Sermon - Courageous Conversations

Preached on May 5, 2013, the sixth Sunday of Easter, at First Congregational Church of Tallmadge, Ohio, UCC.

Dedicated to the members of the Confirmation class, who renew their baptism today,

and always to the glory of God.

Introduction

We are in a sermon series on the Core Values of this congregation, as discerned in the past three years with input from all corners of the church. The full text of the five values is printed in the bulletin, but to bring us up to date, we began with the principle that

1. We represent Jesus in the world by following his teachings.

2. The second is that we love one another in the church family.

3. And the third is that we commit to serving God by reaching out to serve others.

Today we add the fourth: “We invite courageous conversations about life and faith in order to learn and grow.”

Scripture  John 9:1-12

As he walked along, he saw a man blind from birth. ²His disciples asked him, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?’ ³Jesus answered, ‘Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God’s works might be revealed in him. ⁴Wemust work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming when no one can work. ⁵As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.’ ⁶When he had said this, he spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva and spread the mud on the man’s eyes,⁷saying to him, ‘Go, wash in the pool of Siloam’ (which means Sent). Then he went and washed and came back able to see. ⁸The neighbours and those who had seen him before as a beggar began to ask, ‘Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?’ ⁹Some were saying, ‘It is he.’ Others were saying, ‘No, but it is someone like him.’ He kept saying, ‘I am the man.’ ¹⁰But they kept asking him, ‘Then how were your eyes opened?’ ¹¹He answered, ‘The man called Jesus made mud, spread it on my eyes, and said to me, “Go to Siloam and wash.” Then I went and washed and received my sight.’ ¹²They said to him, ‘Where is he?’ He said, ‘I do not know.’

Sermon

As they follow Jesus, the disciples and the man who receives his sight are blessed because they engage in courageous conversations.

Jesus gives sight to a man born with blindness in a manner that strikes us as fairly bizarre: spitting on the ground, mud mask on the eyes, washing in another place. It’s a strange story, and our focus is naturally drawn to the blind man and the healing work of Jesus. But let’s take a moment first to look at the conversations beginning with the disciples, who ask Jesus a question. “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”

It seems they have adopted the usual assumption of the time that blindness is a punishment for sin but they’ve been disagreeing about who it was that sinned. Before Jesus answers, stay here with me for a bit, because their conversation is a good model for us on several counts. The first is that they don’t agree. Some think that the man sinned, and some think that his parents sinned, but instead of letting their disagreement become hardened into two opposing camps, they remain open to learning more together. Their relationships, within a caring community that is committed to following Jesus and being of service to others, are more important than their disagreements. Here they are, asking a question as one group who disagrees.

We know that we have disagreements in this church. If our church was defined by being absolutely unified in all of our views and opinions, we would suddenly become a much smaller church. Instead, we practice loving relationships, respect for people who disagree with us, and the humility to understand that we may not know everything and maybe we can learn from each other now and then. That’s not always easy, but what a gift to practice such relationships here in church because we need those kind of relationships with our coworkers and neighbors, in our national discourse, and even in our own families. Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to talk to people about religion, about politics, and about values, without yelling at each other?

It was Paul Tournier who said “I remember changing my mind during a heated argument only once in a long life.”  At this church, we engage in discussion about important things even when we disagree.  In this way, we invite courageous conversations about life and faith in order to learn and grow.

It has been over forty years since this congregation decided to move out of the historic church on the circle and build this church building. That was a hard decision. On the one hand, the sanctuary is a beautiful landmark of our history, and so many memories and emotions are held in its walls, and in the walls of the old Parish House across the street. On the other hand, the Parish House, where all the classrooms and offices and kitchen and restrooms were, was across the Tallmadge Circle from the sanctuary. And even with that arrangement of crossing an every busier street on Sundays, the congregation was outgrowing the space.

The congregation disagreed about what to do, but they did not break the bonds of their relationships. Instead of heated argument, they had courageous conversations about how to move into the future while honoring their heritage. We still have courageous conversations about how to maintain that balance.

