Spiritual Growth :: Sermons

Sunday, July 12, 2009.
Proper 10B RCL. The Rev. Sabeth Fitzgibbons

When Herod heard John, he was greatly perplexed; and yet he liked to listen to him.

That perfectly describes my theology professor in seminary. She is a theologian and an academic. Sometimes she is so steeped in her academic language that it’s hard to get her to break down her ideas in ways ‘normal’ people can understand. I was often perplexed listening to her. And yet, I knew from the beginning that she had something to teach me. Thinking back, one thing I do remember clearly is her orientation to theology. She believes and teaches as though we are all theologians. Every one of us has something to say about God from our lives – and that makes us theologians. What we have been taught about God from other people is not as important as what we know about God through our own experiences

Where my professor leaves off is how to discover our own theologies

How do we learn to name our experiences of God? How do we find the words? How do we understand which things are about God? And then what do those experiences tell us about God?

Not all of us are good at making space and time for those kinds of reflections on our own And one of the most perplexing parts of being a theologian from one’s own experience is that no one else can do it for you! Oh, yes, and it’s not a one-time done and over kind of thing. Because we are continually changed by the experiences of our lives, so is our theology

In thinking about being theologians the ideas of journey and relationships are central here. I’d like to offer three examples of theological journeys that are fresh in my mind. These are journeys of both individuals and communities

First example is one very close to Redeemer’s heart. Members of our J2A group and their leaders are on pilgrimage RIGHT NOW. They are in South Dakota staying on a somewhat rustic retreat center Far away from usual weather, usual food and beds, and far away from their usual iPods and cell phones. They are there together, as a group. And they are on a journey, a pilgrimage, to find and be found by God. Their days are filled with prayer, with learning about Native American history and culture and religion, with physical activity like hiking, and with silence. They are being transformed by this experience – in ways they may recognize and be able to name now, and in some that they may not know for many years to come

The second example is the 76th General Convention of The Episcopal Church going on right now in Anaheim CA. More than 10,000 Episcopalians are there – from all over the world. Lay people, deacons, priests and bishops. They, too, are far away from their usual comforts – living in hotels and eating in restaurants for 2 weeks away from their loved ones spending long days sitting in legislative sessions. General Convention also is a community of people in relationships. This may be best expressed in the theme of the convention: ubuntu – I in you and you in me They are worshipping together daily, listening to differing viewpoints from people all around the church, and learning from sitting with their discomfort about things that they don’t agree with

Sam Gould, a college freshman who is part of the Massachusetts deputation, spoke at a committee meeting about the Millennium Development Goals and his trip to El Salvador and his realization of all he takes for granted and the belief he has that this Church can change the world, and we should be about it. General Convention, too, is a journey of learning about God from our relationships with one another - for those who are there in Anaheim, and for all of us who are asked to live into ubuntu

The third example is from a movie I watched this week – ‘5 People You Meet in Heaven’. It’s based on a book by the same title I don’t want to give away too much of the movie. Suffice it to say that the main character Eddie hasn’t lived his life the way he wanted to. Instead of going to college and becoming an engineer, he ends up fixing carnival rides until he dies. In heaven, Eddie meets 5 people Some he knows from his life, and some he doesn’t recognize

Each person has a lesson about his life to share with him Eddie’s journey in heaven ends up being reflection on where his life intersected with other peoples’ lives in ways that were meaningful, for good or bad, to him or them. Again, journey and relationship end up being about coming to know and understand our relationship with God

Each of these three examples – heaven, General Convention, pilgrimage – is about journeys and relationships of individuals and community. For how do we know God but through one another? And every one of us has a different life journey, different relationships and a different theology. There must be at least 50 different theologies in this room alone! And yet when we come together as community, we bring our theologies and some core truths about God emerge. We might not use the same words to express them, but themes become clearer – and those themes are our community theology. Like our personal theologies, community theologies also change over time because they are colored by our experiences as individuals and as a group. Changing theologies are part of our journeys

How do we learn to name our experiences of God? And then what do those experiences tell us about God? What do we need to do to make time and space to reflect? Who do we need to reflect with?

These are questions to engage by ourselves, and with one another. To be in conversation and community about our relationships and journeys To learn to talk about God and our theologies. I can only ask these questions – the answers are yours alone

I invited you into these questions and to the next step as well

How will we share and live out of or into our theologies?

Wishing you God’s peace and the blessing of the Holy Spirit on your journey