Experience
“...the travelers recounted what had happened on the road, and how they had come to know Jesus in the breaking of the bread.” — Luke 24:33-35.
I have a suspicion things like Facebook will, over time, change how we interact with people, especially how we stay in touch with one another. As I have said here before, because of Facebook I am now in touch with friends and colleagues all over America, even beyond, friends with whom, just ten years ago, I did not think I would be able to stay in touch.
Susan Polizzi is one. Susan was the pastor at the First Baptist Church across the street. I respect and admire her. We were and are friends.
She moved to Lowell, Massachusetts. And my bet is ten years ago that relationship would have deteriorated, continued only in the exchange of Christmas cards or perhaps an occasional phone call. With Facebook I keep track of what she’s doing and vice-versa.
Susan was recently in Central New York but did not have time to come to Norwich. How do I know? Her Facebook page not only told me but pointed me to her blog where she wrote about a trip to her alma mater, Colgate-Rochester Crozier Divinity School.
This is some of what she said in the blog (quote): “It was the 30th anniversary of my graduation. I was a little leery about going. Only one faculty member who was there when I attended is still on staff and I didn’t know him well.”
“I did not know who else from my class would go. But I have friends in the area with whom I could stay and friends from other classes with whom I wanted to connect and I wanted to hear the featured speaker, Diana Eck, who spoke on inter-faith realities in America today. So I went.”
“I had a few ‘Aha!’ moments as I was walking around the halls of the school.” Susan continued. “The first was a reminder of how attached we all are to the way things were.”
“Even though I’ve seen some of the changes that have happened over the years, I realized I still mourn the change. I think that’s partially because they represent decline to me. But I also realized that maybe I need to re-frame these changes in terms of their obvious intentions for healthy living in the NOW.” Susan capitalized ‘NOW’ (N-O-W).
“There are all kinds of structures and practices we need to let go of if we are going to live fruitfully and healthfully today,” she said. “I was absolutely disoriented inside the old residence halls, literally did not know where I was in halls I had walked every day for three years. The residences have been transformed into the Hope Lodge for the American Cancer Society.”
“I was pleased with what had been done there and the purpose for which it is being used... but it was also disconcerting. So I was not anxious to linger.”
“I don’t think these feelings are a unique reaction. And the pastor in me needs to take those feelings with me to the congregation. I want to invite them to acknowledge and live into and through these feelings as we work to live into a transformed way of being Church.”
“The other insight I had,” she wrote, “was recognizing a sense of confidence in myself that I never had when I was a student. I thought to myself, ‘I have finished apologizing for my existence.’ I hadn’t realized this has been a constant thread through my life, but I suspect it is, if not a driving force, one of them in my need for perfection.”
“The only way I could justify my existence was if I was perfect. But I’m beginning to understand existence is not the end or a goal or a reward of our being (a sentiment which, in its extreme, gets translated into ‘if I am good, I will live forever’). But existence is the means to... I’m not sure what... something else— maybe a path to grace.” [1] (Slight pause.)
And these words are from the work known as Luke: “...the travelers recounted what had happened on the road, and how they had come to know Jesus in the breaking of the bread.” (Slight pause.)
The mistake people most often make when reading Scripture is that we take it to be a narrative about occurrences, about things which happened. And reading it that way is understandable. Why? These two lessons today, in two different books of the New Testament both by the same author, are prime examples.
Luke is one of the most talented writers in the canon and spins out complex narrative tales which hold us in rapt attention. But these stories are not meant to be simply narratives. At best these are meant as remembrances, not intended to be read for accuracy. Rather, these are meant to convey not what happened but the meaning behind what happened.
In short, these stories are intended to tell us not what Jesus did nor what happened to Jesus but what Jesus means. That is not to say these stories failed to happen. Nor is it to say these stories did happen. It is to say conveying what did or did not happen is not why the stories are being told. Why would I say that?
