January 3, 2009                                                      Psalm 147

                                                                              John 1:10-18

“Behind the Scenes”

          I see in the paper that a couple of groups supporting atheism are suing the federal government for using the words, “So help me God” during the inauguration of our President and Vice-President elect.  This obviously is a high profile situation and the groups are using it to make their cause known.  The cause, of course, is the belief, which is a strange way to put it, that God does not exist.

          Now why would they say such a thing?  Many would argue that there is no way to prove that God is real.  They say that God is the product of our grand imagination as mortals.  We make up religion, they say, to comfort ourselves and to explain away the unexplainable. 

          This reminds me of the time when I was asked by Gov. Snelling’s office in Vermont if I would participate in a ceremony to dedicate a new stretch of Interstate highway 93.  Without giving it much thought, I said, “yes.”  Little did I know that four other area clergy had already been invited to do it and had declined!

          I remember my next area clergy meeting.  I came through the side door of the Methodist church which was hosting the meeting and decided to go directly into the kitchen first to grab a cup of coffee.  As I was drawing freshly-brewed coffee from the large pot, I overhead the discussion taking place in the meeting room?

          “You declined, too?  They must have called me just before they called you, on Tuesday right, and I told them that praying over a strip of blacktop was nothing I really cared to do.”

          Another voice spoke up:  “Wait a minute!  I got a call on Monday about being the “bookends” for the ceremony.  I told them I couldn’t do it because I would be out of town.  I’m kinda glad that was the case because I really don’t know what I would have said in an invocation and a benediction for a stretch of road!”

          At that point I had to make a choice:  either I would slither out the back door or I would walk boldly and bravely into the room and come clean.

          “Good morning, everybody.  Guess what I am going to be doing with the governor next week?”

          After the event was over, I took a moment or two to ponder my decision.  After all, Congress has a chaplain who opens each session with a prayer. Judges are sworn in, “So help me God.”  Prayers are offered at many municipal functions.  So, what I agreed to do was not really all that odd, was it?

          But by the same token, there are plenty of people out there who simply do not believe in God and if they have not been raised in a faith community, you can certainly understand why.  Because believing in God involves a huge leap of faith.  God is not inclined to make appearances, or so many think.  God stays behind the scenes and leaves a lot of people guessing:  does God really exist or not?

          I remember a particular assignment my first semester in seminary in the introductory theology course.  During the first year of seminary, the professors like to challenge the students, especially all those Sunday School assumptions that have brought them to seminary in the first place.  Later, I realized that the first year of seminary was designed to tear down the student’s belief system and that years two and three were about building it back up.  It’s something akin to an art teacher having to help students unlearn all their bad habits; to start over correctly.  It is like teaching a piano student how to read music, when the student taught himself to play by ear.

          At any rate, my class was working on “Proofs of the Existence of God.”  We were asked to bring arguments to class next time and try to convince Dr. Ziegler, Leslie Ziegler, that God exists.  For this assignment, I decided to commiserate with a classmate, Tom, whom I thought was brilliant.  Surely between the two of us, we could offer Dr. Ziegler a convincing argument.  Did we take into account that she had been teaching this class for 20 years?  Of course not! 

          We did our homework and next day at class, as a team, we presented our case.  “Dr.  Ziegler, our proof of the existence of God is that something, some force, some power had to begin creation and that force is God, God the Creator.”  There we had done it!         

          But Dr. Ziegler didn’t miss a beat and within seconds, our brilliant proposition had been dismissed.  “So, there must be a God, you say, because there has to be a start to creation.  Correct?  Why?  Who says there has to have been a start?  Have you not considered an infinite regression?”

          Our jaws dropped.  “Actually, no Dr. Ziegler.  I guess we need this class after all!”

          When you stop to think about it, it’s all quite simple:  if you believe in God, then not being able to see God directly is not a problem.  After all, isn’t that what belief is all about?  If you do not believe in God, there is no proof of God’s existence that will convince you that God exists.

          Faith is a matter of the heart and not the mind.  Proofs just don’t do it.  A believer will sit on a mountaintop, watch a sunrise and be moved by God’s presence.  A non-believer will sit on a mountain top, watch and sunrise, and feel really God.

          For the believer, God is always there behind the scenes keeping an eye on all of us and entering our lives on an “as needed” basis.  For the atheist, God simply is not there; we are on our own.  This is a matter of faith, period. 

          The prologue to the Gospel of John goes right to the core of our Christian faith.  In Jesus Christ, come has come to us.  God is not fully revealed in Christ, but through Jesus we catch a glimpse.  Other than that God is all around us and in us, but there’s no way to prove it.  John says, “No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained him.”

          Another version puts it this way:  “No one has ever seen God; it is God the only Son, ever at the Father’s side, who has revealed him.”

          We are here this morning because we believe this.  We cannot prove anything; but we live in faith that every step of the way, God is with us.  We cannot see God, but we can see clues of God everywhere.  We put on the lens of faith; the non-believer puts on the lens of skepticism. 

          While serving the new church in Green Valley, AZ, I found myself heading back home at the end of a long day.  I had been up early to attend a breakfast meeting, had been at church meetings all morning (we were working on plans for our new building) and had been in a neighboring town in the afternoon, working on a habitat house.  I was especially tired and looking forward to dinner with Diane and our daughter, and relaxing.

          At the last stretch of road just before my final turn, I glanced over at the nursing home where I had visited a parishioner just two days prior.  As I am thinking about this, I find myself turning into the parking lot.  Wait a minute!  I was just here!  Why am I doing this?

          I found myself parking the car.

          This is crazy.  I just saw her two days ago and she was fine!

          Arguing with myself every step of the way, I left the car and walked into the building.  Her room was just down the end of the hall on the right. 

          “Okay.  I guess a quick visit won’t hurt anything!”

          As I walked into the room I discovered a roomful of family members gathered around the loved one’s bed.  Her son spotted me and drew me out to the hall.

          “Oh, thank goodness.  You got my message.  The doctor called a few hours ago and said that mother had taken a sudden turn for the worse.  He doesn’t expect her to live through the night.”

          “I understand,” I said.  “Why don’t we got back into the room and have a word of prayer together.”

          Especially for those who would doubt that God is watching over us, here is almost the end of the story.  I went into the room, introduced myself to the rest of the family and asked them to join me in prayer.  We ended with the Lord’s Prayer and when we opened our eyes, she was gone.

          Tell me God isn’t behind the scenes making good things happen!

          I said, “Almost the end of the story.”  Here’s the rest of it.  When I got home I told Diane about the experience.”

          Diane was clearly moved.  “Thank God, you got the message.”

          She was even more moved when I told her that I had, in fact, never stopped at the office   and had never gotten the message on the answering machine.  But, God had called another way.  God was watching behind the scenes and had great compassion on a family.  I hadn’t gotten the message on the phone, but I had gotten the message.  God called me to be with that family in their time of need and, no, I cannot prove it.  But, do I believe it.  Absolutely!

          May this coming year be one of great faith as we continue our journey of faith wli7ith one another in the name of Jesus Christ.

AMEN    

• More than 840 million people in the world are malnourished — 799 million of them live in the developing world.

• More than 153 million of the world's malnourished people are children under the age of 5.

• Six million children under the age of 5 die every year as a result of hunger.