Caution, Do Not Cross
Psalm 111
For a lot of people, fear is the very first emotion that emerges when talk of God is mentioned. Fear bubbles up in many of us, when conversations about church or ministers or priests arise. For a lot of people, fear is the very first response to all things religious. And of course, much of this comes from our experiences of church as children. I have heard stories from many of you about how much you were afraid of God growing up or the fear that welled up in you when you entered your sanctuary or chapel as a child. Indeed our scriptures are full of things like, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and they who live by it grow in understanding...” and "Come, my children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord." (Psalms 34:11) Further, “The Lord delights in those who fear Him, who put their hope in His unfailing love.” (Psalms 147:11)
But as much as we find evidence of God in our scriptures, it seems as if fear, when it comes to the Christian faith and throughout history has been used as a weapon. Fear has been used by religious leaders and religious institutions to prevent human beings from seeking freedom from their masters; fear has been used as a way to allow those in power to live unfaithful and damaging lives. Fear has been used to prevent people from seeking exactly the kind of life to which Jesus calls us. And fear has been used by churches as a kind of yellow caution tape wrapped tightly around the building, communicating to the world the loud and fear-filled message, Caution, do not cross!
For a long time, churches have communicated things like, if you are not white, caution do not cross, if you are single or divorced, caution, do not cross. If you are a doubter or a thinker, caution. If you are gay, caution. If you are suffering from mental illness, caution. If you are in recovery, caution. If you are a sassy teenager, caution. If you have messed up and have gotten caught, caution. Much of the Christian Church has spent tons of energy and time, years of trying to make Jesus into something he is not and communicating the message, “Caution, do not cross.”
And this is exactly the message that we have tried to unravel here in this church. We have worked and prayed and praised our God who breaks down all boundaries and God appears to be breaking down boundaries in us as well. It would be easier if we all had the same understanding of who Jesus is and was. It would be easier if we all voted the same way or if we had similar upbringings or if we liked the same kind of music. In fact it would be easier, it is much easier to draw lines in the sand and to make sure to extend a welcome only to people with whom we can identify, which is why a lot of Christianity has gone to great lengths to reduce the Gospel of Jesus Christ to a set of rules that leads to the construction of walls to keep the “wrong” people out and to shout the message, “Caution, do not cross.”
But because of who God is to us, and because of who we know in Jesus our Christ, here in this church, we have tried to say, whether you are rich or poor, Republican or a Democrat or something else entirely, educated or not, young or old, gay or straight, lost or found, whoever you are, wherever you have been, whatever baggage you carry, you are welcome here. And since last December, we have welcomed 30 new members into our church. For a church our size, this is nothing less than remarkable, especially since a lot of so-called church growth experts say that the spirit of openness found in mainline churches has long since died. We have asked God to open us and God has. We have asked God to show us how to be more compassionate and God has. We have asked God to point us in Her will and God has. God has shown us that we are a part of something that is beyond our small little worlds. We have been drawn into something far greater, much bigger than just a wild combination of people.
And from a distance, that is what we are, an odd collection of people who don’t seem to belong together. According to the world, we should be categorized and separated by our age, our gender, our race, our socioeconomic status, our level of education. But despite what you might hear of Christianity in the news or from televangelists or from religious leaders, the Gospel of Jesus Christ has no caution tape blocking the entrance. The Gospel of Jesus Christ invites us on a journey that is far more complex and rich. If we are open, the Gospel of Jesus Christ will pull us into this intricate, delicate and sometimes chaotic mix and then something happens and it has happened here. When fear falls away and we are left vulnerable before God, when fear falls away and we dare to be open to God, something happens…we are changed, but not just changed for the sake of change; we are transformed because we have been pulled into God’s very spirit.
You see there is a reason churches spend a lot of time putting limits around who is welcome or worthy to join God’s vision and it is about fear, but not the fear of God, a different kind of fear. When God sends us people to love, who think differently, or love differently or live entirely different lives than the ones we know so well, we cannot help but to be changed and it can be a bit frightening. Many Christians set limits around who is welcome to follow Jesus fully, not because of fear of God, but fear that God will change us- fear that God will do what God always does, which is to pull us into a new way of being- to transform us because we have been pulled into God’s very spirit.
No matter why you have come or how long we have been here, you have joined an imperfect and baggage carrying, wild combination of people and because of that, none of us can avoid being changed. We can’t help but to be moved and to be transformed. We can’t help but to grow more compassionate hearts, more open ears, more loving eyes. Lillian Daniel writes, “Communities of faith are like that. Don’t join one unless you are willing to be changed. You always run the risk of being called by God into a bigger life.”
And it seems to me that that is exactly where we are, each of us is being called into a bigger life, which means that the very reasons we have grown will also be the very same things that challenge us. And some of you have begun to notice these new experiences of being such a truly diverse and holy church. What do we do now that many of us do not know each other? How do we move forward on the issues of our time, knowing that we don’t agree? How do we faithfully plan for our future knowing that we have vastly different understandings of finances and money? How do we plan for more growth in this church knowing that we feel differently about the possibilities ahead? Of course it is easy to invite everyone, literally everyone to this church and we have. But study after study shows that when a church begins to feel full on Sunday mornings, growth can come to a halt. So God has been faithful to us and we have come alive, but now what? What do we do now that God has brought us all together? How will we continue to break down the yellow caution tape and make room for the bigger life God has in mind for us?
I have heard some of you say that the church is different, that God has come over this place, but what will we do now that God has done His part? How do we move from worshiping together to being the church together? We have decided to leave fear behind us and to be open to God’s transforming Spirit, so now what? Maybe the church should have caution tape across the front steps, but not to prevent people from entering, maybe it would serve as a reminder, “Caution, God is faithful; do not enter here unless you are willing to be changed- unless you are willing to be pulled into a new way of being.” What will we do now that the fear is gone and there is nothing stopping us?