Guidance
06/03/07
John 16 : 12-15 Trinity Sunday
Dear friends in Christ,
Author Dennis Rainey tells about an exercise he leads each year with his sixth grade Sunday School class. He divides the class into three groups. These groups then compete in putting together a jigsaw puzzle. As these 12-year-olds scatter into three circles on the floor, he explains that there is only one rule in the competition: to put together the puzzle without talking. The contents of puzzle number one are deposited on the floor and Group One immediately goes to work. The group promptly sets up the box top that depicts the picture of the puzzle it is completing. Then Rainey moves to the second group, dumps the pieces of a second puzzle on the floor and quickly gives the group a box top. What the group doesn’t know is that the box top is for another puzzle! The third group is given the same puzzle pieces, but it doesn’t receive a box top. Usually the kids in the group start to protest, but Rainey quickly reminds them there is to be no talking! What follows is fascinating. Group One is somewhat frustrated by not being allowed to talk, but it still makes steady progress. Group Two keeps trying to use the picture, but nothing seems to work. And since the kids in the group can’t say anything, their frustration level soars. The group members look at their teacher with pleading eyes. Soon, he often sees that misleading box top go flying out of the group as someone tosses it across the room! Group Three is interesting. Because the kids have nothing to guide them, they first try and work it out on their own, but soon give up and end up just lying on the floor. Dennis Rainey asks, “Am I a cruel teacher? No, there is a point that I make that day. Life, relationships, our families, our futures are like the pieces of the puzzle. The pieces are all there for us, but something is needed to help us bring order out of chaos.”
Guidance. Order. No matter what our age, we all need it. We need it as little children learning how to talk, read, get on a school bus, write, ride bikes and hit a baseball. We need it as graduating high school seniors, leaving the familiarity of our school and community and venturing forth into something new. We need it as young families, trying to figure out how to be the best parents for our children. We need it in middle age, raising teenagers and hopefully sending them off as young adults. We need it in retirement, as we trade in the routine of daily work for some new opportunities. There’s never a time we don’t need guidance.
Improper guidance can be disastrous. It was September 1, 1983. Two hundred sixty-nine innocent people lost their lives on Korean Flight 007 because of a navigational error. Reportedly, the pilots of this airliner accidentally punched in the wrong set of navigational coordinates after a refueling stop in Alaska. From that point on, every new set of coordinates they entered sent them farther off track. As a result they unknowingly penetrated Soviet airspace, were shot down by a Soviet pilot, and plunged into the icy ocean below. Improper guidance cost 269 innocent people their lives. We all need trustworthy guidance.
Last Sunday was the Day of Pentecost, the time we remember the Holy Spirit being poured out upon the disciples and those gathered in Jerusalem, leading to the birth of the church. I spoke about the Spirit using three picture words we find in the scriptures. The Spirit is breath, breathing life into us as God first breathed life into Adam at creation. The Spirit is wind, mysterious both in its origin and destination. We don’t capture the wind. Neither do we capture the Spirit, but have to be open when it blows our way. The Spirit is fire. It is powerful, a roaring blaze, a backdraft of energy that crosses the globe in mission.
Today is Trinity Sunday, a time to remember the three ways that God has been revealed to us. God is our creator, the one who brought forth the heavens and earth as it says in the First lesson. God is our redeemer, the one who, through Jesus, gives us access to God, as it said in the second lesson. And God is the Holy Spirit, who, according to John, “will guide you into all the truth.” Let me speak a bit more about the Spirit today, the Spirit as our guide. I believe that in Baptism, and then renewed regularly by faith, we all have the gift of the Holy Spirit. One special dimension to this year’s graduating seniors is that I baptized three of them, Becky, Mark, and Shawn, in my first year here at St. Paul Lutheran, 1989. I’ve seen these three, as well as others in this class grow to this significant point in their lives. I believe the Spirit has been there, and will be there, to guide.
