A JOURNEY OF PROMISE
Evangelical Lutheran Women - Provincial Convention
Parkside, SK April 28, 2001 - 10:00 - 10:45 a.m.
Marie-Louise Ternier-Gommers

Acts 2:26 (25-28)
Hymn: "I was there to hear your borning cry"

Thank you for the invitation.
I'm starting to realize that my Lutheran formation as a Roman Catholic
is a double-edged sword:
some trust me more because of it,
and others trust me less because of it.
After the Lutheran pastor in North Battleford invited me into his pulpit
on that now famous Reformation Sunday 1999
when your church and my church signed the
Joint Declaration on Justification by Faith,
he bragged about his "courageous" act to his Lutheran colleagues.
Apparently they were rather stunned, but he reassured them:
"She was trained by us; I knew what she'd say."
On the other hand, sometimes I get puzzled looks with the question:
"Are you joining 'them'?"
And I answer back with a tease:
"No, I'm "infiltrating" them, 'cause they need it!"

So, there you have it: a "dual belonging" of sorts
that evokes suspicion in some,
while others see it as "a journey of promise."

We're going to make this talk a bit of a journey as well,
a journey that we undertake together.
I will share with you my reflections, experiences and stories.
Then, periodically I will pause and give you a point of entry, so to speak.
I will invite you to add your own pieces to the patchwork.
I will ask you a question to ponder.
You may find it helpful at that time to write down some of your thoughts.
At the end I will give you an opportunity to share a little with your neighbour.
This is my way of ensuring that you don't fall asleep or lose interest!
I don't necessarily have any more wisdom to share than you all possess as well.
I just happen to have the microphone today, that's all.
The more you engage your own life with what is offered this morning,
the more you will appreciate this journey of promise with God.
Does that sound acceptable to you?

Okay, let's fasten the seatbelts and set out on the journey ....

"Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
my body also will live in hope."
This quote from Acts comes from Peter's first sermon.
In fact, Peter quotes David in these words:
For David says concerning him (Jesus),
I saw the Lord always before me,
for he is at my right hand
so that I will not be shaken;
therefore my heart was glad
and my tongue rejoiced;
moreover my flesh will live in hope.
For you will not abandon my soul to Hades,
or let your Holy One experience corruption.
You have made known to me the ways of life;
you will make me full of gladness with your presence. (2:25-28)

QUESTION: What part of these words speaks to you today?

Peter spoke these words immediately following the experience
of the coming of the Holy Spirit.
Remember: they were all gathered in one place,
and "suddenly there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind,
and it filled the entire room where they were.
Divided tongues as of fire appeared and rested on each of them."
When the apostles began to speak,
all gathered were amazed.
Why?
Because each heard them in their native tongue.
From the beginning God's Spirit empowered the apostles
to speak the Good News of Christ's resurrection
in the diversity present among God's people.
We, likewise, have been empowered by that same Spirit through baptism.
And what have we done?
Rather than speak to the diversity among us
we have fragmented Christ's Body on earth, the church.
We have been incapable of accomodating that diversity.
Throughout history our human tendency to want to be right
and to only listen to our own viewpoint
has inflicted deep wounds to Christ Jesus himself,
the One who came so that "we may be one."
We did not get it, did we?
The journey of promise which Jesus inaugurated,
that journey which he called the Reign of God,
we have twisted it to suit our own agendas.
For centuries Lutherans and Catholics have regarded each other
with suspicion, with disdain, with judgment.
For centuries we did not recognize the healing, reconciling presence of Christ
in one another's lives, in one another's worship, in one another's hymns.
But fortunately for us, as the rain will not fall to the earth
without bringing forth vegetation,
so God's Word will not rest until it bears fruit in our hearts.
Despite our stubbornness, our arrogance, our power games,
God wants nothing more for us than to join hands in love
on this journey of promise,
a promise fullfilled in Jesus Christ.

Question: When have you contributed to further fragmentation?

When have you contributed to healing among denominations, in relationships?

We are slow learners,
but is it fair to say that in this time and place of history,
we can rejoice together at the healing of denominational wounds?
When I was at the Lutheran seminary
I felt and saw many of those wounds, some in me, some in others.
And my most powerful lessons in Christian unity
occurred at the seminary, sometimes heavily seasoned with a delightful sense of humour.
Take the class on church history, for example.

The professor spoke about the events leading up to the Reformation.
Being a good Lutheran, he loved this era in the life of the church.
Most of the time, he did a good job presenting the issues from all perspectives:
social, theological, economic, historical.
The student body was most diverse: Lutheran, Mennonite,
Presbyterian, Anglican, United, and yes, three Roman Catholics.
We all listened with our denominational ears on alert,
eager to recognize in his words
our own particular theological and ecclesial perspective.
Whenever this did not happen, the professor was "grilled":
what about Menno Simons, what about the Counter-Reformation,
Ignatius of Loyola and the Council of Trent; what about John Knox?
On one occasion our questions frustrated him so much
that he finally put up his hands in exasperation and said, with a smile in his voice:
"This class used to be easier to teach when it was all Lutherans!"

