“Pick It Up” (John 14:1-14)

Poet Robert Frost wrote a poem about choices called The Road Not Taken.  The poem is about a traveler who comes upon two roads going into the woods . . . basically a fork in the road.  One is well-worn and traveled, the other is over-grown and less used.  The traveler must decide as to which road to travel . . . the easy, sure way or the less taken and mysterious way.  The debate rages on within the traveler until a choice is finally made:

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

In choosing to take the road less traveled, the traveler begins an adventure of growth and learning.  The traveler embraces the unknown and the mysterious that challenges him or her to see and experience life differently.  In stepping out of the known into the unknown the traveler embraces a new world . . . knowing that it won’t be easy.  Stepping forward the traveler journeys into growth as a person.

I am not an avid fan of poetry, but I do appreciate a good metaphor or analogy.  The “fork in the road” is just that . . . a good metaphor or analogy.  Which brings me to baseball.  I love baseball.  I am a die-hard fan of the Baltimore Orioles in the American League East Division . . . along with the New York Yankees . . . those damn Yankees.  I do not like the Yankees, but I do have two Yankee players that I admire.  Both were catchers.  One was Thurman Munson, the other was Yogi Berra.  Though Yogi Berra was a Yankee, he said some pretty good quotes during his career and lifetime.  He was wise and a wise guy.

Here are a few of my favorites:

You can observe a lot by just watching.

It’s like déjà vu all over again.

A nickel ain’t worth a dime anymore.

Always go to other people’s funerals, otherwise they won’t come to yours.

You better cut the pizza in four pieces because I’m not hungry enough to eat six.

I never said most of the things I said.

And, then this one which is probably my favorite as he butchers the metaphor and analogy of Frost’s famous poem: “When you come to a fork in the road, take it.”

In our scripture reading for today, the disciples are struggling with a decision even though they do not realize it.  Like the traveler in Frost’s poem, they have come to a place where two roads diverge into the woods . . . they’ve come to a fork in the road.  Jesus tells them that he is leaving to go and prepare a place for them.  But Thomas admits that none of them have a clue where Jesus is going . . . “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”    Jesus tells them that he is the “way”.  The disciples must make a choice . . . the world’s way or Jesus’ way.  The choice is theirs to make. 

Now remember, that the conversation we are hearing in our reading is taking place that evening of the last meal Jesus had with his disciples before he was arrested, tried, and crucified.  Jesus and the disciples have been together for awhile now . . . a couple of years . . . and, Jesus is getting a little exasperated with his disciples.  They still don’t get it . . . they still don’t understand . . . Jesus, his teachings, his way of life, his call upon their lives.  Thus, they are standing at a fork in the road and Jesus is telling them to pick it up!

Yogi knew what to do with a fork in the road.  You pick it up and keep going.  Jesus wanted his disciples to follow him . . . to live life as he lived life.  He wanted them to know God as he knew God.  He wanted that intimacy for them because that is what God desires.  He wanted them to love God as God loves them.  He also wanted them to love others . . . all others as God has loved them.  He wanted them to change the world . . . to make it a better place . . . to establish God’s Kingdom.  His way was not the way of the world . . . that was the road he wanted his disciples to choose to travel.

Remember how I said last week that the Christmas and Easter stories seem to be on continuous replay . . . that we hear the same old stories over and over again with the same results?  As Yogi said earlier in the sermon, “It’s like déjà vu all over again.”  I think that is the frustrating thing about Easter . . . we know the story . . . we know how it ends . . . and, it demands a choice.  Every year it demands us to decide about following Jesus.  And, yet, here we are once again, standing at a fork in the road.  Jesus wants to know if we are going to pick it up.

Well . . . are we?

As I have told you before, M. Scott Peck in his book The Road Less Traveled, states that sin is taking the easy way out.  As humans we are creatures of habit . . . we like doing things the way that we do them . . . and, we sure are not going to try something different and mysterious that carries some risk.  We are more likely to take the well-worn road because if it was good enough for everyone else, it is good enough for ourselves.  Tried and true . . . that is what we like; yet, it is not the way of Jesus.

