Comments for Jim Other sermons.                 

.I have spoken to you from time to time of the Norwich Vermont Congregational Church and the organist, Fred Metcalf, who played each Sunday there for 58 years. In the chancel at the church is a memorial stained glass window. At the top of the window is an image of a dove, and framed at the bottom of the window are the words of the prophet Micah from today’s scripture. Fred once led a "Children’s Time" that is written up in a little book with some of his lay sermons. In describing the chancel window, he concludes this way:

In the rectangle below are three of the best pieces of advice you will ever learn. "Do justly." In other words, "Treat other people right." "Love mercy." Or, as another translation says it, "Love kindness." "Walk humbly with thy God." Be a good person, yes, but don’t be "stuck up" about it.

The window is dedicated, as you see, to Sylvester Morris and Susan J. Morris. My mother told me that Sylvester Morris was a Deacon here at the same time that her father, my grandfather, was. He was very deaf, and after the Service he would get up and say, "Well, I didn’t hear a word." But next Sunday, he would be here just the same.

Come to think of it, that window is a very fitting memorial for a deaf man. Suppose you were deaf, so that you couldn’t hear anything that was said. What would you do for a sermon? At least you could look at the window and think what it means. And there is a very good sermon indeed.

Fred Metcalf was an essentially self-taught musician who was forced to quit school after the eighth grade to help with the farm. He was so kind and patient and spiritual a man that he became a kind of legend. I often pick up his little book of sermons. He rarely traveled outside of Norwich, never held any kind of office, and never really "did" a great deal more than farm and play music. But what a powerful presence! The impact of his modest life was like a pebble tossed into a pond, with concentric ripples expanding to the far edges. His proudest achievement? Being the first person ever to play Bach in the Norwich Congregational Church.

The United Church of Christ Old Testament scholar and theologian, Walter Brueggemann, once wrote that, according to the Bible, there are two kinds of people in the world. He calls them "history stoppers" and "history makers." You would think that what he meant by a history maker would be the same as a "headline maker." That would be presidents, prime ministers, senators, and generals. In elementary school I was required to memorize lists of presidents. The people on those and other lists, I learned, are the history makers. But, in fact, Brueggemann does not mean that at all. He reminds us that most history is written by and about those who have made it to the top. The dominant groups and individuals dictate this history. The history we have is the history of those who succeeded and those who won. Certainly some of our presidents have been genuine history makers – Washington, Lincoln, Roosevelt (either one) and others. But not all. Many on that list could be called history stoppers. Why? Because these are the people who seek to impose their views on others. They have "enemies lists." They are determined to acquire agreement and allegiance. What they don’t want is an open process. Censorship, executive privilege, suspension of civil liberties – all these are about stopping history, not making history.

Brueggemann contrasts history stoppers and history makers when he examines closely that period leading up to the fall of Jerusalem in 587 BCE to the Babylonians. A list of kings can be cited beginning with Josiah and ending with Zedekiah. Josiah, who led in important reform movement, was arguably a good king and true history maker. But the others, down to Zedekiah sought to keep themselves in power, fend off invasion, suppress any opposition, and defend the idea that their nation will always be blessed by God and last forever. Meanwhile they oppressed the poor and needy, allowed a growing disparity between the rich and the poor, and worshipped God in the arrogant assurance that no matter how badly they behaved, God would come to their rescue. They were the history stoppers. But the person whom we remember most is the prophet Jeremiah, whose ministry extended down through this line of kings. He was an outsider and a troublemaker. His message, by the way, is nearly identical to that of the prophet Micah. He said that God is on the side of the poor, the widow, the oppressed, and the marginalized. And he foretold that God’s thunderous judgment was at hand in the form of the Babylonians. He was a history maker because he saw that God was working through those whom the Bible calls the least among us.

Why do people become history stoppers? I think it has to do with being afraid. Fear closes us down. Fear kills hope. Fear discourages. And history stoppers, because they have power, are able to shut things down. They assume everything depends on them.

