"Wonder of Faith"
A Sermon of
The Rev. Dr. David A. Killian, Rector
All Saints Parish
Brookline, Massachusetts
Third Sunday of Easter
April 30, 2006
Text: Luke 24:36b-48
I
When I was in my 20s, I spent part of the summer at Lake George, New York, where I learned to sail. One summer, three friends and I took a week-long sailing trip up the 30 mile-length of the lake, camping overnight on various islands. One night, when we were about half way up the lake, we decided to sail over to a town called Bolton Landing to pick up some supplies and attend a movie. It was a calm, still night and we had to row most of the way. After the movie, I noticed that the wind was picking up and I said, "Oh, good. Maybe we'll have enough wind and we won't have to row back." Be careful what you wish for. The wind became a gale and we were soon racing across the lake; then lightning crackled across the sky and thunder rumbled over the water. Clouds moved in and covered the moon and stars. It was dark, very dark, and we lost our sense of direction. We saw a huge, shadowy mound but was it our island or a mountain in the distance? The rain came gently at first, but then in sheets. The waves slapped against our boat. We shined a flash-light into the mist and saw an island and tried to get our bearings. We came close to shore and I wondered if we would crash on the rocks. Finally, we looped around the island to a quiet side and were able to steer into a cove and pull our boat up onto land. We never reached our home island that night. We spent the night sleeping on the boat, grateful that we had avoided shipwreck, grateful to be alive. It was scary and exhilarating. It was not an ordeal I would have chosen, yet it was an adventure that I still remember vividly: a mighty encounter with wind and waves and darkness. Then there was peace. The next day, the weather was calm, the sun was out and we were able to find to our island and continue our week of sailing.
II
I remembered this incident from long ago as I was pondering today's Gospel passage that says that the disciples were "startled and terrified and thought they were seeing a ghost." I asked myself, "When was I terrified? What is it like to be scared and nearly overwhelmed by something greater than myself?" Well, outside of the day that I got married, there was this storm on Lake George that might have ended my life, but I survived.
In today's Gospel, the disciples are terrified. Jesus speaks "Shalom, Peace" and calms their fears. Luke says "in their joy they were disbelieving and still wondering." Yes, how could Jesus be alive? How could Jesus be risen? They were nearly overwhelmed with wonder and awe.
The Easter season is meant to be 50 days of wonder and awe. The Easter season is time to experience the wonder of God in creation, in God's faithfulness, and even in the difficult challenges of life.
How can we experience the wonder of God in creation? Helen Keller, who was blind, tells about a conversation she had with a friend who said that she had noticed nothing exceptional during a walk in the woods. "I wondered how it was possible," Helen said, "to walk for an hour though the woods and see nothing of note. I who cannot see find hundreds of things: the delicate symmetry of a leaf, the smooth skin of a silver birch, the rough shaggy bark of a pine. I who am blind can give one hint to those who see: use your eyes as if tomorrow you will have been stricken blind. Hear the music of voices, the song of a bird, the mighty strains of an orchestra as if you would be stricken deaf tomorrow. Touch each object as if tomorrow your tactile sense would fail. Smell the perfume of flower, taste with relish each morsel, as if tomorrow you could never taste or smell again. Make the most of every sense. Glory in all the facets and pleasures and beauty which the world reveals to you." God has created a beautiful world for us to enjoy and delight in -- and to give thanks each day for the beauty around us.
How can we experience wonder in God's faithfulness? No matter how far we may wander away from God, God is still faithful. Our path may not be straight; no matter -- God is there to receive us at the end of our journey. It's like the cartoon strip Family Circus where little Billy, in all his open-faced innocence, arrives at his front door, schoolbooks in hand. His mother gazes down on him with a relieved but sternly questioning look on her face. "Honest, Mom," he says, his round race gleaming with puzzled truthfulness, "I came straight home from school." Sketched out in a dotted line behind Billy, cartoonist Bill Keane indicated the "straight" route Billy had taken -- a rambling circuit of loops and twists, zigzags and meandering, as he tested every swing, picked up every errant ball, petted every dog, and waded through every mud puddle.
And yet Billy was telling the truth -- he had come "straight home" in the sense that the goal was his home, and he had been moving toward it, never abandoning the goal despite all the seeming distractions on his way. And, so we too can keep coming back to God despite the twists and turns in our spiritual journey.
III
How do we find God in the difficult things of life, such as illness, disappointment, and death? The other day someone told me that a mutual friend of ours was battling cancer and she was now receiving hospice care in her home. He said she would appreciate receiving a call from me. I called her and we had a wonderful conversation which she told me lifted her spirit. The amazing thing is that it also lifted my spirit. There was a serenity and peacefulness in her voice, an acceptance of her illness, a gratitude for the hospice people and her family who were taking care of her. She said, "The great thing about hospice is that they tell you to sit back and let us do the work. Before I was trying to do too much and I wasn't regular in taking my medicine. Now I feel that everyone is looking after me. I take my medicine regularly and I feel a whole lot better." I wonder if my friend realizes the gift that she is giving to others -- even during her illness?
I will be stopping by soon for a visit. I know that God was present in my phone conversation with her and that God will be present during our visit. You may have people that you need to call or see. You should contact them. Your meeting with them may be a holy moment. In this Easter season, God is opening us in many ways to find beauty, healing, and forgiveness. May we respond to God's wonder all around us.
Amen.