Faith Transitions

June 2, 2013                                                         Luke 7:1-10

The new pastor was standing in a receiving line after his first worship service. Everyone was telling him what a 'nice' sermon it was, when a strange-looking guy came through the line, grabbed his hand, and said, 'Pastor, that was the worst sermon I ever heard.'

The pastor was a little surprised, but went right on shaking hands. A few minutes later the same guy came through the line again. This time he said, 'That sermon had nothing to do with the text.'

Later, this same fellow showed up a third time: 'Pastor,’ 'If all your sermons are as boring as that one, I'm never coming back here again.'

At that point, a long-time member of the congregation took the pastor aside and said, 'Don't worry about him. He's just a little crazy. He just repeats what he hears everyone else saying.'
As retold by James A. Harnish, First Things First, 14 June 1992, Tampa, Florida.

Prayer:

Well… here we are… as Bob Dylan has sung… “The times…. They are a changing.”

Faith transition are upon us again for many of you, and for some this is a new experience. So… this Faith Transition will be different and will likely produce a variety of emotions. Some of these emotions will tug at your hearts and others will cause you to reassess what you once may have thought or believed. This transition… I hope… will be a different journey, and like the image on the screen of the new growth taking place… will be a journey of new growth taking place here art Cana.

There will be some of you who will wonder why we don’t just get on with it, and yet for others this is a time of sadness and anxious time… an uncertain time. For other this journey will feel at times like being on a roller-coaster… and at other times like you’re walking in a dry & dusty wilderness. Please know that this is normal… and I promise you that no matter what happens… we will walk through it together, and it will be OK.

No matter how you feel about this journey… journey’s are not by nature meant to be quick and fast. And… NO… I will not be able to pull out a magic wand and make everything new… or better… or fixed. But I promise you… at in the end… you will experience GREAT joy as you will be ready & prepared to call your new pastor. And I can tell you… God has already chosen the person he wants at Cana and is preparing that person to come. Until that time… we have work to do… ministry to carry out… preparations to make… so there is no need or reason to worry.

I believe Jesus spoke about several times about not worrying. So… I’m not worried and neither should you be…

After-all you have “me” as your pastor… and I will be here for you and for all those special moments we will experience together.

You will also be empowered to live out your giftedness and passions for serving the Lord. And you will discover new opportunities for ministry.

“Great Opportunities” 

You are going to have great opportunities to…

-       Rediscover Cana Lutheran

-       Opportunities to deepen your faith.

-       And …Opportunities to open yourselves to being shaped and formed by a loving and grace-filled God.

This might sound freighting to some of you, but transitions are nothing new. They’ve been going on since the beginning of time and they will continue as much as we might not like them too. Our Psalm reading today speaks of transition… The Psalmist says, “Sing a new song to the Lord… everyone sing praises to the Lord… day after day the Lord has saved us.”

Think of the transitions of Abraham & Sarah… Being asked to give up their homeland and move to a place they had never heard of. Think about having children in their 90’s. Is there anyone here in their 90’s? How would you like that transition? Not me. Yet God’s promise of something new would come from them. There were obstacles & delays, but in the end God kept his promise.

In our Gospel story Jesus is asked to heal the servant of a Roman Soldier… a person who is occupying their homeland… a person who is hated by the Jewish people… think of it… this Roman comes and asks a Jew to help him. And Jesus does help this guy. There’s no mention of his faith prior to coming to Jesus. The Roman Soldier however, does understand Jesus’ God-given authority and because of this recognizes that Jesus has the ability & the authority to do something pretty amazing… like healing people. Then the transition takes place. Jesus is stopped prior to getting to the officers home and is asked to heal the servant from a distance because the Soldier doesn’t feel worthy that’s when Jesus shocks the people around him when he says, “In all of Israel I’ve never found anyone with this much faith.”  The people are shocked because they thought Jesus was for them only.

In this transition of Jesus… Jesus reaches beyond the Jews and loves someone new. Jesus opens his arms wide to embrace someone whom might not have any kind of faith at all. It’s a transition that was particularly difficult to walk through, but Jesus walked with his friends and they experienced newness and growth.

What Does this Transition Mean for Cana?

It means, “The process by which individuals and congregations deal with change, and discover new options by which they will create the new opportunities to grow in faith, mission, and God’s vision.”

It is only thru transition that we become transformed people of God to claim our place and purpose in God’s neighborhood.

Some of you may be thinking… why all of this is necessary?

As Rev Dr Les Robinson says of interim ministry, “The Interim time is an opportunity for the faith community to look at how the community of faith relates to one another, the surrounding neighborhood, and the wider church. It is a time for the congregation to discover their identity apart from the pastor of the church. It’s an opportunity to develop a vision of the spiritual needs of people, and empower ministry beyond themselves.”

I would add…it’s an opportunity to find clarity in what God is calling you to be about.

And this is my role as Interim Pastor, to help you discover these elements of ministry and to keep you focused on God. To keep you moving forward and focused on what God desires of you.

We can look at this a couple of ways… Pr Ray Kerley shares this story of a pilot.

"Pilot to tower ... pilot to tower ... I am 300 miles from land ... 600 feet over water ... and running out of fuel .... Please instruct!"

"Tower to pilot ... tower to pilot ... repeat after me: 'Our Father, which art in heaven ...'"
--Ray Kerley, ECULAUGH, April 12, 1998.

Or as one of my favorite authors and mentors the late Henri Nouwen says,

“Hope means to keep living amid desperation and to keep humming in the darkness. Hoping is knowing that there is love; it is trust in tomorrow; it is falling asleep and waking again when the sun rises. In the midst of a gale at sea, it is to discover land. In the eyes of another, it is to see that he/ she understands you. As long as there is still hope, there will also be prayer. And God will be holding you in his hands.”
--Henri Nouwen, With Open Hand, 85.

My new friends… I believe we are living in a new hope. The journey of something new begins… Over the next weeks & months you will have opportunities to express what & how this new thing might look. There will be opportunities to reflect on the past and to celebrate all the good that has been accomplished. A time to grieve the sad, and to bury the not so good. And then dream big dreams of what God will do thru us. Jesus says, “If you want to be my followers, you must forget about yourselves, take up your cross and follow me.” We are looking for some faithful followers of Jesus… are you one of them?

Transitions take time… we mustn’t be in a hurry… this is an important time of discovery. God already knows who your next pastor will be, and is preparing that person to be your pastor. You must also prepare to receive this person.

Our goal is to remain faithful to God’s process and to remember....

The LORD said: One of my Favorite passages… Isa. 43:19

                                 I am creating something new.                         

                                There it is! Do you see it?                                                                                               

See You Out on the Road