First Service

Last night I led my first service.  It was incredible.  I was absolutely terrified going in, but everyone from Harmony Hill was incredibly nice.  I'm working on getting video up (both of the service, and also something from the day I shaved my head--ok, it was a number two and not down to skin, but still).  Anyway, the rough text of my sermon is below.  I'm not posting the text of the prayers I used because they came from other sources and I don't want to get in any copyright trouble (I think it kind of unlikely, but just to be safe).  The scripture I worked from is Matthew 6:25-34, though I focused primarily on 6:33-34:

But strive first for the kingdom of God and all these things will be given to you as well.

For my PC(USA) readers, I apologize for the lack of inclusive language, it's something that just isn't done here and I didn't want to cause a ruckus.

I'm tentatively titling this sermon "Control"

So.  Here I am.  On the wrong side of this lectern.  In a country where I have to think before getting into a car to make sure I don’t get into the wrong side.  Even once in the car, I go through a brief mental struggle—not just because I’m on the wrong side—I struggle some with being in the passenger seat when it’s on the right-hand side too.  I like to be in control, and so I’ll find myself trying to operate the pedals that I know aren’t really there.  It’s just compounded here, where I feel like I SHOULD be in sitting in the driver’s seat, but the controls aren’t there, where I have this vague feeling like I really ought to be driving the car, seeing as I’m sitting in what should be the driver’s seat.  Because it’s obvious that it’s the car’s mistake, not mine.  Even later, when I’ve begun to come to terms with the fact that there is not an invisible steering wheel somewhere in front of me, things still feel strange. Intersections are especially hard on me.  While you, having been kind enough to give me a lift somewhere, are patiently waiting for the light to change, I’m thinking “traffic is clear, let’s go!” and forgetting that one can’t turn right on a red light in this country, and that even if it were legal, we would then be driving into oncoming traffic.  Sometimes I’ll remember, and get the same feeling of urgency on a left turn, but still, we must wait. 

I do acknowledge that these misplaced instincts are just a few of a great many very good reasons why I’m a passenger, and why I don’t drive in this country, but I still sometimes struggle to remember that you know your own local roads and traffic laws better than I do, you’re used to shifting with your right hand (am I alone in thinking it odd that the pedals ARE in the same positions despite seemingly everything else being reversed?)

Anyway, intellectually, I know that, despite being on the side of the car where I still kind of expect that controls to be, they aren’t there, so my attempts to manipulate them are futile, and just make me look silly (though hopefully you are sufficiently focused on the road to not notice them).  Further, I know that I am almost certainly much safer with someone else driving than I would be if I were.  I’d end up turning when I shouldn’t, turning into the wrong lane, or making some other disastrous mistake that hasn’t occurred to me.  Even though I should know better, my subconscious foot movements indicate I still think I am in control, and, to be honest, I wish I were.

But I am not in control, and not only am I not in control, it is better that way.  This is true of so much more than just automobiles.  Just as I need to trust that you will safely get me to wherever it is I am going (and please, don’t think this is a comment on anyone’s driving ability, it’s purely a manifestation of my own neurotic nature, and bears little to no relation to anyone’s actual skill behind the wheel).  The feeling that I should be in control is a false one, and acting on it would actually be dangerous.  Even if I were able to avoid the disasters mentioned earlier, I would almost certainly quickly get lost, and be left to wander around northern Ireland for hours until finally finding my way back home, because let’s be honest, I’ve already missed whatever it is I was meant to be going to.

Just as I need to trust that I cannot control a car from the left hand seat here, that, in fact, I should not, so we all need to trust that God is guiding our lives and will do a better job protecting us than we ever could on our own.  We may feel at times that we are in complete control, that we are on our own, but that is a false feeling.  We are not alone in control, and do not need to be.  God is there to guide us and to provide for us.  To help prevent us from crashing or getting lost.

But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well.

This is not just a command to seek the kingdom but also a promise.  And it applies not just to the future, but today.  Jesus is not only promising to take care of us in the kingdom, but here and now as well.

I chose this passage because of a book David recently lent me.  The book is about Peter Marshall, a Scot who emigrated to the U.S. in 1927 in order to become a Presbyterian Minister.  Peter had no clear direction or plan when he left for the U.S., but he had faith that he was following God’s plan and trusted that would be enough.  A point repeated a number of times throughout the book is the statement that true belief in God requires faith that God is also the God of the market place.  God controls not just the spiritual, but the concrete.  God will provide for you just as He provides for the birds of the air, and the lilies and grass of the field, according to your needs.  At the morning service you sang “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands” and truly He does.  The whole world, not just part of it, not just the church, but also the shop and the market, the industrial park and the city center, and yes, even your wallet.  All these things will be given to you as well. 

There is, of course, a catch.  There’s always a catch.  Even.  First we must seek the kingdom of God and his righteousness.  We must seek to know God’s will and to carry it out.  We should not just be content with a vague promise of a future kingdom to be divinely gifted to us, but we must strive to bring it closer, to help God nudge it along.  This begins simply, with quiet faith that God will carry us over and through our troubles, that God will grant us the strength to overcome today’s troubles so that we may face tomorrow’s with a clear mind.  Seeking the kingdom begins with listening to God, with prayer and contemplation to understand His will. We should not, however, rest in contentment, but strive for the kingdom actively, seeking out ways we can act make this world better, ways we can make this world more like the kingdom to come.  We don’t need to achieve perfection, indeed, we cannot bring the kingdom under on our own but we must always try, and trust that if our actions are in accordance with God’s will we will find success in our endeavors.