer,” March 26, 2016).   Friends, sometimes we are too shaky to make that judgment without the proof we want.  Perhaps we shouldn’t be so hard on Thomas.  After the crucifixion and even after Jesus is no longer physically present with the disciples He nurtured, the church (which really wasn’t considered a church but a movement) was on very shaky ground.  It was in the hands of a few uneducated fishermen and low skill laborers. How could it go anywhere?  How did it then become the most widely spread institution in world history?

In Acts we are further along.  Pentecost has happened. The disciples have encountered the Holy Spirit, but they are in trouble with the authorities.  It is less an issue of shaky faith and more an issue of shaky power.  This group has no power and influence. They are not well connected.  They have to defy authority to preach the Good News of Jesus. Like so many groups they could be banned.  The church is still very much shaky.  As it then spreads in the coming years through the Roman world that shakiness remains.

Friends, in the past few weeks I have been working on building an enclosure in the back yard.  It takes calculating and visits to home Depot for three way post connectors and posts and planks and asking lots of questions. It is taking shape now, but it’s still shaky.  What I have learned is that once you start varying the lengths of the posts to compensate for uneven terrain, there are a whole range of other problems that can ensue and for which you then have to compensate again. Anyway math was never my strong suit.

Friends, when we see the great Cathedrals of the Western world that have stood for as much as eight hundred years, we ask ourselves how could anything be more solid and lasting?  Yet the church is shaky.  It is shaky in countries where the powers are allied to other religions. It is shaky in the Middle East, under siege from terrorism. It is shaky in the developing world in the midst of corruption and poverty.  It is the shaky in the West as it is undermined by consumerism and rigid fundamentalism.  In fact the church as the institution Jesus would have approved of is always shaky.

The key is God’s grace.  Look at this church. It’s a good building, designed quite well and it has stood for seventy five years.  When a building, especially a wooden building, gets that old, things go wrong.  And just the otherwise the heater in my office went out. That is understandable. It is an unknown brand and it has functioned for fifteen years.  If it isn’t one thing it’s another.  If that is true of the church as a building, it is true of the church as a community of people.  You have heard me say it before. Sometimes there is friction or a lack of energy and things look shaky for the future. Then sometimes a spirit comes out of nowhere connecting with God’s Holy Spirit.  Whenever I think I preach well, it has often fallen flat. Whenever I thought I swung and missed, it has often struck a chord.  It is the presence of God’s grace that is the necessary element and the humility that this is not our handiwork. We can only be open and ready to work.

Friends, there is a shakiness about Thomas and a shakiness about the apostle Peter. There is a shakiness to the disciples and to the early church. There has been a shakiness to the church ever since and there is a shakiness even today.  There is also God’s grace that can make people defy corrupt authorities and drive them to acts of incredible courage.  Friends, there is a shakiness to all of us, in our bones, in our muscles, in our nerves, in our emotions, our will and in our reasoning.  Shakiness all around.  Shakiness as a given.  It’s good for the supplements industry I suppose, all of us peppering ourselves with vitamins.  But there can be strength in shakiness, for once we realize there is so much we can do to shore ourselves up, there is God’s grace saying:”there is something I want you to do, something I want you to try, something I want you to strive for and when you do you will feel yourself straighten and gain strength!”  Thanks be to God. Amen.