St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church

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Fears of Our Lives:  Being Lost

Nehemiah 8:1-8

January 21, 2007         (Click the date to see the bulletin)

1. Years ago, when my daughter was temporarily paralyzed, she spent 2 months in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at St. Francis. Because she was awake and alert and bored (not being able to move), she got hooked on the TV soap opera, "Days of Our Lives." Even now, 25 years later, she still watches it. I have no idea who the characters are, or what it’s about, but the title intrigues me. "Days of Our Lives." It certainly touches us where we live, doesn’t it. That title alone reminds us that we live one day at a time, each day with its own characteristics. – joys and sorrows, comforts and fears.

2. It is with the title of that old soap opera in mind I’m beginning a new series of sermons called "Fears of Our Lives." Not "Days of Our Lives," but "Fears of Our Lives." We all have fears, some of which absolutely dominate the days of our lives. They can cripple us; they can keep us from living the full life that God wants for us. So I’ll address some of our fears, one by one, during these weeks of Ordinary Time before Lent begins the 25^th of February. Last Sunday I had planned to begin with the "Fear of Being Embarrassed." But I’m embarrassed to say that we cancelled worship because of the weather. So today I’ll move on to the next fear – being lost.

3. This passage from Nehemiah is part of the story of some people who were definitely lost. Or, rather, the word of God from the Law of Moses had gotten lost, so the people became lost because they had nothing to guide them. At the climax of their lost years, their leaders were captured and taken into exile in Babylon. They returned to find their home totally destroyed – the wall around Jerusalem leveled; their beautiful Temple ruined. The once proud City of David was no more. Not only were they embarrassed at their fate, they were lost. It was not until Ezra read God’s word to them that they could apply it to their own situation. And the 17^th verse completes the picture: "There was very great rejoicing." They had once been lost, and now they were found. Amazing grace it is!

4. They are not the only ones who must confront being lost. We, too, can become lost when our lives are turned upside down by a catastrophic event – a tornado levels our home, death claims someone we love; unemployment decimates our lifestyle. I’m not going to suggest that reading what Ezra read solves all our problems, but it helps! There may be some very dark days, some periods of time when it seems that all is lost, but as long as we stay together and focus on God, it will work out.

5. I have been lost from time to time – or, at least, some may have thought I was lost. But last summer, my daughter bought me this t-shirt. It’s from the Life is Good group. In case you can’t see it (because it’s such a small image), there is a picture of a pair of Birkenstock-like sandals and the words "Not all who wander are lost." She said the moment she saw it she exclaimed "That’s my Mom!" and immediately bought it for me. I accepted it graciously without asking her to explain what she meant. It could have been the sandals – I often wear some like them. Or it may be because I’ve pretty much wandered outside the box all my life - taken a different path from what everyone expected. As I look back, those paths were the ones along which I thought God was leading me. Or, maybe I walked them on my own, and God had to catch up with me and lead me to safety. Sometimes it may have seemed to family and friends that I was lost. But it all turned out okay!

7. We at St. Andrew’s have been a bit lost these last few months, too, haven’t we? Ever since the Little Light House asked if we might be interested in selling them our property, we’ve been a bit fearful of that loss. If we actually do sell, we could REALLY LOST. Now, I think you know that this property cannot be sold without the approval of a majority of the congregation and then the approval of the Presbytery. We’re not even ready to call a meeting of the congregation to consider it, much less take it to the Presbytery. That’s a month or two or three or four away. But, just for the sake of curiosity, what would happen to us if we did sell? What would we do? Where could we go? I firmly believe God is with us, and wants to lead us to safety. And the place God is making ready for us is beginning to emerge in the distance.

8. There are three Presbyterian congregations whose lives are changing. One is St. Giles. It is a Cumberland Presbyterian congregation, only five years old. They are notable more for their mission than their numbers. St. Giles was the patron saint of the disabled – disabilities of every sort, from paralysis to Multiple Sclerosis to Cystic Fibrosis to cancer, and everything in between. The pastor himself is an insulin-dependent diabetic. Some of their members get around in wheel chairs; others are their family members; still others are simply there to lend their support. You might remember them – they’re the ones with the lift-van we borrowed to bring our own Diana to church while her van was in the shop being repaired. St. Giles has been borrowing a chapel for their worship, and recently a few of them have been thinking God might have a new home for them. That’s the first of the three congregations – not many of us even know it exists.

9. The second one is more familiar to us – it’s Southminster, three miles straight west of here. Two years ago, one of their members gave them money to build an activity center. It’s taken these two years to work out most of the details, and they are about to break ground. This new Activity Center will have a gym with an elevated walking track, men’s and women’s locker rooms, a room dedicated to foot care for their Senior Center, a stage for productions of all kinds, a new kitchen and library, fellowship hall and classrooms. And they’re thinking about starting a ministry for special-needs kids. But Southminster has been troubled with some of the same kinds of problems we’ve had the last 10 or 15 years, and they don’t have as many members as they used to, either.

10. So here are three Presbyterian congregations, each going happily down their own road, when these seemingly unrelated situations bring us together. The three pastors have had a couple of conversations about ways we could work together – maybe form a partnership at the Southminster location. It would certainly be big enough for us, and accessible enough for St. Giles! We could all keep our own identity and our own staff, which we said last summer was important to us. Perhaps we could call it "The Presbyterian Center" and make a sign with all three of our congregation’s names on it. Only God knows what we could do! Right now, there are more questions than there are answers. But this afternoon, the pastors and some of the elders of all three congregations will meet with our Focus Team to begin discussions.

11. It may be that you’ve come here today concerned about your own future, or fretting about our future together. We may feel a bit lost right now, individually or collectively, but we need not be afraid! God was with the Israelites and led them through their difficulties. God is with us, too!

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