[2]
Let me tell you about my friend, Bill Vickers. I met Bill ages ago when I was serving St. Philip the Deacon in Plymouth. He and his wife Emilee had both come out of very difficult marriages, and somehow had found each other several years later... They had a spectacular marriage-gentle, loving-Bill a wonderful step dad to Emilee's daughters. He was quiet, unassuming, hard to talk to, in some ways, if you didn't know him; and he was very guarded and careful about who he let close to him...
One day, Bill's nose started to bleed. Not a big deal, you might think, most of us have dealt with nose bleeds over the course of our lives...but Bill's wouldn't stop! He packed it in ice-he kept his head over his heart-and nothing worked! He went to one of our excellent local hospitals to see if they could help, and they couldn't even after admitting him! He was transferred to the University of Minnesota hospital, and there, finally after about a week and a half, they diagnosed the problem: Bill had a very rare type of lymphoma- a cancer of the lymphatic system-linked with other blood cancers, like leukemia.
You want to talk about a raw deal-his life getting back together-a great future with his wife-looking forward to the marriage of his elder step-daughter, and grandkids that would follow... I spent a lot of time with Bill through the diagnosis and what followed, and in some ways, it was among the most frustrating time I have ever spent as a pastor. I couldn't get through to him, he wouldn't talk to me about how he was feeling, whether he was angry or not (he had to be- I WAS! Actually, I think I was angry enough for the both of us!).
When I visited him, I would pray for healing-for comfort-for strength and patience. And before and after I went into his room, I had very severe conversations with God about what was going on for Bill, for Emilee and their family! I still have similar conversations today, I must admit...
We continue our Lenten sermon series today on prayer, and our topic is "Where impossible becomes possible," and if you're at all like me, you start with this in an all too literal fashion.
There is so much out in our world-in our lives-that seems, if not simply is, flat out impossible. And the idea that we can pray things possible sounds first too good to be true, and then, impossibly naïve... I have had countless conversations over the years about prayer on just this issue...
We just finished a Bible study on the Book of James, and had prolonged, wonderful conversations about prayer and healing, and we all pondered the mystery of praying and not getting what we were praying for...the healing of a loved one or friend. Or we pray for peace in our world, and it seems like daily, the world deteriorates! Millions of people have died in the Congo over the last five years-millions-and most of us didn't even know! And yet we pray for peace week after week, day after day... There are all kinds of examples of this, aren't there? I don't think I know anyone who hasn't engaged in this impossible praying-so where's the possible?
I've thought about this for decades-have lived through it in my own family with the death of my father at the ridiculous age of 49-have lived it with many of you over the years... And I have answers that I have learned from the Bible that work for me-that make sense for me, on many levels-that I regularly share with you:
Like God never promised us an easy pain free life-that we are mortal, and because we are, we die-sometimes sooner and sometimes later-and most importantly, because of the gift of Jesus-his life, death and resurrection, we have the eternal love and care of our creator, who walks with us through impossible situations-like the deaths of our loved ones-even the death that we all face!
BUT there is nothing there about making the impossible possible-it's making the intolerable possible to get through... maybe that is the impossible becoming possible, but that's an academic answer at best, isn't it??? It sort of splits hairs and I don't find it particularly satisfying-actually, it's not satisfying to me at all!
It's Job railing at God about the unfairness of everything that has happened to him-the deaths of his children, the loss of his wealth, the horrible skin disease, his wife and friends blaming him for his condition when he knows he has done nothing wrong, and then, when God actually shows up-vindicating Job-he was innocent after all, the explanation for the whole way the world is set up is essentially, "I'm God, and you're not- so deal with it..." And even though Job has everything restored to him two-fold, it's not the same-you can't replace children!
But in my preparation this week-reading our lessons, some commentaries, a wonderful little book by a pastor named Ron Martoia called Static, and not a little bit of prayer I believe God showed me something new about all this (or reminded me of what I should have known). And it's not really that difficult, as I think about it, but really how God can show us where the impossible becomes possible...
First, let's look at our first lesson- in some ways, it sets the stage for everything that follows in the whole Bible. This is a great story: out of the blue, God said to Abram (not yet Abraham) "leave everything you hold dear- your country, your extended family and all your possessions to the land that I will show you... 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. 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 will be blessed!"
And Abram actually does! (Must have been a fascinating conversation with Sarai, don't you think? "Uh, we are moving..." I remember telling Deb that we had a chance to move to MN back in 1985 and her first words, and I quote, were "Over my dead body..."
But the point is that God is revealed directly to Abram-and promises from that moment that it is Abram's family that will be used by God to bring blessing-to bring the presence of God into our world! When the children of Abraham are acting like the blessing they have been called to be, we see God at work in our world! Indeed, we see the way our world is supposed to work, had we not tried to take God's place in the garden and been removed! In fact, dare I say it: The impossible becomes possible!
We don't have nearly the time to do this exhaustively, but throughout the Hebrew Scriptures, we see glimpses of God's rule-and lots and lots about God's faithfulness and love! Is not the whole Exodus the impossible becoming possible-the mightiest king in the world being forced to let his slave labor force free???
