A Sermon by Pastor Tom Lacey . . .

GET REAL

Judges 6:11-24, Preached at Congregational Church of Boca Raton, January 27, 2008

The Sunday School teacher was struggling to open a combination lock on the supply cabinet. She had been told the combination, but couldn't quite remember it. Finally she went to the pastor's study and asked for help. The pastor came into the room and began to turn the dial. After the first two numbers he paused and stared blankly for a moment. Finally he looked serenely heavenward and his lips moved silently. Then he looked back at the lock, and quickly turned to the final number, and opened the lock. The teacher was amazed. "I'm in awe of your faith, pastor," she said. "It's nothing, nothing," he answered. "The number is on a piece of tape on the ceiling." You’ve got to have faith, and you’ve also got to get things done.

Our text is about faith, the faith to venture forward. This is different than the faith that only wants to repeat the past. We get strength from the faith examples of the past but we must choose to walk forward into today’s faith challenges. This is how it is and how it always has been. Nothing was any clearer to anyone else who did things that God wanted them to do than it is for us. We have as much information to make our choices and decisions for or against as anyone else did. You might have heard that it’s not bravery unless you’re scared; and it’s not faith unless you have doubts. Nothing is known for sure, but with faith we make our way the best we can. So go with God. Go after the good. Get real by not giving into fears or doubts, but overcome them with courage and trust.

God can help those who help themselves, which reminds me of the story about a woman who was concerned about fitness. She was in her mid-40s and decided to enroll in an aerobics class. To her dismay when she walked into the room, it was filled with much younger, toner women. The instructor gave her an appraising look. "I'm here to do my postnatal exercises," she told the instructor. "How old is your baby?" she asked. "Nineteen," she replied. To do what needs to get done, it takes courage, faith, and a little bit of creativity. The fact is everybody has the potential to be a hero and a role model. Any regular Joe can do it. All the great people in history started out as Joe Blows: Gandhi, MLK, Harriet Tubman, Rosa Parks, Mother Theresa. All were “normal” people when they faced the question of their faith and life; there was no limelight or arrow or yellow brick road pointing the way. They made their way, cutting a path through the red sea of everyday life because of their faith, God leading them. As scripture says, “Those who are with him are called and chosen and faithful.” Rev. 17:14

What we want to see this morning is that real faith isn’t agreeing that God did wonderful things back then, but that God is trying to do wonderful things right now.

Our faith puts us in the path to get them done. A woman wanted to feed some homeless in her neighborhood. The city would not give her a permit. The city said she could not feed people out in front of her house. So, she set up benches in the backyard and fed 15 people each day. When city code enforcement called, she said that she was not breaking the law. “These people are not homeless people or clients; they are my family. I always feed my family in the backyard.” And the city left her alone. She knew how to get the things done that God wanted to get done.

In our text we see Gideon being put on notice, and it’s all done so casually. The angel of the Lord pops in, takes a load off, sits under a tree and starts a little convo with our man Gideon. Again, there are no flashing lights, arrows, or yellow brick road, but simply this, “God is with you, you mighty warrior.” And Gideon’s answer is a classic as well: “But sir, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us?” Gideon doubts as to how can that be. “Look at the condition we are in. If God were with us, if this were a good time, then everything would look and be a lot better than they are, if God were with us, if this were the right time.” Then Gideon lets it fly: “Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?” It’s easy to have faith in the past tense, just like it’s easy to have 20/20 hindsight or to be an armchair quarterback. It’s easy to say that those who came before were different than us, had it easier, things were clearer. It’s no problem to see God alive and active after the fact and to make heroes out of those who have lived their faith before. But it’s not as easy to see the hero in us, nor is it as easy to accept the commitment required for this day from us. And then the Lord lays it on the table. Listen to the scripture again: “Then the Lord turned to him”—as if he had been paying but slight attention to Gideon’s complaints, and as if this is now the point of him coming to Gideon—“Go in this might of yours and deliver Israel from the hand of Midian; I hereby commission you.” Bam! Did you hear that? Gideon doubted whether the Lord is still with “us.” The Lord answers back, “I am with YOU.” We look around to see if everyone else is going to step up, but God wants to know if you are going to step up. Are you going to use your might for God and good? At this point, with the focus solely on Gideon, of course he raises the very customary doubts based on not just that the time is bad but that he isn’t right person for the job. In other words, it can’t happen here. What’s funny is that I guess Gideon is really saying, “Look, if you’ve got your hopes set on me being able to do this, then Lord that is a pretty bad plan.” It’s a little bit like Groucho Marx saying he didn’t want to belong to a club that would have him as a member.  But the Lord places his hand upon Gideon’s shoulder and says to him, “But I will be with you, and you shall accomplish this work.”