The professor's words provided a crash course in ecumenism.
His words startled me.
As if seeing everyone for the first time,
I realized that we all cherished our beloved church traditions.
We wanted nothing more than to serve God in ministry in that church we each knew best.
And who was to say what was closer to the truth?
If our faith is cradled only within the security of our denominational walls,
we easily assume that Gospel truth equals denominational truths.
Different denominations were represented in the seminary's student body.
Together we were a most unique faith community discovering Gospel truth together.
We plunged into theological, ecclesial, historical and spiritual questions and discussions.
We engaged in deep personal and denominational soul-searching.
Each of us brought the perspectives characteristic of our denominational home,
the cherished "stuff" we grew up with.
Many of those were truly precious gifts.
Often one person's view shed fresh light on questions for those in another tradition.
An overemphasis on our denominational views risked not only deforming the Gospel itself,
but also risked undermining our sisters and brothers from another tradition.
Then the produced "fruits" were called disrespect, judgement, and disharmony;
hardly fruits of the Spirit.
Only by holding our particular perspectives together in full view,
with all the tensions and seeming contradictions,
and by humbly submitting to the loving scrutiny of the other,
the Gospel revealed itself more fully.
Slowly but surely, we learned to love in diversity,
experiencing in our relationships that unity which Christ has indeed won for us.

When these things happen, Paul's words to the Romans become a reality:
"And hope does not disappoint,
because God's love has been poured forth in our hearts
through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us" (Rom. 5:5).

We find it hard to be so absurdly generous in love.
For some reason, we've decided, often unconsciously,
to play God: we make judgments about what is good for another,
we easily dismiss people and viewpoints that are too different from ours,
and we tend to blame others for their failings and misfortunes.
Sounds like sin?
It is sin, making us behave more like the Creator instead of creatures,
and taking us far away from those famous "fruits"
we're supposed to produce if we are a new creation in Christ.
Remember the fruits?

The fruits of the Spirit are:
love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity,
faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. (Gal. 5:22)

These fruits are the key to recognizing the Spirit of God at work.
Any other "fruits," like pride, judgment, arrogance, discrimination etc.
are either from the evil one,
from our own woundedness and need,
or from our inflated egos.

Question: What fruits do you produce?

Do your fruits come from your own fears and insecurities, your need to be right,

Or from the Spirit?

From that first Pentecost on,
when Peter spoke so boldly to the crowd,
and from which your quote for today is chosen,
we have been Spirit-filled people of God.
Jesus Christ claimed us in baptism.
We have joined the disciples in the Spirit of Christ
on an incredible journey of promise.
With the disciples we are sent out to proclaim Good News,
by bringing, love, forgiveness, comfort, peace and mercy.
We're the first ones to know that we do not always live up to this radical calling.
And in a way that's okay, as long as we acknowledge that.
Many times we do not feel the Spirit,
we do not act in the Spirit.
We too, at times, fear "the authorities,"
maybe not the ones "out there," but surely the ones in ourselves.
Some of us attend church out of duty or to reduce guilt.
We can judge ourselves, and others, harshly when life treats us unfairly.
We fail to forgive many times,
especially in our families, in our communities.

We reduce our faith to a set of rules to follow.
Or, we are so busy living good and pious lives
that we get tricked into trusting our own efforts to make it into heaven.
Before we know it, oh so subtly,
we betray Christ as much as the disciples did.
Rather than choose a different band of supporters, though,
Christ keeps breathing his Spirit in us and pushes us out the door,
sends us as the Father sent him.

Question: How do you betray Christ?

Despite ourselves, Jesus keeps seeking us out.
He loves hanging out with us.
Jesus is among us when we gather on the first day of the week.
Jesus is among us when we open ourselves to the Living Word from Scripture.
Jesus is present in us when we reach out to those in need.
The Lord Jesus is among us when we show fruits of his indwelling Spirit,
right through the scars of death in our life.
The Spirit of the Lord rests on us when we truly hear one another in love,
each in our "own language."

Let's share a few stories,
to illustrate how the Spirit of Jesus can speak to us
each in our own "language"
taking us on an unbelievable "journey of promise:"

Story #1

A number of years ago I attended a gathering of prairie women,
120 of us at St. Peter's Abbey in Muenster.
We gathered to remember, share and celebrate stories of life as prairie women.
We gathered to express a common prairie bond before God.
The diversity was stunning:
Catholic and Protestant, Christian and non-Christian,
native, white and metis,
religious sisters and secular seekers,
young and old, urban and rural.

