C.O.C.O. to Go (Holy Trinity 2005)

How many of you can tell me where you were on the morning of September 11, 2001? If you were in school, you probably know what building you were in, what class room you were in and what was happening when the announcement came over the speaker. And if you were working, you probably know if you were at the office, in a conference room, or at your desk, out with a client, or maybe on a sales call. I know almost precisely were I was, I was on Southern Pines boulevard, in Charlotte, North Carolina. I was at work, on the phone with a customer working on a computer support issue. Soon after getting off this call, I called my wife and told her to turn on the TV, as I knew she was at home and would not have the TV on with Charis there. These events brought chaos into our lives. These events caused and still cause chaos to be all around us. And in this congregation where one of the planes went down really close, the chaos is ever present. This event effected me, as I was suppose to be going on a three day spiritual retreat which started on Thursday the 13th. We waited for most of the day after the attacks to see if the retreat would be canceled, as the leaders of the retreat spoke with the leaders of the Western North Carolina Via De Cristo movement. The decision was to move forward with the weekend, because if we were to cancel the weekend, that would be just what those who did the attacks would want us to do. On this weekend where we remove ourselves from the chaos of the world into a perfect peaceful time with God, I was to give a talk on what it means to be a friend and to bring a friend to Christ. This retreat was a wonderful time in God’s perfect created order. And away from the chaos of the world, in the ordered space with God, my life got a little more chaotic. You see it was on this weekend that I finally discovered that this is where I am supposed to be. Be that because the three spiritual leaders on the retreat were all second career pastors, or because away from the chaos of the world I could hear God more clearly. What ever the reason, in the perfect ordered peace of God’s creation, my world got a little more chaotic. So I came home from the retreat, and told Krista I think I, I think we need to go to seminary. She thought ok, in a few years we can go and that would be great, Charis is only 5 months old, and it will be better when she is a few years older. And I said no, we need to go in the fall. So we started planning for this. I began the candidacy process in North Carolina, where I was accepted as a candidate. I applied to the seminary and was accepted. We started to put our house on the market. And then my wife comes to my office, carrying a pink and blue balloon, announcing the coming of our second child. In the midst’s of preparing of preparing to go to seminary, trying to sell our house, do everything that needs to be done for candidacy, our lives got a little bit more chaotic, by the coming of our second child. A joyous occasion, which added to the stress of my and my family’s daily lives.
How do we live in the chaos of this world? Well we can see it is not all chaos. If we look at the snippet we got from Genesis this morning, from the creation story we can see the perfect ordered perfection that God has set into motion. In this creation God speaks it into existence, and then sees it, puts it in place and says that it is good and moves on to the next item that needs to be done. Perfect ordered perfection. God creates it and it is good. And it is in its place. If we read a little further into Genesis, we can see where chaos enters the world. We see where man and woman ate from the tree that God told them not to eat from. Sin enters the world and chaos over takes us. But in this chaotic world filled with sin is the perfect ordered creation of God destroyed? No, it still exists as an under girding for all of us. We were a part of that creation, and it was created for us, so even in the sinful chaos of this world, we still have the perfect ordered creation of God.
So as internship draws to an end, and we go back to seminary for another year of school, and then we wonder where in the world will first call be… We live in the chaos, and it seems to be all that is around us. Maybe the best thing would be to remove your self from the world. To go to that mountain top and live in the perfect ordered creation of God. Completely take yourself out of the chaos. But remember what happened to me earlier when I went to that perfect ordered creation of God, removed from the chaos. My life got more chaotic. We also see in the gospel reading for today, that Jesus tells the disciples to go. They can not be on the mountain top, only in the perfect ordered creation of God. The must go into all the world, making disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them everything that I have commanded you. Yet even in the perfect ordered creation of God with Jesus on this mountain top, there is chaos. In the beginning of the reading, it says the disciples worshiped Jesus, but some doubted. The disciples doubted, chaos was there, and affected them. Even in the chaos we are told to go. We are to go out into the world and be the hands and feet of God. We are to go out and continue the mission of Jesus, the mission of God. But the one thing I think we forget when we look at the great commission is the final sentence. We always remember to go and make disciples, baptizing, and teaching all nations. The last sentence is I am with you always even until the end of the age. But even that really is not the whole last sentence. It is really and Remember I am with you always even until the end of the age. Jesus is telling the disciples and us, that in the chaos of the world, when it seems I am far from you, I am with, just remember. Remember I am with you always. In those moments where the dark world is closing in and chaos is over taking us, and you can not see me, I am with always. Paul told the same thing to the Corinthians, the God of Peace and love will be with you. Just remember.
As we go out into the chaos of the world and we come to those moments of decisions there are 2 things we can think about. One is the Robert Frost poem, Two roads diverged in the yellow wood, and sorry I could not travel both and be one traveler so long I stood and stood I long and standing still for longer still, looking down one path as far as I could and it looked fair, and looking down the other path and it looks just as good. But the one thing I think Robert Frost forgot is there is actually three choices here, because there is the one to the right and the one to the left, but there is also the path behind you. But the other thing we need to remember is no matter which path we take, that Jesus is with us. As we go out into the world, living in the perfect ordered creation of God, we will be in the chaos of life and sin, but we must go and make disciples, and continue the mission of God, and know that we are not going out alone. As Paul said, the God of Peace and Love will be with you. And Jesus told us, Remember, I am always with you. Go into the chaos and remember. Remember. Amen.