The Downtown Presbyterian Church

Sermons

Oh, Pioneers!

(Rock the Boat, Baby!)

Hebrews 11:29-12:2; Luke 12:49-53

Rev. Kenneth M. Locke

August 15, 2004

One of the movies I remember as a boy was “How the West Was Won.” It was a great show full of pioneers in covered wagons crossing dangerous rivers and huge mountain ranges. Now I know it was a sanitized account of the western expansion but it certainly celebrated the pioneering spirit: the men and women who refused to settle, who refused to compromise. They were moving on to something better and nothing was going to stop them.

That spirit is alive today in pioneering doctors and scientists and business-people who refuse to settle for the status quo but push on to something better. The weekend athletes running a marathon who hit the wall at mile 18; they could stop at 18 and still feel proud but instead they press on. They don’t settle, they go for the whole 26.2.

In my mind Charley Stroble is a pioneer because he is constantly looking for ways to diminish the blight of homelessness.

Churches and even individual Christians can be pioneers - or they can chose to settle down and settle for the status quo. Settled churches are found sitting in their fellowship hall saying, “Remember when our programs were so grand, our sanctuary was so full, our minister was so good, we loved each other so much?” Or they look at what they are doing now and say, “Can you believe it? Everything is going so well. Don’t rock the boat, don’t turn the boat over. Let’s just enjoy how much has God blessed us.”

But other churches say, “Hmmm, I wonder if, how about, maybe if we tried it this way.” These are the pioneer churches who know Jesus was a pioneer who never settled for “good enough” and neither should they.

And that’s kind of scary. Pioneering is not about luxury or taking it easy. Pioneering is about letting go of anything holding us back, bringing only the essentials. Not settling for cultural norms.

A friend told a story about a man who, right after the 9/11 attacks, was asked if he had gone to church. His reply was, “No. My religion requires me to forgive and I’m not ready for that.” And he was absolutely right. After 2^nd Presbyterian burned down here in Nashville the initial thought was arson and a columnist for the paper wrote, “There is a special place in hell for people who burn churches.” I’m sure the writer found a lot of people who agreed but Christianity will not settle for that kind of anger. Our pioneering spirit requires us to let go of that emotional baggage and push on to love and forgiveness in Jesus Christ.

But sometimes what we have to let go of are relationships. In the early church choosing Jesus could actually mean cutting off father from son and mother from daughter. Most of us, thanks be to God, don’t have that problem now. But think about last week. Didn’t you hear a joke and you had to decide whether to laugh or not? Didn’t you encounter an attitude you had to accept or not? Didn’t you observe a behavior you had to approve or not?

Understand I’m not glorifying sorrow and pain. Unfortunately, some people just enjoy feeling persecuted and Christianity becomes their vehicle for it. The judge in Alabama who went through all that hoopla over the 10 Commandments in the courthouse comes to mind. Lots of ways to handle that, but he chose the way that was going to get him the most exposure and the most outrage.

Sorry fella. That’s not practicing the faith. That’s using the faith as an excuse to make a statement and receive a public whipping. There’s a difference between martyrdom and masochism.

Following the examples of the great cloud of witnesses - refusing to settle for cultural norms and the status quo, pressing on to follow the great pioneer of our faith – who wants it? What kind of church, what kind of Christian, wants to live that kind of life: letting go of the luxury of tried and true and easy ways, embracing the scariness of new things? Why not pull in our horns and rest on our laurels? Keep the boat steady. We’ve earned it. Why not ignore the poor and powerless who urinate in our dumpster and sleep on our steps? Why not let the businessmen and women get their religion on Sunday instead of offering them anything during the week? Why not let the arts community do their work outside our walls, where it’s safe? Why not?

Because Christianity is not about safety. Pioneering never is. And the Beginning and End of our faith did not settle but kept pioneering on. Painful as it was, ultimately leading to a cross, that is the path he cleared for us to follow.

And our reward for pioneering on is we don’t have to settle for the status quo. Things can change. Things can get better. We can arrive at a real promised land.

The men and women who followed the voice of God out of slavery in Egypt; the men and women who put their faith in a crucified criminal; the men and women who left the comfortable churches of the East and moved westward; the men and women who established this church almost 50 years ago; the men and women who are pushing our programs and our outreach today: they know faith in this world is not a destination. Our faith is not perfected until after we cross over into the Promised Land.

Faith in this world is an arduous journey. Faith in this world requires a pioneering spirit. Faith in this world is not a safe place. The boat is constantly rocking, the sword is constantly cutting. But we know the pioneer of our faith has gone before, scouting out the land, and is leading us on our way.

Oh pioneers, don’t be afraid. Rock the boat. Follow the trail Jesus has blazed until we too arrive at our God-given home. Amen.

(Sing – Guide me oh thou great Jehovah!)