“Going on a Safari” may 15, 2011; FPC, Troy
Introduction: The journeys we read about in Exodus and Acts this morning – those were important journeys.
Lots of journeys in the biblical text.
Wise men.
Abraham and Sarah.
Road to Emmaus.
My journeys this summer as part of the Clergy Renewal time pales in comparison to those biblical journeys. Partly because I'm not really trying to get anywhere!
But as we begin the Clergy renewal time when I will be on a journey away from here and you will be invited to journey down the paths of your faith development, let's take few minutes and reflect on journeys.
Move 1: did you notice that God sent the Israelites on a roundabout way.
a. I sort of like that image.
- Not the direct path.
- Not the fastest way.
- Mapquest – gives you options like fastest, avoid highways, scenic. Apparently, God chooses roundabout way so that the Israelites can prepare for their destination.
- Avoid the Philistines.
- Go through the wilderness. An experience that would take a while, but also a journey that would shaped their faith as God's people.
6. The time in the wilderness became part of their faith story – for generations they would say, “Remember when we were traveling through the wilderness and Moses went up on the mountaintop and came back down the Ten Commandments...” or “remember when we were in the wilderness and the people turned against God and God was still faithful...”
7. a reminder that God is at work in our journeys shaping us.
- There is no timetable on the roundabout way.
1. no rush – Taylor tells the story of a woman who was lost on the country roads trying to find Taylor’s house. She was eventually pulled over for speeding. She said to the officer, “I am sorry. I know that I was speeding, but I’ve been lost for the last forty minutes and I cannot find Tower Terrace anywhere on this map.” “Well, I’m sorry about that too, ma’m,” he said, writing up her citation, “but what made you think that hurrying would help you find your way?” (134) Barbara Brown Taylor, Leaving Church
- You are invited to retrace your faith journeys.
- Flags.
- Really cool visual image.
- But I suspect you will find that the real growth in your faith is what took place between those flags. Whether every significant moment of your faith journey took place in Troy, or if you have a different spot on the map for each moment, it is what took place as you moved from flag to flag that speaks to the heart of how God was at work.
- Most of us will find that we did not check the fastest route when drawing the maps of our faith journey.
- But, look for how God was at work in the roundabout ways you traveled. How God has shaped and changed you leading up to this point.
Consider where God might be leading you.
Move 2: Dreaming on the journey
a. We read a powerful, familiar story in Acts about this dream Peter has – a dream that changes him and his understanding of how god will be at work.
- When we read this story, we focus on the dream and the change.
- We seldom notice that Peter was staying in someone's house.
- You know how it is to be in someone else's house – you notice things that you would never notice at home; your senses are accentuated in the strange place.
- Who knows if Peter were at his kitchen table eating lunch if he would have had this dream.
- But on his journey, in strange surroundings, he has s dream that changes his understanding of how God works in the world.
6. And, of course, we notice that the men went on a journey to find Peter, the one who can share with them about what it means to be follow the resurrected Christ.
b. My point – as you retrace your faith journey, allow yourself to dream.
- certainly as I retrace some significant moments along my faith journey and revisit some important people who impacted me, I hope to not only rekindle memories from long ago, but dream about the future God has in store for me and for us when I return.
- Those memories might remind you of that dream from long ago that somehow got lost along the way.
- Or, the time to reflect may open you up to new possibilities for what God is doing in your life.
c. peter's dream changed him – he was still Peter, the one spreading the good news of Christ's resurrection, but he had a new understanding of what that meant.
Move 3: I love the image from Exodus of the pillar of fire that greets the Israelites in the morning, goes before them all day and then is with them in the night.
a. A reminder that God travels with us.
b. By day and by night, God provides the light for them to find their way.
Conclusion: Before portable DVD players and Ipods and playstations that plug into the power outlets in the car, my family used to travel on vacation.
To pass the time we would sing, or read or play word games.
One of our favorite games that also ate up lots of time was “Going on a safari” The first person would begin with 'I';m going on a safari and I'm taking an...” and then fill in the blank with something that began with an “A.” Maybe an “apple”
The next person would then say, “i am going on a safari and I am taking an Apple” repeating what the person before them had said, and then would add a “B” item.
As the game progressed, each person would have to repeat what everyone else was taking and then add something that fit the next letter of the alphabet. By the time you got to “Z” there was quite a collection of things to take on the safari.
You could play it again and again and the items would change, although some seemingly appeared every time.
I am going on a Clergy Renewal, and I am taking with me, (there's not enough time for the whole alphabet) but I am taking with me the knowledge of the love and support of this congregation who has willingly joined with me on this Clergy Renewal adventure; I am taking with me a hope for new dreams and possibilities; I am taking with me the God who is always before us, behind us, the God who surrounds us and travels with us every step of our journeys.
You are going on a Clergy Renewal. What are you going to take?
Amen.
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