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Hillary
Clinton now sec. of state, some years ago made popular the African proverb. “It
takes a village to raise a child…”
I
spent the first 10 years of my life in a little village of maybe 15 or 20
houses with a one-room school for grades 1-6. Attended by all 15 of us.
1950’s
Mappershein is a long way from Ocean View, NJ.
And yet on the day that we give God thanks for Mother -- there is some
truth in the proverb.
Proverbs,
whether they are from
They
articulate a value, a truth, something to hang on to.
A
stitch in time…
Birds
of the feather…
A
rolling Stone… Early to bed early to rise… (Well maybe not that one.)
These
past weeks are referred to as the Sundays of Easter…
The
lessons remind me of a pebble that is dropped in a pond and from its center we
see concentric circles spreading out farther… spreading out both geographically
and theologically…
We
read of the names of faraway places:
We
read that Peter is to ignore his Jewish upbringing and rules against dietary laws and enjoy a pork
chop or even a lobster tail now and then…
And
the next thing he is told to baptize folk without first doing what all good
Jewish boys have done to them … usually within a few days after they are born…
it might still hurt but like childbirth is soon forgotten.
So
today we come to the far reaches of geography where a woman by the name of
So
the circle of Grace moves outward and inward…
Outward
to far places and inward to the heart…
Women
have always played a pivotal role in God’s plan … and
In
the Gospel, which is part of what is known as Jesus farewell discourses…
We
read that Jesus tells his followers that he will soon be leaving them, that he
will not leave them alone, but that he will send the Advocate the Holy Spirit…
like a protective parent Jesus promises that they are not left alone.
Being
the oldest I can relate to that…
So
as the Gospel was spreading through the world, the disciples are told that they
were not on their own…
Jesus,
like a good mother reminds us “Those who
love me will keep my word… and we will come to them and make our home with
them… I said these things to you while I am still with you…
But while I am gone I will
not leave you orphaned. I won't be gone
forever. “A little while... just a little while...”
A
little while became a long while. A long while became a lifetime and then 100
years, and 500 years, and 1000 years, and now it has been over 2000 years 2010
to be exact!
And
some of us are beginning to wonder, to use the words of Barbara Brown Taylor:
“now
from where we sit, it has been so long that some of us wonder if we haven’t
been orphaned after all.
As
the oldest of 3 children I was the designated babysitter when my parents went
out.
Which
was not very often. In postwar
In
the little village where we lived there was nowhere to go. It was a 3-mile hike
to the nearest town with a church and restaurant.
There
were no TV’s no phones, no nothing… but there where those occasions when my
mother would put me IN CHARGE!
I
was told that I was responsible and how much they trusted me… talk about
laying on a guilt trip.
After I heard the lock of the front door click my heart would kind of skip a
beat.
I
was in charge… and as I turned and looked at my siblings, I saw in their faces
both fear and dread, and maybe a little hope knowing that I was all they had
until our parents returned.
I
knew that I was no substitute for what they had just lost.
But
what was the alternative?
So
we played games like “I Spy”, I read to them.
Not
well but by the time I was 8 I had memorized most of the stories…
I
bribed them with cookies if they promised to be good and go the bed and told
them when they woke up the next day mom and dad would be home.
When
will they be back?
How
long will they be gone? Where are they?
Why did they go away?
A
child myself, I was not so sure my parents would ever come back.
There
were rumors among us 8 and 9-year-olds in school that some parents had just
walked away from their kids and never came back.
And
what if they got hurt… the “What If’s” can be terrifying…
If
they did not come back we would be split up and maybe we would never see each
other again… it was hard being a babysitter because I was a potential orphan
too.
You
know how it feels… have you been there too?
Not
only as babysitters but also as Christians.
All
of us are older brothers and sisters, the ones he has left in charge!
We
are the responsible ones.
The
ones he has entrusted to tell the story.
We don’t need to look very far to see a little
brother or sister who looks up to us with something between hope and terror…
Some
of them are still open to his coming again… Many have given up.
Where
is he? Where did he go? When will he come back?
It
is hard being the ones who are in charge because we are potential orphans
ourselves.
“Those who love me will keep my words,” he
told them before he left, “and my father will love them and we will come to
them and make our home with them.” Jn. 14.23.”
So
there is both the going and the coming…
God
dwells with those who love Jesus and keep his word…
When
God and Jesus move in with us they bring lots of company…
The
company of the Holy Spirit, the company of other disciples, the company of
family that we might not even recognize as kin…
Remember
the proverb that it takes a village to raise a child.
That
is also true of Christianity.
This
is great news for all of us babysitters… because it means that we are not
alone.
There is lots of company. Look around…
God
dwells with us. Leaving notes all over the place:
“Love one another”, “Don’t be afraid”
“Believe
in God”, “Believe in me”
So
do our proverbs matter? I think so. I think they matter a lot. So much so that Jesus told us:
“Peace I leave with you; and again, “my peace I give to you. Do not let your
hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.”
Amen.
Based in part on “Good News for Orphans”, Gospel Medicine, by Barbara Brown Taylor, 1995.