How would we ever hear one another,
each in our own language?
There was a lot of hesitation at first;
divisions and distinctions were so clearly evident.
There were stories of abuse, exploitation and discrimination,
often experienced at the hands of "good Christians."
There was anger shared by those who felt betrayed by the church,
and joy shared by those who had given their lives to Christ.
There were prayer times with basic symbols of water, oil, sweetgrass and bread.
Prayer times that tried to hold all the extremes, all the diversity, all the joys and sorrows.
It was a difficult, delicate journey.
But the three days were truly a journey of promise.
Slowly, over the three days,
wounds as well as the treasures of our hearts were shared -
The Spirit opened the ears and hearts of all
to hear, to receive, and to celebrate our common bond before God.
Hearts were changed and friendships were born.
Respect was born, love was kindled, understanding replaced judgement.
Jesus, holding in unity and love the mosaic of differences,
stood among all of us gathered, saying:
"Peace be with you..."

Story #2:

Years earlier, in a small town in New Jersey,
the congregation gathered for Sunday worship.
It was only days after Martin Luther King was shot.
The congregation was black with a white minority.
King's assassination was a terrible blow for so many
who had struggled for justice, equality and respect.
Church that Sunday began in chaos.
The planned service simply would not do,
but nobody really knew what to do.
Then, one of the men from the choir, moved quietly to the centre
and began to sing, very quietly at first, the anthem of that era:
"We shall overcome."
Slowly, all joined in and held one another.
They sang "We shall overcome" over and over and over again
until they had sung out their rage and their fear.
They sang the song until it changed from an anthem of fear
into an anthem of hope.
And they were healed, put back together, as one community of faith
black and white who could once again be together as God's people.
In their midst stood the One who went before them in this journey of promise:
Jesus, who speaks "peace."

Story #3:

On the road to Emmaus, one of them said to the stranger:
"Are you the only one in Jerusalem who does not know
the things that happened in these days?"
(...) Then, beginning with Moses, he interpreted to them
the things about himself in all the scriptures.
(...) They urged him strongly:
"Stay with us..."
(...) When he was at table with them,
he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them.
(...) "Were not our hearts burning within us
as he opened the scriptures for us?"

Story #4:

Not too far from here, just south of Battleford in fact,
two congregations have entered a "marriage covenant."
Redeemer Lutheran and St. Paul's Anglican in Biggar
are learning to "be church" together while remaining distinct.
In August 1999, the two congregations entered a five-year covenant
for a shared ministry in the leadership of a Lutheran clergy couple.
They have clearly embarked on a new "journey of promise."
In sharing themselves with the other church family,
each community is learning more deeply who they are apart from one another
and who they can be together.
When long-time member of St. Paul's Anglican, Sandra Schmirler,
died in September 1999, both congregations hosted a prayer service
to deal with the community's grief over her death.
Out of this experience, a monthly Service for Healing and Wholeness
evolved which is open to the entire community.
And in the midst of this journey of love in Biggar
stands the One who makes for peace:
Jesus, the risen One, who fulfilled the promise
of salvation.

Question: When and how have you recognized the risen Jesus?

A little girl was visiting her grandmother
in a small country town in a southern US state.
They attended a very emotional religious service,
where people expressed their feelings by jumping about and shouting ...
what we might call a "Holy Roller" service.
Ever have those in a Lutheran congregation? Hard to imagine right?
Well, the little girl asked her grandmother
if all the jumping meant the Holy Spirit was really there.
Her grandmother said, "Honey, it don't matter how high they jump up,
it's what they do when they come down that will tell you if it is the real thing."

What is the "real thing?"
This question takes us back to the fruits of the Spirit.
Every effort to bring healing, reconciliation, unity.
Whenever these things are felt,
we can be sure of who is leading the journey.
Jesus, the risen One, leading the journey of promise,
stands among us also here today, speaking peace.
Limited, flawed, and poor at listening as we are,
Jesus brings peace to us
who are made whole and worthy through his death.
This peace is a costly kind.
It is costly, because it comes with scars from the cross;
the scars that keep Christians divided,
the scars in the church congregation of blacks and whites,
the scars exposed and shared at the gathering of prairie women;
the scars caused by loss, illness and death of loved ones.
Jesus' peace comes with the full knowledge of our own sinfulness,
in the full knowledge that we mess up so often.
Jesus speaks peace right into our fear of pain and death,
right into our fear of doing the wrong thing.
Not a peace meaning absence -
absence of war, pain, and strife.
Rather, Jesus' peace carries a fullness -
the fullness and faithfulness of God's presence among us.
Jesus speaks, and is, our peace.
This is the journey we are on.
This is the reason for our hearts to be glad and for our tongues to rejoice.
This is the reason for our body to live in hope also.

1999 ARCCC Award recipients Judy Madren (CBC News Radio Tapestry) Fr Jim Mason (TV Broadcasting) Marie-Louise Ternier-Gommers (Our Family Magazine 50th Anniversary)

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