Uncharted Territory

Rev. Alison J. Buttrick Patton
DATE: January 22, 2012
SCRIPTURE:
Genesis 12:1-5a, Mark 1:16-20  

Genesis 12:1-5a

1 Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. 2 I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; *and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” 4 So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. 5 Abram took his wife Sarai and his brother’s son Lot, and all the possessions that they had gathered, and the persons whom they had acquired in Haran; and they set forth to go to the land of Canaan.

Mark 1:16-20

16 As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the sea—for they were fishermen. 17 And Jesus said to them, “Follow me and I will make you fish for people.” 18 And immediately they left their nets and followed him. 19 As he went a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John, who were in their boat mending the nets. 20 Immediately he called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men, and followed him.

 

One call can change everything: Friends of mine got a call last week that they were about to become parents. No nine months to get ready – to paint the nursery, knit baby hats and weigh the merits of cotton vs. disposable diapers; the infant would arrive on Tuesday. His 11-month old sister would join them a few weeks later. My friends have just completed all the paperwork to become foster parents. They’ve been yearning for children, but were cautioned by the social worker that they’d probably have to wait for months, and maybe years. So when they got that fateful phone call, they were both ecstatic and a bit overwhelmed. From no children to two little ones in a matter of days… Can you imagine? Still: there was nothing for it but to take the plunge: to welcome those precious children into their arms and strike out into uncharted territory.

It is a daunting prospect, but they are in good company. Our own ancestors in the faith, Abraham and Sarah once got a call like that — a call that changed everything in the blink of an eye. While living in a backwater town called Haran (which means something like “crossroads…”) Abraham was called by God to take his family and set out on a journey toward an undisclosed destination. “Trust me,” God said. “I will show you…”

Eventually, Abraham and Sara would also receive the astonishing news that they were to become parents: of a child, and then of a whole nation…Abraham and Sarah, who were already eligible for senior discounts at the open air market… Can you imagine? But the rabbis say that even before he heard God’s voice, Abraham was on a spiritual quest; he yearned to know and to follow the One God. So when that call came, there was nothing for it but to gather up his family and belongings and strike out into uncharted territory.

Generations later, those fishermen on the shores of Galilee followed the lead of Abraham and Sarah. Drawn by the invitation of a certain itinerant rabbi name Jesus, they dropped their still-wet nets in the sand, abandoned their fish to rot in the sun and followed Jesus without looking back. Some folks credit those first disciples with having super-sized faith, much greater and more impressive than that of the average believer: “To drop everything just like that, to leave behind work and family… Can you imagine?” But The Rev. Barbara Brown Taylor sees it differently. This is not a story about what the disciples did; it’s about what GOD did. It’s not a hero story, she says: it’s a miracle story.¹

And maybe they all are. Maybe these stories are all examples of what happens when God walks into our lives and calls our names. They remind us of God’s capacity to grab our attention and draw us out into the most unfamiliar landscapes. We manage those first steps, not because we are well-prepared or brave or clever or even remotely able to fathom what lies ahead, but because God has stirred a yearning deep within us, because God captures our imaginations, touches our hearts and moves our feet.

It would certainly be easier to stay put. To stay where the routines are predictable and the topography is recognizable; where you can find your way without a map. There is great comfort in knowing a place, in knowing the feel of the ground under your feet, the smell of your favorite meal, or the laugh of a familiar voice… There is comfort in all that. It would certainly have been less disruptive to him and his whole family if Abraham and Sarah had remained among their kin in Haran. But as one writer observed: “Abraham could not have known God so deeply had he stayed home.” ² Faith always requires a journey.

You know this already. The story of Saugatuck Congregational Church begins with a journey. The distance your founders traveled from Green’s Farms to Post Road may not have been significant, measured in miles, but that move, and the decision to plant a new congregation in the heart of Saugatuck set the course for this community of faith. Could any of those founders have imagined where you would find yourselves in 180 years? Witnessing to God’s love and grace in your beloved sanctuary and all over Westport; providing shelter for homeless neighbors; welcoming gay and lesbian Christians; opening your doors to scores of 12 step programs; serving hundreds of people at your famous, festive Community Feasts; tearing down walls by nurturing interfaith friendships…

Our very presence at Temple Israel this morning testifies to the distance you have traveled. It seems particularly fitting, as together we contemplate a new beginning, that we do so here, in the sanctuary of Jewish sisters and brothers with whom we share a more ancient beginning and common ancestors who knew so much about striking out into uncharted territory.

When they started, Abraham and Sarah had little idea where they were headed; neither did the disciples, or the founders of Saugatuck…and neither do we. I suspect that some of you may still be reeling from the call that came on Monday, November 21st, the morning after a fire severely damaged Saugatuck church. That night, in a blink of an eye, it must have felt like everything changed: you went from being a community of faith in a beautiful, historic building to being a community of faith temporarily displaced. You would not have asked for it, but once the flames subsided, there was nothing for it but to take a deep breath and step out into uncharted territory.

And you’ve done that: you’ve continued to gather, to worship and pray, to study and serve and to seek God’s purpose. You’ve been resourceful and clever and brave… and blessed.

Blessed by God who calls us all by name; blessed by God who captures our imaginations and touches our hearts; blessed by God who inspires and challenges and equips us for whatever comes next. Blessed by God who launches us on the journey, but does not expect us to travel alone: On the contrary: “Go to the place that I will show you,” says God. The Holy One goes before us, to guide us. Like a lantern casting pools of light at our feet… Of this you can be sure. And this also: that we do not journey for our own sakes alone.

“I will bless you to be a blessing,” Said God to Abraham and Sarah.
“Come, and I will teach you to fish for people,” said Jesus to the disciples.

God calls us out of our places of comfort to feed a world that is hungry; to heal a world that is broken; to care for the orphans and shelter the refugee, welcome the stranger and free the oppressed and lay hands on a world that is yearning to be blessed. This I believe, with my whole heart. And herein lies the remarkable Good News: that when we do this, when we extend our hands to bless others, our own yearning is addressed, and we come to know God more deeply, because we have not stayed home.

I don’t know what that means for us in Saugatuck, yet; I can only begin to imagine what God has in store for us. Where are we being called? What path will God set before us? What precious gift might God place into our outstretched arms? Can you imagine? Close your eyes. Open your hearts. Take a step. Fear not! The landscape may look new, but God is with us, and sisters and brothers: we are in the middle of a miracle story.

Thanks be to God! Amen.