Let’s look at the stories. Some disciples, perhaps these two who met Jesus on the road, presumably spent the better part of three years with Jesus. Then, in that story, they actually see the resurrected Jesus on the road but without recognizing Jesus. So, their memories need to be twinged. And even then, even once they had recognized the risen Christ, they do not do anything about it, except go tell other disciples.
So notice: despite having spent time with Jesus and despite having a vision of the resurrected Christ, it is only on the day of Pentecost, when they were open to the visitation by Spirit and the Spirit visited that these disciples along with other disciples, these followers of Christ, were ready to share their experiences beyond that small group. It took learning. It took time. It took... experience.
Once all these were in place and practiced, the disciples were ready to cooperate with the Spirit, participate with the Spirit of God. Then and only then did they testify that they recognized the Spirit of God was present.
All of which is to say reporting what happened and/or the narration of a story is not what we find in Scripture. For the people who wrote Scripture, Scripture speaks only in the past tense, only describes experience which has happened over time.
In short, Scripture describes the effect of experience. Scripture does not describe what is happening as it happens. In the case of these stories, what is being described is a summation of the experience the Early Church, a summation of the experience they had of the risen Christ. (Slight pause.)
As we grow older, we should understand that things around us are not constant. As we grow older our insecurities should diminish. But do they? Who among us has not gone to a reunion of some kind or visited an old neighborhood and not wondered why and how things changed or had some doubt, some lack of self confidence, like Susan? (Slight pause.)
As we grow older we should recognize that things don’t happen by magic or automatically. Things take time— time to learn, time to grow, time to understand. Experience takes time.
As Susan suggested we need to (quote): “...acknowledge and live into and through these feelings as we work to live into a transformed way of being Church” (unquote). Church, you see, is or should be a place for transformation. Church is a place where we grapple with our own emotional lives.
Hence, Church is also a place we become disciples of Christ. How? Again Susan has an answer (quote): “I also realized that maybe I need to re-frame these changes in terms of their obvious intentions for healthy living in the NOW.” (Slight pause.)
I want to suggest that there is only one way to live in the ‘now.’ We need to take all our experience and learning and bring it to bear on the ‘now.’ That has the potential to bring us to a place where we are secure in ourselves.
Mind you, this is not easy. It does not happen with magic. [2] It takes work.
But if there is anything I have found out in my life, being a disciple of Christ is not always an easy road. Being a disciple of Christ is not always a safe road. But being a disciple of Christ is a transforming road. (Slight pause.)
So, do we, as a church, want to be transformed and do we want to be transformative? Clearly, that is the place the disciples in the stories today find themselves: both transformed and being transformative.
Was it an easy path? Probably not. But that’s what makes a church; that’s what is church. Let us be church, together. Let us be transformed and be transformative. Amen.
United Church of Christ, First Congregational, Norwich, New York
05/08/2011
ENDPIECE: It is the practice of the Pastor to speak after the Closing Hymn, but before the Choral Response and Benediction. This is an précis of what was said: “I have a colleague who, when getting into a pulpit is in the habit of saying this: ‘Hello, Church!’ Then the idea is you need to say ‘Hello Church!’ back, O.K.? ‘Hello Church!’ (The people responded ‘Hello Church!’ You’re saying that to each other now, right, because you are the church. This building is not the church. This is a meeting house. You are the church. As the church you are transformative. And I think that’s why he says that. He understands that this is who we are in the church. So, don’t be surprised if someday I get up there and say, ‘Hello Church!’”
[1] This is edited somewhat but I believe I have not misrepresented Susan. If I did it’s my fault, not hers. Check our the original at:
[2] It should be noted that at the Children’s Time the pastor talked about the idea that there is no such thing as magic. The pastor illustrated what magic might look like by pouring water into a glass which had been prepared with Kool Aid in the bottom. That, of course, changed color as the water was poured in and several children expressed surprise at this. The pastor went on to say that hard work and experience were keys to life, not magic.
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