Jesus’ ways are not the world’s ways.  Jesus doesn’t believe in Band-Aid ministry or throwing money at the problem.  No, Jesus believes in solving problems that bring everyone to the table.  Jesus seeks out peace where there is conflict . . . reconciliation, not compromise . . . love not prejudice and hatred.  He doesn’t seek division but unity . . . welcome not hostility.  Right not wrong.  No one is to be excluded, everyone is to be included.  It is a road that is not often traveled down, but it is the road that he takes . . . a road that leads to the Kingdom, a place he goes to prepare for us.

It is a road not often chosen.  A road that takes risks as it heads into the unknown.  It is not popular as it is overgrown and less worn . . . a mystery.  The other road looks more attractive . . . it is smoother, has rest areas, places to stop and eat.  It looks faster and like less work.  It is our choice.  Are we going to pick up the fork in the road?

Jesus wants us to.  He tells his disciples and us: “Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these . . .”  Jesus believes . . . believes in us . . . that we can do it.  We have to believe in ourselves that we can do it . . . that we can pick up the fork and follow Jesus.  As Frost wrote at the conclusion of his poem:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

Jesus believes we can make a difference . . . let us pick up the fork in the road and follow Jesus where he leads.  Let’s make a difference.  God is waiting . . . Jesus shows the way.  Amen.

The “New” Normal (Acts 2:42-47)

There’s an old joke about a couple greeting the pastor after worship on Sunday morning.  The man remarks to the pastor that the service was fine but wanted to know why he always said the same thing every time he came.  The pastor replied to the man, “Well, Mr. Jones it might help if you come to church more than twice a year.  There are Sundays besides Christmas and Easter.”  Those two stories—Christmas and Easter—don’t change . . . they are the same, year after year.  And, I will admit, as embedded as those stories are it gets a little frustrating in coming up with new ways of hearing those stories . . . of understanding those stories.  It seems as if they are on constant repeat in our journey of faith.  They are stories we can listen to without ever hearing.

And, yet, we tell them over and over again each year.  We hear the same old story once again this Easter season . . . the last meal with the disciples, the betrayal and arrest, the trial and beatings, the nailing to the cross—the crucifixion, death, and resurrection.  We hear—one more time, the stories of encounter with the risen Jesus.  We hear of the great relief . . . the wondrous joy . . . and, the hope it brings. 

We hear the story every year, and it makes me wonder . . . why?  Why do we have to hear the story one more time?  Don’t we get it . . . don’t we get it message . . . do we not understand?  Then I remember . . . I remember that the human race is a hard-headed and stubborn people who are quite comfortable with the way that things are.  Humanity likes business as usual . . . normalcy, and it is not quick to change.  Because of this, our patient God has put the stories on repeat . . . repeat until we get it and begin to change to be what God wants us to be.  We haven’t made it there yet after over 2,000 years . . . thankfully God is patient.

But I say this with great reassurance . . . there is hope.

I find it intriguing that the end of Lent and all the season of Easter has landed squarely in the COVID-19 Pandemic.  The pandemic has changed the world that we live in.  We have learned new terms . . . social distancing, quarantine, and contract tracking.  We have learned new ways of doing things . . . six feet apart, facemasks, constant washing of hands, and not constantly touching our faces.  We worship from home . . . share communion from home . . . and, we do this in the isolation of our homes.  This truly is not “business as usual” and it is far from what any of us would consider to be “normal”.

To say the least, it has been quite an adventure . . . and, as the leadership says, we are just ramping up as we begin to navigate how we are going to come out of our exodus to return to life as we once experienced.  It will be an adventure because what we left is not what we have to do in order to get on with life.  We are entering what some have called a “new normal”.  Life and the world have changed.

One of the quotes I have heard a lot recently is that “Maybe it’s time to find a new normal.”  Another quote I have heard a lot in the last couple of weeks says, “Things may never go back to normal.  You may need to create a new normal. And that’s okay.”  If we have learned anything about the impact of the pandemic it is that it has created change . . . that none of us can go back to the way that things used to be.  Which brings me to a Kristin Armstrong quote I like the best about this transitional time: “Times of transition are strenuous, but I love them.  They are an opportunity to purge, rethink priorities, and be intentional about new habits.  We can make our new normal any way we want.”