How does this work? Writer Gordon McDonald provides this illustration. He tells about driving with his wife, Gail, to a small community to attend a dinner. They had never been in that area before, and they were quickly lost. Seeing a policeman parked in his car, they pulled over and asked him for directions. The policeman said, “You go down two more lights; turn right and go to a fork in the road where you bear left. Go two stop signs . . . or is it three . . . No! Here’s an easier way. Make a U-turn and go back to that little shopping mall back there; you know the one with the gas station on the corner. You hear what I am saying? Turn left there and just follow the road down to the ocean. It makes several turns, OK? And you have to be careful not to . . . No! Go back to the first way I said. Go down . . . Oh, what the heck. Look, I’ll take you there. Just follow me, and stick close!” MacDonald writes, “I followed him and stuck close. And it occurred to me along the way that is the invitation of Christ to someone who wants to know God, be guided by God, and understand how to live in the real world. Follow Him and stick close. Christ doesn’t miss a turn.” We are most in tune and most aware of the Spirit when we follow God, live by faith, and stay close to Him. Jesus knew this would not be easy. He knew that his disciples were being sent out into a hostile and often crazy world. They would need both power and guidance to find their way. Jesus himself would no longer be with them in the flesh. But he would be with them through the power of the Holy Spirit.
As a parent who has seen all my children graduate from high school, I think often of the hymn “Borning Cry,” where writer John Ylvisaker says in the first verse, “I was there when you were but a child, with a faith to suit you well, in a blaze of light you wandered off to find where demons dwell.” Part of being an adult, is going out and living in a world with the demons, in whatever form they take. It’s dealing with temptation, it’s dealing with unfairness, it’s dealing with brokenness, it’s dealing with sadness. It’s dealing with many choices that will impact our lives. To negotiate that, we need guidance and we need faith. Christ, working through the power of the Holy Spirit, is that guide. Pastor Michael Walther tells of listening to a radio program that told a story about a famous test pilot. This pilot was flying a fighter jet in bad weather and about to make his instrument approach to an airport. The air traffic controller called and asked how much fuel he had. “Plenty,” he said. “Well,” the controller said, “we’ve got a little problem. There’s a young pilot who is not instrument rated. He’s lost in the clouds, and we were wondering if you could intercept him and lead him back to the airport.” “Sure,” the pilot responded. He found the lost plane and pulled up beside it. He called on the radio and told the pilot to look out to his left. There the pilot of this small plane saw the powerful fighter jet, and the man burst into tears. As far as he was concerned at that point his life was about over. He would soon run out of fuel and crash. “Don’t worry,” the test pilot said. “Everything’s going to be OK. I’m going to pull in front of you several hundred yards. Do everything I do. When I turn, I’ll turn gently. All you have to do is do exactly what I do.” So carefully the leader and the follower turned on the course to the airport and slowly descended. When they finally broke through the clouds at 500', the frightened pilot saw the most beautiful sight. There in front of him was the runway, and he was perfectly set up to land. There are times when we need a guide we can depend on. I’m sure our graduates could name some people that have guided them to this point in their lives. There have been teachers, coaches, counselors, pastors, youth workers, friends, and of course, parents. Where would we be without such mentors, such guides?
The Holy Spirit of God is just such a guide as well. The secret is to yield our lives to his leadership. Trust him and let him lead you daily, and you’ll be amazed how much smoother life goes.
After church on Sunday, June 24th, you’re invited to stay for brunch and then watch a 30 minute DVD we will be presenting about our trip to Tanzania to visit our sister parish. It’s not just a travel account, but rather a number of amazing stories where we felt guided by the Spirit. One brief example that you’ll see in the DVD. In 2005 our Bible school kids raised about $700 for bicycles for the evangelists of the four preaching points to use, so they didn’t have to always walk. The money was in the account, but the bikes had not been bought. So, we decided to buy the bikes and bring them with us when we went to Mtera. There was actually enough money to buy 8 bikes, not just four, so we bought 8, figuring they’d find a use for all of them. We strapped 8 bikes to the top of one Landrover and took them on the four hour drive up to Mtera. When we got up there, we had a meal with Pastor Lufyagila and others. Much to our surprise, we learned the number of preaching points had doubled in the two years since we were last there. There were now 8. We didn’t know that when we bought the 8 bicycles. All 8 evangelists would now be able to receive a new bicycle, and it was extremely gratifying to be able to present them to them at worship on Sunday. Strange coincidence? I don’t think so. I’ve seen that kind of thing happen way too often in my life, near and far. I’m convinced that was the Holy Spirit blowing our way, and we were blessed to be caught up in that wind for that time. Today we wish God’s blessings upon our graduates as they go, and thank them for the many gifts they have brought to our congregation. They do go off into a world where demons dwell, in a wide variety of forms. If I can give one small word of advice, it is to hold on to your relationship with God and be guided by the Spirit. In fact, that’s good advice for everyone here, regardless of age. Be guided by the Spirit of God. For, as Jesus said, “He will guide you into all the truth.” Amen
