2012
04 13 Bridgeport Sermon
“God’s
Tapestry”
Psalm
98:1-9
John
15:12, 16
Thank
you for inviting me today and giving Lucia mother’s day off from
preaching. Happy Mother’s Day to all you
mom’s out there. When Lucia and I set
the date I asked her what she wanted me to talk about. She said, just tell the stories.
It
is impossible to tell the stories in 15 minutes. As I was preparing for this sermon, a litany
of images, faces and memories flipped through my mind as I thought about what
to tell you. Needless to say, this
mission hasn’t been quite as I
planned; being evacuated on a UN plane, being first an IDP – Internally
Displaced person, and then a refugee, and now a homeless refugee, as I move
from place to place, were definitely not
in my plans. They were
in God’s plans. As I sat in worship last
Sunday I saw one of my favorite stained glass window lit up “just for me”.
It
is a beautiful window, high up in the sanctuary, with a white dove and rays
shooting off of it in all directions. In
the early morning light it glows. I was
reminded that the light of God is spread out in all directions and through all
experiences. Through all these adventures
God has allowed me to experience life as the people I will serve live it.
And
through it all they work together to create this beautiful tapestry of God’s
love. Each thread represented by a
different color. Not too long ago they
were just a dream. Once, the people were flat faces on a computer screen. I
poured over countless google images during my discernment process to answer the
call to go to South Sudan. Those images
are flat no more. They have names and
faces, I have walked their roads, sat by their river, shopped in their market
and laughed, cried, worshipped and celebrated the sacraments of baptism with
them. I hope, today, through a few
words, that I can bring them to life for you.
The red represents the people of South Sudan and the bloodshed
that began my journey – the blood shed during intertribal fighting that
precipitated my evacuation. The blood shed that has shaped their lives for the
past 56 years of civil war. It also represents the blood of Christ that ties us
all together.
I was reading the lectionary for today and the words of Psalm 98
just came to life and seemed to dance before me. As they danced memories came pouring back and
in the sadness of leaving, I was able to find the joy.
The joy in the words to the Psalm. The joy in the people and experiences along
the way.
The people of South Sudan
have lived hard lives in a harsh land.
They have fled from soldiers, and rival tribe members, in the dead of night. They have lost family
and friends, and yet they love and laugh.
They celebrate the glory of God’s love and the small victories he
blesses them with. And now, as a new
nation they sing to the LORD a new
song, and celebrate the marvelous things he has done – spare the life
of a child, spare their village, their crops, provided fish in the river for
food and the river itself for the water of life that sustains our faith, our
crops and provides us drink and respite when we need it.
The orange represents the people of Malakal South Sudan. When I was evacuated from Akobo I went
through some pretty rough times. I felt
lost, alone, uncertain of my future and very afraid I will never see my friends
from Akobo again.
God blessed me with an amazing community full of love and life
and the opportunity to go and participate in a women’s leadership development
conference. More than 30 women from 8
different tribes, some fighting each other, came together to learn new skills. They loved, laughed, worshipped together,
broke bread and fellowshipped with each other.
One thing that sticks out in my mind during that week is the
singing. We woke up to singing, went to
sleep to it. We sang between every
session and while sitting together at night under the African stars sharing the
things women do – stories, gossip, advice and more.
The Psalm
tells us to Make a joyful noise to
the LORD, all the earth;
break forth into joyous song and sing praises; and those
women did an excellent job.
I saw and heard joy in the streets of Malakal, pouring forth
from the churches and in my heart as I walked among the people, sharing tea and
culture lessons. I experienced the joy on their faces as I walked through town
in my culture dress – a blue flowered scarf
(pull out lowa) called a lowa with my head covered in a scarf . I heard the joyful noises in the voices of
the pastors that greeted me at the church office as I sat and learned language
and in the laughter of those teaching me as I stumbled over the unfamiliar
sounds. I wish I could describe the joy
on Sister Sara’s face when I joined in the Catholic Ash Wednesday worship
service. The light of God’s love was
shinning through as her face lit with an ear to ear smile.
The Psalm goes on to say, Sing
praises to the LORD with the lyre, with the lyre and the sound of
melody.