That tells me that there is hope.

Which brings me back to the patience of God . . . back to hearing the same old stories over and over again . . . maybe it is not as unusual as I think that this pandemic fell smack dab into the end of Lent and the season of Easter.  Whether it is coincidental or not, maybe God wants to get our attention about this idea of the “new normal”.  Certainly, in hearing the Easter story through the lens of our present situation in life makes us a little more receptive to the message we are hearing . . . especially in light of the reading this morning.

In our reading this morning we have jumped ahead in the story.  Typically, what we heard this morning would be a story about the birth of the church . . . a Pentecost story.  But here it pops up in the Easter cycle for us to consider . . . and I think it fits.  As much as I appreciate the stories of the disciples’ encounter with the risen Jesus, I appreciate even more the stories of what they did after the encounter.  The women ran back to share the news . . . the two disciples on the road to Emmaus ran back to share the news . . . encountering the risen Jesus requires some action, some movement.  What we see in our reading this morning is that action and movement.

Though our reading takes place after the Day of Pentecost with all of its spiritual movement, we get a picture of the beginning of the church.  We note how they devoted time to learning about their new-found faith and what it meant to be a follower of Jesus.  We see how they took time to fellowship and worship with one another, to regularly break bread, and to take care of one another.  We see how they accepted one another despite their differences and to love each other so that no one went without what was needed.  We see a sort of heavenly view of the church . . . a sort of utopian view in its purest sense . . . one for all, all for one mentality. The people have been moved by the risen Jesus, touched by the Spirit, and are now moving to live up to this new reality . . . this new way of life . . . this “new normal”.

Embolden by the risen Jesus, touched by the Spirit, I imagine that these followers of Jesus could not see how they could go back to what they had been doing . . . everything that Jesus had done, had spoken, and represented went against everything they knew and did not fit what they now knew.  So, they did purge the old, rethought priorities, and became intentional in doing things in new ways.  In the “new normal” they discovered the awesomeness of God . . . they were blessed . . . their numbers grew, but most of all they discovered great joy and happiness.  And, the coolest part of it all is that they are doing it together.

This is the Kingdom of God . . . this is the will of God . . . this is the call that all of God’s children have been challenged to live and fulfil daily . . . this represents the goal of following in the footsteps of Jesus.  It is what we all dream of . . . what we hope for as the followers of Jesus.  To get there, we have to be willing to step into the adventure of discovering a “new normal”.

Though the pandemic has been tough, we have gained a lot of new things that are worth hanging onto.  We have discovered God’s presence in the world around without all the busyness of life that was a constant in our lives before the pandemic.  We have found a deepening of faith as we have found more time to pause, study, pray, and worship without distraction of our busyness.  We have renewed connections with others . . . family and friends . . . as we reach out and touch others because we are concerned and care.  We have slowed down and it is good. 

We have recognized that a lot of what we were scurrying about in our busyness is not as important as we thought, and that what is important is others.  There have been changes in our lives and world, and they are not bad . . . they are good.  This “new normal” is not so bad.  The question is whether or not they will remain.  Experience and history point to them falling to the wayside as humanity eventually drops back into the way that things have always been.  As joyful and exciting was the birth of the church as described in the Book of Acts, if one reads to the end of it, it is not difficult to see how quickly it reverts to the old ways . . . the old normal.

It was not that long ago . . . on September 9^th, 2011 . . . that a tragic event riveted our nation to come together and be one.  We all rejoiced at its power to make us one . . . and yet, 19 years later—prior to the pandemic—we dropped the ball and have been as divisive of a nation as we have ever been.  Through this pandemic we have come together, as tenuous as that bond is, to care for one another.  We have been given the opportunity to walk into a “new normal” as the followers of Jesus . . . to build the Kingdom of God.

The choice is ours . . .

. . . if we choose to move forward towards God’s will, God will be with us.  If we choose not to attempt this adventure into a “new normal” . . . well, God will still be with us.  And, I imagine we will keep on hearing the same old stories.  God doesn’t give up and neither should we.  Alan W. Watts says, “The only way to make sense out of change in to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance.” God calls us to dance a new dance . . . shall we be willing?  Amen.