Dear friends in Christ,
Author Dennis Rainey tells about an exercise he leads each year with his sixth grade Sunday School class. He divides the class into three groups. These groups then compete in putting together a jigsaw puzzle. As these 12-year-olds scatter into three circles on the floor, he explains that there is only one rule in the competition: to put together the puzzle without talking. The contents of puzzle number one are deposited on the floor and Group One immediately goes to work. The group promptly sets up the box top that depicts the picture of the puzzle it is completing. Then Rainey moves to the second group, dumps the pieces of a second puzzle on the floor and quickly gives the group a box top. What the group doesn’t know is that the box top is for another puzzle! The third group is given the same puzzle pieces, but it doesn’t receive a box top. Usually the kids in the group start to protest, but Rainey quickly reminds them there is to be no talking! What follows is fascinating. Group One is somewhat frustrated by not being allowed to talk, but it still makes steady progress. Group Two keeps trying to use the picture, but nothing seems to work. And since the kids in the group can’t say anything, their frustration level soars. The group members look at their teacher with pleading eyes. Soon, he often sees that misleading box top go flying out of the group as someone tosses it across the room! Group Three is interesting. Because the kids have nothing to guide them, they first try and work it out on their own, but soon give up and end up just lying on the floor. Dennis Rainey asks, “Am I a cruel teacher? No, there is a point that I make that day. Life, relationships, our families, our futures are like the pieces of the puzzle. The pieces are all there for us, but something is needed to help us bring order out of chaos.”
Guidance. Order. No matter what our age, we all need it. We need it as little children learning how to talk, read, get on a school bus, write, ride bikes and hit a baseball. We need it as graduating high school seniors, leaving the familiarity of our school and community and venturing forth into something new. We need it as young families, trying to figure out how to be the best parents for our children. We need it in middle age, raising teenagers and hopefully sending them off as young adults. We need it in retirement, as we trade in the routine of daily work for some new opportunities. There’s never a time we don’t need guidance.
Improper guidance can be disastrous. It was September 1, 1983. Two hundred sixty-nine innocent people lost their lives on Korean Flight 007 because of a navigational error. Reportedly, the pilots of this airliner accidentally punched in the wrong set of navigational coordinates after a refueling stop in Alaska. From that point on, every new set of coordinates they entered sent them farther off track. As a result they unknowingly penetrated Soviet airspace, were shot down by a Soviet pilot, and plunged into the icy ocean below. Improper guidance cost 269 innocent people their lives. We all need trustworthy guidance.
Last Sunday was the Day of Pentecost, the time we remember the Holy Spirit being poured out upon the disciples and those gathered in Jerusalem, leading to the birth of the church. I spoke about the Spirit using three picture words we find in the scriptures. The Spirit is breath, breathing life into us as God first breathed life into Adam at creation. The Spirit is wind, mysterious both in its origin and destination. We don’t capture the wind. Neither do we capture the Spirit, but have to be open when it blows our way. The Spirit is fire. It is powerful, a roaring blaze, a backdraft of energy that crosses the globe in mission.
Today is Trinity Sunday, a time to remember the three ways that God has been revealed to us. God is our creator, the one who brought forth the heavens and earth as it says in the First lesson. God is our redeemer, the one who, through Jesus, gives us access to God, as it said in the second lesson. And God is the Holy Spirit, who, according to John, “will guide you into all the truth.” Let me speak a bit more about the Spirit today, the Spirit as our guide. I believe that in Baptism, and then renewed regularly by faith, we all have the gift of the Holy Spirit. One special dimension to this year’s graduating seniors is that I baptized three of them, Becky, Mark, and Shawn, in my first year here at St. Paul Lutheran, 1989. I’ve seen these three, as well as others in this class grow to this significant point in their lives. I believe the Spirit has been there, and will be there, to guide.
