Ministries Blog

The Grand Sweep

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Sharing God’s Greater Story

By Rev. John W. Nupp

A Grand Night In: The Story of Aardman

By your endurance you will gain your souls.

Luke 21:19 (NRSV)

Much of life comes as a given, but God gives us so much room for innovation. When asked to preach for a colleague recently, it meant returning to the pulpit after a four-month hiatus, the longest break in preaching since I became a pastor in 1994. The assignment had the usual “givens” – the church was prepared to celebrate Consecration Sunday and make their estimates of giving for the coming year. The basic text was also a given: Genesis 12:1-7 reveals God’s call to Abram to leave his homeland, so that he might be blessed to be a blessing to others. There was the question of which gospel text to choose, which was left up to me. I decided to go with the lectionary reading from Luke 21:5-19, with Jesus forecasting the destruction of the temple and the end of the world as we know it. I could even back up a few verses and pick up the widow’s mite for the children’s sermon.

It all seemed simple enough, except for the larger context: I was asked to preach on November 13, just five days after Election Day.

The “day after” I was in the midst of the business of the Board of Ordained Ministry, where the presence of the Elephant in the room created palpable silence and passionate side-bar conversations. In the days that followed, I sifted through scorching FaceBook posts, surfed through numerous radio talk-shows and tried to discern some truth among the television’s talking heads. All the while, I was wondering what in the world I could say to a congregation full of folks I had never met before.

By Friday evening, I had officially reached my capacity for news commentary and was ready for a break. My daughter had sent me a suggestion for some lite viewing: “A Grand Night In: The Story of Aardman (2015).” For those of you uncultured folks out there who have never heard of Aardman Animation studios, let me strongly encourage you to research “Wallace & Gromit” or “Shaun the Sheep.” The characters come to life through the wonders of modeling clay and stop-action photography, layered with witty dialogue and even more clever use of facial expressions. This is what I was really longing for – something clever with very few words!

In the documentary, the Academy-award winning director of several short films, Nick Park, spoke with passion of the creative process. Each individual movement of each finger must be carefully shaped then captured on film. The timing of moving lips coordinated with grinding cogs must be coordinated with the spoken word and sound effects and music to create one seamless overarching story. I had found just the insight I needed to share with the people at my friend’s church: the given setting of life, with the possibility of innovation. God provides us with the picture of patient endurance, as one who shapes us from clay, then lovingly sets us free to enjoy each moment of our lives. Compared to the painstaking patience required to move moment by moment through the creation of a short film, the history of salvation is amazing. And I’m not sure if God is trying to show off or what, but risking Free Will among a cast of billions and a story that stretches across 4,000 years of human history – Wow!

God calls to Abram and Sarai and they follow, moment by moment, step after step. Jesus speaks to the disciples in the midst of a massive reconstruction project where they are warned not to count on the stones to be left standing, but where the example of a widow’s small offering of two copper coins captures his attention. And so God’s Spirit whispers through the ages to us today, to keep putting one foot in front of the other, confident that God notices these small steps we take by faith. These simple, faithful steps are part of the dance of God that sweeps through the ages, firm through the rising and falling of powerful civilizations.

God still invites us into the dance, to make our contribution to the Grand Sweep of salvation history, where the movers and shakers like King Herod and Caeser Augustus play a minor role. Our focus is on a tiny baby, whose first cries are heard by no-account farm-hands who come to see this homeless couple, entrusted with the treasure of the ages. Let us take heart that God is still at work, in small and powerful ways, to bring salvation to this world. Let us draw strength to endure hateful words and displays of worldly power for the sake of that enduring kingdom which Jesus offers us. And let that strength lead us to step out in faith, moment by moment and day by day, as the story unfolds.

God’s call to “Go for Yourself”

We are, all of us, part of a larger story. Where do you trace the beginnings of your call from God? Where is your spiritual “homeland”?

Have you been called to leave this homeland, either literally or figuratively? How have you responded to this call? Who has come along with you?

What are the next steps God is calling you to take? Where will you begin?

 

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