Or the glimpse we get of God's abundance when the widow of Zarepheth shares her tiny container of grain with Elijah-and finds that it never runs out!
Or the glimpse we get of God's desire for both healing and the inclusion of all the world in God's Kingdom when the Syrian General Namaan is healed of his leprosy in the waters of the Jordan...
Or the vision of God's rule in Isaiah 61 [3]- a world in which the oppressed hear good news, where the broken hearted are bound up, where the captives are released- words quoted by Jesus in his first sermon in Luke's Gospel, Chapter 4!
And that's not a bad place to pick up our Gospel reading from John. Nicodemus is a Pharisee- the people who do their very best to live out the whole law- the whole Torah- the more than 600 laws in the first five books of the Bible. Now these were exemplary people- people that on some levels I would like to have here at Bethlehem: they took their religion seriously- they tithed, and then gave offerings on top of the ten percent! But they had all kinds of trouble with Jesus, mostly because he insisted on broadening who was in God's Kingdom- the poor, the outcast- those who couldn't keep all the rules- those who weren't insiders...
(And it's a fascinating thing in the history of God's people: God's people are to be a blessing to the world- they serve the world- they are priests, if you will, and bear witness to God's presence! When they are not acting as priests- as blessings,- when they try and keep God's presence to themselves, and claim that blessing simply on the basis of who they are, THAT'S when they get into trouble! That's when the prophets show up and call them to turn from their selfish ways! The Pharisees of Jesus' day were being exclusive, not inclusive)
That's exactly the context for our lesson from John- one very familiar to us- but which always bears a second (or third) look. This is the famous "born again" passage so treasured by our evangelical brothers and sisters- the idea that you must be born again to get to heaven... But as Ron Martoia points out, that isn't what the text says!
It says "no one can SEE the kingdom of God without being born from above..." That is, to see what God is doing in the world- to see, if you will, how God makes the impossible possible, you need to be born from above...
Nicodemus gets way too literal with this (sound familiar?) and asks what it means to be reborn. Jesus talks about being born of water and Spirit- and the Church has always connected this with baptism- but then Jesus continues to say that because it is the Spirit working, there is no control over where the Spirit goes and what the Spirit sees and what it does! (So much for the notion of control!)
The passage concludes with the familiar and wonderful words of John 3:16 [4]- For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that whoever believes in him may not perish, but have eternal life... indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him...
In this passage, God's intent to save all the world- that God's people are to be a blessing to all peoples- is reaffirmed. In the lifting up of Jesus on the cross, God gathers all the world to himself, and in Jesus' resurrection, promises you, me and all the world that there is nothing in life or death that can take us from his love!
Your response-my response is to be God's blessing to the world-to the people around us! We are to live the life of Abram- to be the royal Priesthood to the world that we read of in 1st Peter 2 [5]: 9-10. And because in our baptisms, the Spirit is in you and me, we can see what the Spirit sees- and do what the Spirit wills! You and I can see how God's kingdom works- we get a glimpse of Jesus at work, and the impossible becomes possible!
Now- this does not mean all goes well- like I said when I started- but throughout everything life throws at us- good and bad, we are able- we are truly able to see God at work- it's a different way of looking at the world!
Mother Theresa did amazing work with the sick and dying in Calcutta- there the impossible was possible: people receiving dignity and hope for perhaps the first time in their lives- do you see Jesus?
A massage therapist takes her equipment into a terrible neighborhood in Philadelphia on her day off and massages the feet of the prostitutes and homeless- people on their feet for hours a day... In that gentle, unexpected grace filled touch, do you see Jesus?
A soldier sees a sick little two year old in Iraq- and arranges for her mother and her to come to the States for a heart operation that has saved her life... From soldiers, to doctors, to hosts, and in the bright smile of the child, do you see Jesus?? ?
In every walk of life- in every circumstance, we can see a glimpse of God's healing, loving kingdom...even in the life of my friend Bill Vickers...
Bill fought and fought- he would go into the hospital for his chemo, I would visit and try and make conversation- he would mostly sit quietly and wait for me to shut up, and then we would both sit in silence...
He lived to see his step-daughter's wedding- with the help of a cane, he walked her down the aisle- and then danced with her- it was an impossible thing he did- oh- maybe it wasn't after all...
Two days before he died, Bill looked at me and said, "Chris, you really didn't have to try so hard with me-I was just grateful you were here..."
I cried and cried-truly, Bill had shown me where impossible becomes possible- he had shown me the grace, the love and the peace of our Crucified and Risen Jesus...
So let me conclude with a prayer for you now- and that I ask you to pray every day this coming week, as you pray for the person you were given last week. I want you to pray with me now and then each and everyday through the week-it'll be posted on our website tomorrow- and on the weekly Takeout at the welcome center this morning. Will you bow your heads:
Loving God, in the gift of our Savior, you have made the impossible possible-you have given us a glimpse of your kingdom-your work-your desire for your people. Help me to hold fast to that vision-and help me to be the blessing you have called me to be to all our world-that the people we meet may receive a glimpse of your kingdom through me-and know your wonderful presence. In Jesus Name! Amen