Faith in the past is easy, but taking the step today is difficult. Many times it simply has to do with not being able to see that today is a different day. What God would have us be about is not the same old, same old, but a new thing. In other words, a page has been turned and a new era has been opened. In the late 1800’s, no business matched the financial and political dominance of the railroad. Trains dominated the transportation industry of the United States, moving both people and goods throughout the country. Then a new discovery came along, the car, and incredibly the leaders of the railroad industry did not take advantage of their unique position to participate in this transportation development. The automotive revolution was happening all around them, and they did not use their industry dominance to take hold of the opportunity. They thought they were in the train business but they were in fact in the transportation business.

The same thing happened in the watch and clock industry. The Swiss had dominated time keeping. They controlled 90% of all revenues made in their industry. They made the most precise gears and springs in the world. Their watches and clocks were perfect. Then something new happened called the Quartz movement—LCD readout. Guess who invented it? A Swiss man. But because it had no gears or knobs or springs it was rejected. They failed to recognize that they were in the business of helping people tell time, not making precision gears. They lost their dominance in the industry and they now control 20% of all revenue.

There are times when we have to change in order to stay the same, to stay the same faithful person and church. People asked Jesus again and again in different ways when the special day was coming, and Jesus would respond in different ways: You know how to know when a storm is coming or when it is time to reap, but you don’t know the time or the season when God is coming. He would tell them that only God the Father knew when the next chapter was beginning. This is because it is not for us to know other than by faith that today is different than yesterday and that today God asks us to do something different in order to remain faithful. For us Jesus is the supreme revelation of the Holy: born in a stable, lived as a carpenter's son, crucified, dead and buried as a criminal. The fact is he was born and died not on days that were holy, but on days that were made holy by the way he lived and died on them. Jesus didn’t live in the Holy Land. The land was made Holy by the way he spent his day-to-day life there. So make what is your life—your regular, plain, and at times painful—life, holy. Make your days special. Discover what time it is for you and accept the Lord’s commission. You have strength and a might for good that is your calling. Rise to the challenge because the Lord is with you. As that fun little prayer says: “O God, grant that the heat in my heart might melt the lead in my feet.”

A young man was hitchhiking through the South when a farmer driving an old pickup stopped to give him a lift. They drove a bit when the farmer took out a little jug of his moonshine and said he’s gotta have some. “Oh, no thanks,” said the young man. “I really don’t care for any.” “No, I insist,” pressed the farmer. “Take a drink!” “No, thanks—really,” said the young man. The farmer wasn’t going to take no for an answer. He stopped the truck and grabbed his shotgun from the rack. He pointed the gun at the man and roared, “I said, take a drink!” “Okay! Okay! I’ve changed my mind!” The young man took a few swallows before he realized how powerful the stuff was. His throat muscles tightened, his eyes watered, and he began to cough and choke. “Good, ain’t it?” said the farmer. “Yeah,” gasped the man.

Then the farmer handed the shotgun to the young man and grinned. “Here! Now you hold the gun and make me take a drink!” If only God would be so clear about things.

Nobody can do everything, but we don’t have to. You’re just supposed to take care of your tasks with today’s faith. Of course some works are bigger than others and perhaps some people have faith that is bigger than others. And while it is true that nobody can help everybody, it is also true that everybody can help somebody.

“Fritz is 'Mr. Hunger Appeal' in our synod,” says Lutheran Bishop Ralph Kempski. “He has gone at his own expense to Third World countries to learn about hunger. He's a regular presence at synod assemblies and a member of the synod council, always handing out information. If anyone is called by God to lift up this concern, it's Fritz. He is a kindhearted gentleman who shows what God can do with an ordinary human being. Under Fritz Seipelt's leadership the synod has given more than $3 million to world hunger and at one time was averaging about $250,000 a year.” Fritz says, “The first 25 years of my life were rotten, but the Lord has made up for it during the last 25.” Bishop Kempski concludes, “Fritz isn't a sophisticated guy. He simply cares and gets things done.” David L. Miller

So be someone who cares. Find your might. Follow your strength. Get real and get with God’s program. Yesterday’s heroes are for yesterday’s challenges. Today’s challenges are for today’s heroes. Let’s get God’s things done.

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