A history maker’s mission statement would be:

Do Justice
Walk Humbly
and
Walk Humbly with God

What would a history stopper’s version of Micah 6:8 be? It might sound like this:

Take control
Use force
and
Go it alone.

That version is static. The mission statement of the history maker is dynamic. Life is a journey with God. It is characterized by an attitude of gentleness and openness to the future and trust. According to the Bible, Sylvester Morris, an all but forgotten deaf man, and Fred Metcalf, an unknown Vermont hill top farmer, are among the real history makers.

The other scriptures today say the same thing. Jesus’ beatitudes from the Sermon on the Mount deal directly with this. Who are the blessed ones, God’s history makers? The history makers are the poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, and the persecuted. The course of history really depends on them. A prophet and a prophetic church will stand beside and speak for that group of people.

I took a walk with Dick Meyer through our building under renovation last week. I am telling you it is really exciting. You are going to be amazed by some of the things you see. It is interesting. It is going to be fun. And it may take some getting used to. I was struck that as you walk around the outside, each angle provides a different kind of perspective. But still you look up, and there is the steeple now right in the middle, pointing heavenward. It’s better, at the center like that.

And I found myself thinking about the chancel window at the Norwich Church. What is the purpose of a church building? It is a place you can come and at the very center, you will see, hear, and discover the mission of the church. If you’re deaf, you should be able to see it. If you are blind, you will hear it. And if you ask, someone will not just tell you, but show you. Micah says, "What does the Lord require of you?" What is it all about? It is about justice. It is about compassion. And it is about humbly walking with God. It is not just to glibly talk the talk. It is to humbly walk the walk of justice and compassion with God. Walk in that way, we are promised, and you will make history. Walk the walk of fear and worry, and you will go nowhere. Speaking for myself, I want to be a part of a beloved community that is committed to humbly walk the walk of justice and compassion with God, and to walk that walk wherever it leads. I have no interest at all in walking the walk of fear and worry. God says "If you humbly walk the walk of justice and compassion, trust me, you’ll have what you need."

We became an Open and Affirming Church back in 1995. It took courage to do that. John Rogers described to you the dialogue we have undertaken with the Boy Scouts. It is a dialogue of compassionate and constructive engagement. The Boy Scout National Leadership down there in Texas are examples of history stoppers. They are afraid. They are afraid of the future. They are afraid of opening up their hearts and opening up scouting to people who have been excluded. Mostly I think they are afraid of losing their sources of funding. The people of CCC, the Open and Affirming Committee, and, I believe most of our local Scout parents and leadership, are acting like history makers. History stoppers want to control things because they are sure they are right. History makers may not have an answer, but they have the courage to say, let’s open up the discussion. What can we lose by including everyone? I believe that Tom Ault and Jackie Walters of the Building Design Committee were acting like history makers when they said, "We really do want to include our neighbors in the design process, and we welcome the president of the Indian Spring Civic Association to sit on our committee." That took courage. But what a difference it has made.

Don’t you want to be part of a history making church? A church of courage and risk? Such a church is appealing. But we shouldn’t be surprised when the world keeps reminding us that there are so many things we should be worrying about, so many things that can go wrong, and that failure is always potentially just around the corner. Yet we are asked to courageously believe that if we do justice, live compassionately and walk humbly with God, we will have what we need to do it. Does that sound crazy to you? Like turning the world of prudence and good judgment upside down? Then listen to the Apostle Paul.

For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God…Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, God decided, through the foolishness of our proclamation, to save those who believe.

Are you a history stopper or a history maker? At whatever level of your life you look at. If I am honest with myself, I am ashamed at how often I am a history stopper. It happens when I get scared, or worried, or distrustful, and decide to give up on others and go it alone. And in every instance I can see that when I walk that way, I have stopped praying and given up on God. But then there are those blessed moments when I am able to trust and risk. Sometimes I choose to be that way, but mostly I am driven to it, forced to hope that there is a way out of no-way. And I let go. And the amazing thing is that God never disappoints. AMEN.

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