The disciples disagreed with each other, but they kept asking the question, and when they asked their question, Jesus answered that neither the man nor his parents had sinned. Jesus told them to challenge their assumption. Jesus told them to be open to changes in the way that they understood the will of God and the lives of their neighbors. And this is also a part of courageous conversations, to be open to changing our minds, altering assumptions, unlearning what we once believed.

I think of that great musical Fiddler on the Roof, and Tevye the father of five daughters. Tevye tells us that the people of Anatevka rely on their traditions to structure their lives and their practice of faith. Their traditions help them to know how to live faithful lives. And he’s right about that. Tradition is a valuable well to drink from. If each generation had to reinvent the wheel, the church would have stalled long ago. But his traditions are challenged when his daughters begin to find love in unexpected ways. When his second daughter announces that she has chosen whom she will marry, and they are not asking his permission, but only his blessing, Tevye has a conversation with himself and with God.

“Hmm. They love each other.

On the other hand, they decided without parents, without the matchmaker!

On the other hand, did Adam and Eve have a matchmaker? They did, and it seems these two have the same matchmaker.

On the other hand, they’re going over my head.  I’ll lock her up in her room. I couldn’t. I should. But look at my daughter’s eyes, she loves him.

Well,” he tells them, “I’ve decided to give you my blessing and my permission.”

Tevye must challenge his assumptions, must unlearn what he once believed, and he discovers that the real heritage of his faith is not every little tradition. The real heritage of faith is the ongoing relationship with God which is a never ending conversation.

The disciples model courageous conversation because they disagree within loving relationships, they keep asking questions, and they keep their minds open, willing to challenge and overturn old assumptions.

And then there is the man who was born blind, who does two things that are very important to good conversation: He speaks honestly about his own experience, and he admits what he doesn’t know.

When people are debating whether he is the same man who used to be a blind beggar, some say it’s him, others say it isn’t, he speaks honestly, saying “I am the man!” And he tells his story: “the man called Jesus spread mud on my eyes and told me to ‘go to Siloam and wash.’ Then I went and washed and received my sight.” All he can do is to tell his own story, his own experience, with honesty. And when they ask him where this man is, he says “I don’t know.”

We are richly blessed when we share our own experience and are honest about what we don’t know.  I’m reminded of the story about a man lost in the woods. He has tried so many paths and directions to no avail until, at last, he stumbles upon another person. “Help is here!” he thinks. The other man says “I’ve got bad news. I’m lost too. But let us share with each other all the paths we’ve tried that haven’t worked, and together we’ll find our way out. What an image for the church!

I know that many of you have spiritual experiences that are difficult to explain, that you think might sound weird to other people, and some of you have convictions that arise from a deep place within you that you can’t offer proof for.  Let this church be a place where we can talk about these things so that we can learn and grow together. These are all parts of a conversation in which everyone can say “here is what I believe,” and “this is what I have experienced.”  And we can learn and disagree and ask questions and admit what we don’t know, because together we are learning from the one who gives new sight.

We celebrate Confirmation today, and I am proud of the courageous young people who will shortly be affirming their baptism, and becoming members of this congregation. They know what they’re getting into. They know what kind of church we are here. And they call on us to remember who we are and what God calls us to be.

They have seen that this church is a place where everyone is welcomed, accepted, and supported. And even as we take on the difficult and contentious issues of our faith and world, and the decisions we must make, and the values we will hold, we will not let those conversations alter our relationships of loving care, but neither will we ignore tough issues just to keep things quiet. We are called to challenge ourselves. We are called to learn and grow throughout our lives. We are called to courageous conversations.

And in our conversation, we will follow together the one who gives us new sight, the one who shows mercy, the one who heals. We will follow the way of Jesus.

Let us pray:

O God of insight and understanding, from whom new sight is given as we are ready to receive, give us the courage to speak honestly and humbly, to ask questions and listen, and to discern your Spirit guiding us to all truth as we follow the way of Jesus. Amen