TRUST

In most denomination’s ordination service, the person being ordained into God’s service is taken up front, before assembled congregation, and assume some kind of position of submission. In the United Methodist Church, Cheri had to kneel, surrounded by a group a friends & supporters laying hands on her, while the Bishop completed a many years of hard work process. In the Catholic Church, the priest or nun lays, face down, on the ground, on the floor of the church.

Either way, it is a position of vulnerability and trust. Having one hundred percent trust is what being a servant is all about, at least in a healthy servant relationship. Being submissive to God, trusting implicitly is not a bad thing. It’s just my worst thing about being a follower of Christ. I don’t always have the courage to be that vulnerable. This week’s story in worship was about someone who had that kind of courage though, Mary.

Now, most of you have heard the story of Mary. It’s a favorite in Christmas pageants, plays, masterworks of art, etc, everywhere. The Angel comes to Mary and informs her that she is going to be the mother of Jesus. But you need to understand the context to understand the courage. This was a remarkable decision by a remarkable woman.

Mary was a teenager. She was getting ready to be a wife and eventually mother. She was engaged to an older man Joseph and looking forward to the simple life of a wife of a carpenter, having children, keeping the household running, etc. But, surprise, there is an Angel. Now in those days, as I imagine it would be today too, the appearance of an angel was pretty scary and shocking. A message from God by divine messenger was not usually good news. So, not running in terror was the first of many demonstrations of courage.

Then you get to the message. Mary, you’re going to be the mother of the Messiah, the savior your people have been waiting for now for generations. This without a husband, without having had, well you know, sex, that thing that tends to cause babies. And let me tell you, we have gotten rid of the more serious consequences of being a single mother in the 21st century, but not back then.

Mary was risking losing her fiancé’. Imagine trying to convince your betrothed that you have not been cheating on him while standing there pregnant: Oh, sure the spirit of the Lord God came upon you, please. She risked losing the comfortable life of wife and mother she had longed for. She even risked her life, not only because childbirth is dangerous, but what she could be accused of doing was a stoning offense. Best case scenario, if Joseph bugs out she has no one to provide food and shelter to her and her child.

So, imagine your reaction: “Can I sleep on this one?”, “You sure you’re not talking about my older sister?”, “Can’t I wait on this one until I’m married, have other kids?”, etc. Not Mary, she didn’t say any of that. Her simple response, as memorialized in the Bible and a Beatles song “Let It Be”. Wow, I guarantee you I would have had a few hems and haws before I got to “Let it be”.

The first step on being a follower of Christ, or any other servant, is trusting in God. Let me tell you, I think of myself as a servant of God, but trust is not my strong suit. Trusting in God to care for me and mine is not a strong suit for me. I am a contingency, emergency, planning for trouble thinker (yes, I have emergency kits at home with water). Imagine that, a lawyer who likes to plan ahead and avoid trouble. Well, several years ago, God gave me a chance to trust and I failed miserably.

New Years Eve and Day about 9 years ago, we went on a family trip to Cincinnati to visit good friends of Cheri’s. Becca, who was about 18 months old had a cold, but was doing great. She partied at a family friendly New Year’s Eve party well past Midnight (Becca has seen Midnight every New Year’s since her birth), got up and played with friends, and was a charming child at lunch. We decided to stop at a nearby mall to kill a little time so we could hit Findlay and meet other friends for dinner on the way back. But that’s when the plan derailed.

Becca, in the double door entry to a suburban Cincinnati mall started a seizure in her stroller. As I fought to keep her tongue out of her throat, she flailed and turned purple. EMS was there faster than I could have ever prayed and we were at the hospital faster than I believed possible. Thankfully, with in minutes, I could tell from the ER Staff’s body language, which went from “dear God we’re not losing a small child today” to “we got this”, things were under control. It turns out Becca had a high fever, and had what is known as a febrile seizure . Within a matter of a few more minutes, Becca was starting to rebound and we were told, all was well. We were clear to travel back home and she would be fine.

Now, came the five hour drive home. Let me tell you, I would not want to be someone trying to get in my way on the way home that day. I was going to get that child to our house, nestled 5 minutes drive from two Level One (the best of the best) Trauma Center ER’s with kids units. The whole way home, I was computing in my head which hospital we would divert to if something happened (e.g. we’re by Lima, so we’re headed to St Rita’s, we’re closer to BG, now it’s Wood County Hospital, etc). I could have just trusted in the doctors (including the head of the ER Department who happened to be working on New Year’s Day) and nurses. I could have just trusted that God wanted Becca to be fine . Could that be why all of the help we needed was there immediately? Instead, I exhausted myself trying to figure out how I would save the day, when in reality, not a chance. Like I said, trust in God in something I had to learn and that was a failure.

As a part of trusting God, we also need to align our lives to be ready to serve when we are called. Mary didn’t let anything be in her way. Imagine what our lives would look like if we want to align with God’s desires. We would physically take care of ourselves: Exercising, you bet we would be and eating junk food, not so much; and none of those chemicals (drugs & alcohol) that hurt us. Alignment in relationships would be keeping the good ones that feed and nurture us and getting rid of those relationships that harm us. Aligning our finances so we can take jobs that feed us and make the world a better place, while taking care of our needs and leaving us with money to give back.

Again, this is something we, or at least me can use help with. It’s easy to say we want to be ready to serve, but it’s hard to pull it off. That’s why communities, like the Village, are so important. A true community can support us and give us the accountability to make this happen, plus the tools to make that desire a reality. I’ve seen that first hand in a past community, a Servant Leadership Class at Cheri’s last church.

Servant Leadership is a ten month class created by the Church of the Saviour in Washington, DC as essentially their membership class. As someone who has had the pleasure of taking it, I can tell you it’s basic goal is to remind students that they are a beloved child of God, help them center themselves for ministry, and discover what their passion, future ministry is. I have seen this class transform lives and even a neighborhood in Washington, DC.

Several years ago a group of us at Cheri’s last church took this class, including Patti. Patti was, at the time, trying to decide what to do when she “grew up”. Mind you, Patti had a great job in the past, raised wonderful children and now found herself with an empty nest. She was not sure what to do, and was drifting from interesting, but totally unrelated, and totally unsuited to her, job to job. Finally in the midst of the class, Patti asked the group, “do you think I should go back to teaching”. The answer was a resounding “DUH, Patti you’re a gifted teacher and nurturer, of course you should be teaching somewhere”. To the rest of North America this was an obvious decision. And, given time to study, pray, and be with a group, it was to Patti as well.

Sometimes, it’s hard to figure out God’s call and trust it. Mary was given a clear vision and an amazing call that was obviously from God. It’s not very likely to be that clear and that powerful for the rest of us. But God has a path for us all. You just need to find a place like the Village where you can find it. Here’s hoping that you and I both have a “Let it Be with Me as You Say”, if we get such an opportunity.