Last week Dcn. Sue and I spent Sunday
evening through Tuesday afternoon at clergy conference. It was held
in Ocean City this year and, thankfully, we had some great weather
and free time to spend on the beach. Also, thankfully, I returned
uninjured. Those two things were probably the highlight of the
conference. One of the things that often happens at clergy
conference is speakers are brought in to discuss a particular topic.
This year we heard a few presentations from the College of
Congregational Development (CCD). This is a program developed in the
Diocese of Olympia to help with congregational vitality. The
presentations were primarily an overview of how the CCD looks at
addressing change and conflict.
And, as so often happens, when you hear
something in one context, it suddenly shows up in another context.
Like a word you've never heard before, but then it pops up seemingly
everywhere. That seems to be the case here.
One of the first things the CCD
presenters addressed was change. We all know that change is
constant. Over time, all things change. One way to determine if an
organism is alive and growing is to look at its rate of change. This
doesn't necessarily mean that fast growth, or fast change, is always
best or healthy. Cancer, for instance, is a group of fast-growing
cells, but they are certainly not healthy. Change is constant, but
constant change may not be ideal.
That said, they introduced a formula
for change to us. It's not so much a mathematical formula as much as
it is a logic statement. And it goes like this:
Change can occur when Dissatisfaction,
Vision, and First Steps are greater than Resistance. For those
wanting to write it out, it looks like this: C = D x V x FS > R
And when looking at this formula, it's
important to remember that Dissatisfaction is a neutral term that can
be either positive or negative.
So why am I bringing this up? Because
today we have two very different, yet similar, lessons. The story
from Genesis is, in a nutshell, that famous story of Jacob wrestling
all night with an angel, receiving a life-changing injury, a new
name, and gaining a blessing. The story from Luke is the parable of
the persistent widow who finally wore down the unjust judge in order
to gain justice. These two different stories are similar in that
they deal with change – what the CCD presenters spent time on.
As I said, the story from Genesis is
one of the more famous stories from that book. For those who don't
remember, Jacob has spent his life playing the trickster. He tricked
his father to give him the family blessing over Esau. He tricked
Laban while he was herding the flocks. And now he is on the verge of
meeting his brother for the first time in years, and rightfully
worried that Esau is out for revenge.
Maybe it's now that Jacob wants to
change. Maybe it's now that he has become dissatisfied with how he
acts and how he is perceived by others. Maybe it's now he has a
vision of a new, restored life with family and God.
Jacob wrestles with these things
throughout the night, much like we wrestle with changes in our own
life. This encounter ultimately changes Jacob. He is blessed, yes,
but he is also injured and changed forever. With this change, new
possibilities are opened up. But with this change, things will never
be as they were.
The gospel lesson is another story of
change. The widow was dissatisfied with the current state of
affairs. She had a vision for justice. And her first steps were to
continually make her voice heard. The judge was the main source of
resistance. Eventually he became dissatisfied with the widow and had
a vision of being left alone. A change was made.
In the parable, this process is only a
few verses long. In reality it takes much longer. Prayer does not
cause change overnight. Change can be a long process. Sometimes it
takes the persistence of the widow to make that change.
These two lessons have something to say
to us today, especially in our relationship with God. Right now we
all live and swim in our own personal spiritual relationship with
God. This isn't a bad thing, but, like fish in water, we may not
even be aware of our spiritual surroundings.
There are a few things for us to
consider as we look at these two stories. First, do you have a
vision? Like Jacob had a vision to “be better,” and the widow
had a vision for justice, what is your spiritual vision? What do you
want your spiritual life to look like?
Second, are you satisfied with your
current spiritual life? Would your vision for a deeper level of
spirituality cause you to be dissatisfied with how things are now?
Third, what first steps might you take
to achieve your vision? Can you find time to pray in the morning, at
noon, or at night? Would you be willing and/or able to attend an
Evening Prayer service? Bible study? The list is endless, but a
First Step is necessary.
And finally, if you want to make a
change, know that this won't be easy. Like Jacob, you will have to
spend time wrestling with an unknown adversary in your quest to get
closer to God. You may come out with a limp. And you will be
changed. Like the widow, this will take determination and
perseverance. And, even though not stated in the parable, that
constant and persistent effort changed her so that she was finally
able to receive what was given. Likewise, God may also change you
through your persistence.
These two stories are about change; and
specifically, about a change in our relationship with God. As we
look to deepen our relationship with God, we need to ask ourselves
this question, “Are we willing to do the hard work of being changed
by God, or is the desire to remain the same too much resistance to
overcome?”
Amen.
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