Yellow is for the joy in the singing praises. Oh, how the people
of South Sudan and Ethiopia do such an excellent job of singing praises in
spite of the difficult and challenging lives they live. Their voices are raised in praise, thanking
God for his blessings.
Sitting under a tree at church in Akobo listening to the native
drums, the electric sound of the
“modern” church in Malakal, or in the
more familiar churches in Addis where I worshipped in international
congregations with familiar hymns of praise.
Every one was singing praises to the Lord.
Let the sea roar, and all that fills it; the
world and those who live in it.
Blue is the sea of people who poured through the guest house in
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia during my next stop, and sometimes, as we gathered on the
grounds outside or at that dining room table, it roared with the laughter of
stories told and shared. Old friends
from my previous work in Ethiopia, popped in one after another.
And
green is for the growth in missions as people come, one after another to answer
the Great Commission, go and make disciples of all nations.
Mergersa, an Ethiopian who now lives in the US and returns to
help his family and friends have a better life.
Jim, an engineer who is answering God’s call to build a bridge – not
just the physical structure that will save lives and allow people to cross the
expanse of river safely during the rainy season. They are building a bridge of
relationships that spread half the world, building relationships and connecting
churches, individuals and a tiny village at the base of a mountain in
Ethiopia.
Michael, a South Sudanese who is intent on building a school and
improving the education in his home village in a land with a 95% illiteracy rate. He fled from South Sudan, a frightened boy running for his life, many
years ago during the war and eventually ended up in the US.
PCUSA staff poured through on their way to visit other places
and observe our mission work in action.
With them came representatives of the Church of Ireland and the Church
of Scotland, working together to build and strengthen ecumenical relationships. I was blessed to meet Mary, the Moderator Elect
for Presbyterian Women as she joined the trip to better understand life in
South Sudan as the women have chosen to support mission work there during the
next trienum. Along with representatives of the Outreach Foundation and other
Presbyteries who support world mission in Ethiopia and South Sudan, they
traveled together working hard to find ways to do mission better and build and
strengthen relationships.
8 Let the floods clap their
hands; let the hills sing together for joy at the presence of
the LORD
God
has given me a way to understand, have compassion for and to better relate to
the people who have crossed my path on this journey. He has allowed me to experience the joy in
finding and experiencing His presence along the way. My good friend Fritz preached the words “God
meets us on the common ground – suffering” and now I can meet them there
too. I left my home unexpectedly,
leaving most of my worldly possessions behind in Akobo, not knowing if I would
ever return. I fled to an unknown place,
not knowing where or how I was going to live, for how long and what was in
store for my future. Just like the
people of Akobo and South Sudan during 56 years of war. I have now met them in their place of
suffering. Now I understand their feelings of loss and hopelessness. Now
I understand the man who told me there was no point in planting crops for
someone else to eat. Now I can relate. Now I
can have compassion. Now I know that God has wrapped us in this white ribbon of
sameness and in the presence of His peace and understanding.
This
ribbon (indigo) represents the fruit of the vine. The Gospel of John says 16You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go
and bear fruit, fruit that will last, God chose to put us all
together and bind us in His love. I know
that their love for me is the fruit that will last throughout my lifetime and I
pray that the fruit I left behind will last as well, and I pray for the fruit
that will grow in our future time together be plentiful and multiply.
And
so, we add the purple that represents the holiness of God, who tells us in John
to love one another as he has loved us.
For that is what has happened along this journey. Love has been poured out all along the
way. My love for the people that have
crossed my path; more importantly, the love that surrounds me every step of the
way. From the people of Akobo who met me with such joy and welcome and hope for
our future together to the people of Malakal who gave me shelter in a difficult
time to the people of Addis who poured through my life. And I cannot forget to mention the people of
this church and many others who have prayed me through this journey and will
continue to pray for me as it goes forward into an unknown future.
We
are bound in the holiness. We are woven together in the strength of this cross
(pull out cross) that represents the strength of God’s reaching down to us and
the strength we gain by reaching up to Him and in the arms stretched out to
embrace each other and our friends throughout the world.
Thanks
be to God.