How does this work? Writer Gordon McDonald provides this illustration. He tells about driving with his wife, Gail, to a small community to attend a dinner. They had never been in that area before, and they were quickly lost. Seeing a policeman parked in his car, they pulled over and asked him for directions. The policeman said, “You go down two more lights; turn right and go to a fork in the road where you bear left. Go two stop signs . . . or is it three . . . No! Here’s an easier way. Make a U-turn and go back to that little shopping mall back there; you know the one with the gas station on the corner. You hear what I am saying? Turn left there and just follow the road down to the ocean. It makes several turns, OK? And you have to be careful not to . . . No! Go back to the first way I said. Go down . . . Oh, what the heck. Look, I’ll take you there. Just follow me, and stick close!” MacDonald writes, “I followed him and stuck close. And it occurred to me along the way that is the invitation of Christ to someone who wants to know God, be guided by God, and understand how to live in the real world. Follow Him and stick close. Christ doesn’t miss a turn.” We are most in tune and most aware of the Spirit when we follow God, live by faith, and stay close to Him. Jesus knew this would not be easy. He knew that his disciples were being sent out into a hostile and often crazy world. They would need both power and guidance to find their way. Jesus himself would no longer be with them in the flesh. But he would be with them through the power of the Holy Spirit.
As a parent who has seen all my children graduate from high school, I think often of the hymn “Borning Cry,” where writer John Ylvisaker says in the first verse, “I was there when you were but a child, with a faith to suit you well, in a blaze of light you wandered off to find where demons dwell.” Part of being an adult, is going out and living in a world with the demons, in whatever form they take. It’s dealing with temptation, it’s dealing with unfairness, it’s dealing with brokenness, it’s dealing with sadness. It’s dealing with many choices that will impact our lives. To negotiate that, we need guidance and we need faith. Christ, working through the power of the Holy Spirit, is that guide. Pastor Michael Walther tells of listening to a radio program that told a story about a famous test pilot. This pilot was flying a fighter jet in bad weather and about to make his instrument approach to an airport. The air traffic controller called and asked how much fuel he had. “Plenty,” he said. “Well,” the controller said, “we’ve got a little problem. There’s a young pilot who is not instrument rated. He’s lost in the clouds, and we were wondering if you could intercept him and lead him back to the airport.” “Sure,” the pilot responded. He found the lost plane and pulled up beside it. He called on the radio and told the pilot to look out to his left. There the pilot of this small plane saw the powerful fighter jet, and the man burst into tears. As far as he was concerned at that point his life was about over. He would soon run out of fuel and crash. “Don’t worry,” the test pilot said. “Everything’s going to be OK. I’m going to pull in front of you several hundred yards. Do everything I do. When I turn, I’ll turn gently. All you have to do is do exactly what I do.” So carefully the leader and the follower turned on the course to the airport and slowly descended. When they finally broke through the clouds at 500', the frightened pilot saw the most beautiful sight. There in front of him was the runway, and he was perfectly set up to land. There are times when we need a guide we can depend on. I’m sure our graduates could name some people that have guided them to this point in their lives. There have been teachers, coaches, counselors, pastors, youth workers, friends, and of course, parents. Where would we be without such mentors, such guides?
The Holy Spirit of God is just such a guide as well. The secret is to yield our lives to his leadership. Trust him and let him lead you daily, and you’ll be amazed how much smoother life goes.
After church on Sunday, June 24th, you’re invited to stay for brunch and then watch a 30 minute DVD we will be presenting about our trip to Tanzania to visit our sister parish. It’s not just a travel account, but rather a number of amazing stories where we felt guided by the Spirit. One brief example that you’ll see in the DVD. In 2005 our Bible school kids raised about $700 for bicycles for the evangelists of the four preaching points to use, so they didn’t have to always walk. The money was in the account, but the bikes had not been bought. So, we decided to buy the bikes and bring them with us when we went to Mtera. There was actually enough money to buy 8 bikes, not just four, so we bought 8, figuring they’d find a use for all of them. We strapped 8 bikes to the top of one Landrover and took them on the four hour drive up to Mtera. When we got up there, we had a meal with Pastor Lufyagila and others. Much to our surprise, we learned the number of preaching points had doubled in the two years since we were last there. There were now 8. We didn’t know that when we bought the 8 bicycles. All 8 evangelists would now be able to receive a new bicycle, and it was extremely gratifying to be able to present them to them at worship on Sunday. Strange coincidence? I don’t think so. I’ve seen that kind of thing happen way too often in my life, near and far. I’m convinced that was the Holy Spirit blowing our way, and we were blessed to be caught up in that wind for that time. Today we wish God’s blessings upon our graduates as they go, and thank them for the many gifts they have brought to our congregation. They do go off into a world where demons dwell, in a wide variety of forms. If I can give one small word of advice, it is to hold on to your relationship with God and be guided by the Spirit. In fact, that’s good advice for everyone here, regardless of age. Be guided by the Spirit of God. For, as Jesus said, “He will guide you into all the truth.” Amen