TRUST GOD

Have you ever just had to take a leap of faith? Ever have to just do something? Just because you had no choice, but to move forward? This week in worship at the Village we talked about having to do just that. No better way to show that kind of situation than a good movie.

In Indiana Jones & the Last Crusade, Indy has to take a leap of faith. His father has been pursuing the Holy Grail, the cup from the last supper, for his whole life. Indy gets sucked into the quest to find this cup, which now supposedly has miraculous healing powers. To make sure he will get the Grail, despite a scary set of traps, the “bad guys” shoot Indy’s Dad. So he has to get the Grail to save Dad. The last trap is “The Path of God”, which is a leap of faith. He has to cross, with no bridge, a huge gap. Indy steps out on faith, not something easy for a man who is a man of science and reason, and discovers the way, rather than plummeting to what would be a certain death. Sometimes, you have to just trust in something. Cheri’s mantra, yes you can have a mantra and be Christian, it’s just repeating something, is “Trust God”. She had a version of it on her ordination banner, she says it regularly. But, sometimes that leap looks as scary as Indy’s.

In late 1994, I had one of those kinds of leaps to make. I was in a dead end job in Cleveland. How dead end? Well I was already the longest survivor in my position and had been fired and re-hired once. But, Cleveland was familiar. Despite a life of moving every two years when I was a kid, I had thrown down roots. My friends were there. My favorite places and some of my favorite teams were there. I was comfortable. But I was not going to make it physically and spiritually in this job. So I needed to do something.

I took a leap of faith, expanding my job search statewide. I found a job in Toledo. I had family in Toledo, but no friends, no professional contacts, a firm that was a step up, but did have a reputation for running through people like me. But I knew it was better than where I was. Now, later, I can tell you that all I am now, is due to that leap. Without that leap, I would not be where I am in my career; I would likely never have met the love of my life and married her; I would not likely have returned to a church; I would not have become a father; and I would not have the incredible faith community that is the Village.

Cheri had one of those experiences too and the chance to share it with others. When she was twenty-four, she was put in charge of a camp for foster kids, “juvenile delinquents” and other kids in trouble. She was put in charge of a summer camp on an island, where with a group of 2-3 adults, she would take groups of 12 kids and help them turn around. They would camp out, learn to water ski, and recharge their self-worth and self-esteem. Cheri will tell you that she is not a camper. Our version of camping is a lodge, walking in the woods, hiking, boating, etc but sleeping in a nice bed with a nice shower. This was the polar opposite of the camp, which had none of the above.

Cheri’s favorite part was helping get the kids the confidence to take a leap out of their shells. She remembers one really skinny, frail, African American, young man. He had been home to home and had no confidence in anything. He had never been out on a boat, he had never been up on any form of skis. To ski, he had to trust Cheri to care for him, keep him safe & teach him right. He had to trust in the boat to pul him up. Eventually, he did and the smile on his face as he skied for the first time, was all the proof of the concept Cheri needed. Cheri thought the man who hired her for this job was crazy, putting her in charge of a skiing and camping club. But he knew what Cheri would discover. These kids needed to do things they had never done before. They needed to be loved and taught they were worth something, too. But they needed to take a leap and make something happen by doing something. They had to experience love, acceptance, accomplishment and freedom. Sometimes you just have to let go and take a leap of faith, trusting someone or something.

Cheri, and therefore me as well, has spent a lot of time talking about Palm Sunday’s baptisms at the Village, but it was an incredible event. Sara was part of that group. Sara began living with her Grandma not that long ago. Before then, her life had been very unstable. She had been told she had to come to church with Grandma at one of our first preview services. She came, but with her arms folded, ready to not have a good time. Instead, she found a home, a place of acceptable, a place where God could begin the process of leading her to a new life.

As Cheri prepared her and others for baptism, Sara had more questions than answers about God. She was not sure about God, other than that she was loved by God. She was not sure whether she should get baptized asking questions. But, Cheri assured her baptism was not the end of a journey, but a commitment to start a journey. With that Sara said yes. She decided to take a real leap of faith, not knowing all that it could mean.

Sara has started making decisions in her life. Imagine the path she has ahead. She is only a junior in high school. She will face many hard choices in the coming months and years. Every day she has to make choices we’ve all had to make as teenagers and then some. But she has made that leap and is now taking the steps down the path that follows. It won’t be without wrong steps, it won’t be without tears, but it’s a better path.

Peter and the Disciples took that leap too. They put down their nets (or whatever was holding them back) and followed Jesus. But today’s story in worship involved another leap. For those of you reading along at home, pick up Matthew chapter 14, verses 22 through 33. Jesus sent the disciples out on a boat ahead of him. In the midst of a storm, he joins them, by walking on water. Peter, eager to believe, agrees to leap out of the boat, and he walked on water for a few seconds. Of course, he’s not the Messiah, and he begins sinking.

Every day, we have to make decisions: do I take the $20 bill I found on the ground or not; do I cheat, just a little on my taxes or not; Do I give money to the homeless person who just panhandled me or not; do I stay in this dead end relationship, because it’s comfortable; Do I leave the job that is killing my soul; How do I react to getting fired or laid off; do I stay in the hole of depression I am in; or do I take a leap of faith.

What’s your leap of faith today? Can you see something God is challenging you to do? Something that scares you. You know the next step but not the outcome. Are you ready to take the next step?