SETTING THE CONTEXT

Today’s reading from the Gospel of John is part of Jesus’ last discussion with his disciples before his arrest and execution. He makes them some promises, promises that they will cling to in their times of need, promises that we continue to cling to in our time of need.

Read John 14:23-27

THE SERMON

One of my all-time favorite commercials on television was a series of Southwest Airlines commercials. Does this ring a bell? A mail carrier grabs a basketball lying on the ground to make a shot at the basketball hoop in front of a house only to break the homeowner’s garage window. A voice says “Do you want to get away?” Another was a male coworker professing his love and the woman next to him says, “Gee, I’ve always been interested in you” only to have him turn and say “excuse me!” As he turns his cell phone earpiece is revealed. The announcer asks, “Do you want to get away?” Of course what the airline is counting on is that there are many times over the course of our lives when we “want to get away.” Sometimes it is over silly things like sticking our foot in our mouth but sometimes it is over much more serious things, things that haunt us for days, months or years. It always amazes me that things that may seem fairly insignificant to one person, a wayward remark or one-time mistake, can hurt a person for years.

George especially likes to tell me stories about the additional burdens of being the oldest child.  I remember him telling me about when he was 7 and someone left the garden hose on. His father got very angry and lined all the children up on the sofa and demanded that the children tell who left the hose on. Everyone was scared and no one would confess, so he finally said “George, follow me.” They all knew that that meant George was going to get hit with a piece of hard wood floor. George was protesting his innocence the whole way across the house. After the door shut to his amazement his dad said, “Look, I know you didn’t do it. I said what I was going to do and I have to do it so I was stuck. We’ll just wait in here a few minutes and then you can go out.” George couldn’t resist the opportunity for some drama and said, “Hey Dad, let’s really do this up right. You hit the bed and I’ll holler.” Then George put some water in his eyes to look like he was crying and they went out. A couple of years ago George was talking to his sister who is two years younger than he is and with whom he is very close. They were talking along and all of a sudden she blurted out, “George, I have to tell you something, I am the one who left the hose on. You took the whipping for me.” To her surprise, George started laughing and she got mad. When he finally explained the “rest of the story” she really got mad. “You mean I have been feeling guilty all these years and you never got hit!” It’s amazing how long we carry guilt, that small act haunted her for over 40 years.

The Wizard of Oz is a timeless story. The film was made in 1939 (almost 70 years ago), but it still delights and captivates audiences today. Over the next six weeks we are going to use images from the movie to help us explore our Christian walk. At the beginning of the movie, Dorothy “wants to get away”. She’s gotten entangled with her mean neighbor, Elvira Gulch, over her dog, Toto.

SHOW OPENING FILM CLIP from “The Wizard of Oz” ^[i]

Toto escapes from Mrs. Gulch’s basket and Dorothy decides to take him and run away from home. She changes her mind and returns home only to get caught in a tornado. When she lands she finds herself “away” in Oz. The problem with getting away is that you can’t outrun your witches. While Dorothy was in the midst of the cyclone, she saw Mrs. Gulch transform into a witch. After she gets acquainted with the good witch, Glinda and the Munchkins, guess who shows up!

SHOW WITCH FILM CLIP from “The Wizard of Oz” ^[ii]

Whether in the movies or in life, we can try to get away, but our witches tend to follow us.

Witches come in many forms. They may be people who have hurt us. They may be wounds or failures from our past. Our witches may be feelings of guilt or shame that oppress us or feelings that we’d rather deaden or bury. Gail’s witch was guilt from a childhood incident. Witches are often unresolved pain. These witches are destructive, wrecking havoc on our health, our relationships, and our quality of life. Witches just keep popping up giving us the same message.

Our witches keep popping up and encouraging us to surrender. In our reading though Jesus assures his followers that if they love him and allow him to be the Lord of their lives, he and God will dwell in them. You notice that he doesn’t say we’ll go to God’s house someday, he said that they will come and make a home with us. God doesn’t sit off at a distance watching our struggles with disinterest, God and Christ will reside with us wherever we are and God will give us the Holy Spirit to actively participate in our lives. The Holy Spirit enables us to follow Christ and reminds us of our calling to be like him. Jesus tells these disciples who are about to want to get away, far away, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not let them be afraid.” The Greek word translated “afraid” actually means “cowardly”.^[iii]  “Do not let your hearts be cowardly.” The peace Jesus talks about is not just the absence of conflict; it is wholeness, justice, and blessing. It is similar in meaning to a Hebrew word you hear us talk about often, shalom. This peace comes from a courageous heart facing and either conquering, befriending, or forgiving our witches - whichever response is appropriate.

Usually the best way to deal with witches is to face them. We may or may not be able to physically face the people who have hurt us in the past, but we can face their power over us through our unresolved pain. We can face the sources of our destructive feelings and break their power through a process of healing. Facing our witches can be terrifying. The two natural responses to fear are fight and flight. Whether you respond with getting angry and fighting or running away, if you don’t resolve the source of the fear, it is likely you will be destined to relive it again and again. We have a “Georgeism” in our marriage preparation booklet, “Remember, if you have a good fight and do not deal with the real issues and find some resolutions, you will have the same fight again.”^[iv]  The same is true of our witches, if we don’t face the witch and resolve the issue in some way that witch will continue to have power over us. Dorothy finally confronts her witch. She really didn’t want to confront her but she is backed into a corner and is forced to take action. Let’s see what happened.

SHOW WITCH MELTING FILM CLIP

When we face our terrifying witches no matter what form they take, we do not have to face them alone. God will walk with us and gives us the power, the wisdom and when we need it, the courage to heal. Prayer is essential for the Christian life and it is essential when we face our own witches. It is how we open ourselves up to hear how God wants us to proceed.  It is important to pray and pray some more. It may be helpful to visualize the Holy Spirit advocating and guiding us. I find it helpful to imagine Christ standing next to me holding my hand. God has also given us companions on the way. We will speak more about that in the coming weeks. You see God wants to transform our lives and the life of this world.

Sometimes we all want to get away, but in the end we can’t outrun our witches. God’s transforming power, the power of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, is available, waiting to help us to face our witches in whatever form they appear and leads us to the wholeness, the shalom or peace Christ promised. Amen.

Sermon delived by Rev. Nancy Cushman on July 20, 2008.