Sermon for April 25, 1999

Pastor Gunnar L. Anderson

"Old Blue"

A week or so ago, I attended a concert given by folk singer David Massengill. David hails from Tennessee, so he speaks with a charming southern drawl. And he drawls out stories, preceding, introducing every song that he sings. And sometimes a singer that talks too much is wearisome, cumbersome even to the flow of the show. But in the case of David Massengill, you sit there transfixed, fascinated, charmed. It is as if he is in your living room, spinning yarns around the fireplace.

And David told us, that with two preachers in the family, he grew up liking Sunday School. Till one day his faith was tested. His little dog ran out into the street, and was hit by a car. "Dad took him to the vets," David remembered, "and it wasn't till the next day that he told me that my dog had died! So then I wanted to know, 'would I see my dog again one day in heaven?' And my Mom and my Dad made a serious blunder. They told me, 'I don't think so, son. Heaven is only for people.' So, I cried all the more. Then seeing how upset I was, Mom and Dad sort of revised their theology. 'David,' said Dad, though heaven is only for people, there is a special Dog Heaven!' So right away I wanted to know, 'do you think we can cross over between these heavens?'"

"So I was confused about all this," David went on, "till one day I was watching an episode of the "Twilight Zone, " you remember that show, don't you?" (Do do do do; Do do do do) "This old fella, an actor by the name of Hunnicut, I believe, is walking down the road, out hunting with his dog, 'Old Blue.' 'Blue,' he said, 'I don't recognize this road, and this here woods. I reckon I'm lost. I'm not sure just where we are.' And right about then they come up to a fella standing beside a gate. 'Mister,'asked the old man, 'can you tell me where this here place is?' 'Why, sir, this is Heaven,' came the reply of the gatekeeper, 'Come right on in.' Surprised, yet gladdened, the old man smiles, saying, 'Tarnation, I guess I made it after all! Come on, Blue, let's go.' 'Just a minute,' exclaimed the gatekeeper, 'You can come on in, but not that dog!' Stunned, the old man stopped in his tracks, pondering. 'Well, I tell ya then, if "Old Blue" can't come on in to Heaven with me, I reckon I'll jut mosey on down to the other place. It may be hotter there, but if "Old Blue" can come with me, it'll be better than eternity in paradise without him!'

"So the old fella and "Old Blue" wander on down the road a piece till they come to another gate. And the gatekeeper there says, 'Come right on in, sir, and your dog is most welcome too.' 'Well, that's just fine,' said the old man, 'I just wish they'd said that down at Heaven's gate.' 'What do you mean, sir,' asked the gatekeeper, 'This is Heaven! The other gate was hell, just trying to fool you!'"

Now this morning, Jesus mixes the animal imagery, but makes a similar point!

'Very truly, I tell you,
anyone who does not enter the sheepfold
by the gate but climbs in by another
way is a thief and a bandit.
The one who enters by the gate is the
shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper
opens the gate for him, and the sheep
hear his voice. He calls his own sheep
by name and leads them out ...'

Now his disciples did not understand what Jesus meant by this, so he said it again, more simply and to the point:

'Very truly, I tell you,
I am the gate for the sheep
All who came before me are
thieves and bandits ...'

"All who came before me," back down the road, will lead you in the wrong direction, are "just trying to fool you."

And what do we find if we go through the wrong gate? There we see roads clogged with refugees, tens of thousand huddled in camps, tens of thousands already dead. There we see school children carrying automatic weapons rapid firing on other school children; the "Trenchcoat Mafia," dressed in black, hating athletes and minorities and those who offended them. We see hatred. We see intolerance. We see a meaningless, valueless, lostness. We see violence and abject disregard. We see an article in the Sunday Courier-News, written by Wayne Muller, who correctly says, "In the relentless busyness of modern life, we have lost the rhythm between action and rest ... Remarkably, within this mosaic there is a universal refrain: 'I am so busy.' ... We say this to one another with no small degree of pride, as if our exhaustion were a trophy, our ability to withstand stress a mark of real character. The busier we are, the more important we seem to ourselves ... To be unavailable to our friends and family, to be unable to find time for the sunset (or even to know that the sun has set at all), to whiz through our obligations without time for a single mindful breath - this has become the model for a successful life."

"'The thief comes only to steal, kill and destroy,'" says Jesus. Continues Wayne Muller in what now seems like unwitting prophesy, "Because we do not rest, we lose our way. We miss the compass points that show us where to go. We lose the nourishment that gives us succor. We miss the quiet that gives us wisdom ... for the want of rest, our lives are in danger." Therefore, and here is Muller's point, "Most spiritual traditions prescribe some kind of Sabbath, time consecrated to enjoy and celebrate what is beautiful and good - time to light candles, sing songs, worship, tell stories, bless our children and loved ones ...

And maybe that's exactly what we need to hear in this week of violent tragedy; when a doctor on the Oprah show can say that our children are in crisis, that our boys are in trouble, that "boys who cannot cry tears, shoot bullets"; in a week when Oprah herself closed her show by saying, "Our boys are lost, let us lead them home." Like the shepherd and the sheep, your children know your voice, and they will follow you.

"Most spiritual traditions prescribe some kind of Sabbath, time consecrated to enjoy and celebrate what is beautiful and good - time to light candles, sing songs, worship, tell stories, bless our children and loved ones ... Rest," posits Muller, and I might deepen the notion by adding, connection with God, hearing again about the cross, being comforted that you are loved and challenged that you can love, "Rest is not just a psychological convenience; it is a spiritual and biological necessity. 'Remember the Sabbath' is more than simply a lifestyle suggestion. It is a commandment, and ethical precept as serious as prohibitions against killing, stealing, and lying," and, in fact, the Sabbath, coming to church is where our lives are rooted and find foundation and direction. The Sabbath, coming to church is where we remind ourselves in prayer, Lord, "Thy will be done!" And what Jesus would to surely guides us.

"He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that, free from sins, we might live for righteousness." So writes the author of the First Letter of Peter. "...if you endure when you do right and suffer for it, you have God's approval." And we are not left in the dark about what "doing right" means. We are "to follow in Christ's steps." Which door? Which gate? The way of the world, or the way of the cross? Poet Robert Frost said it best: "Two roads converged into the wood. I chose the one less traveled. It has made all the difference."

In Acts we learn how the early Christians followed Christ: "The Baptized devoted themselves to the Apostles' teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers." And:

All who believed were together and had
all things in common; they would sell
their possessions and goods and distribute
the proceeds to all, as any had need.

Christian Education ... Gathering together for mutual support ... Worship and the Lord's Supper ... Prayer ... Giving what you have to any who have need. Devote yourselves to these things!

"'Christ committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.' When he was abused, he did not return abuse; when he suffered, he did not threaten." "Pray for those who persecute you," don't shoot! Teach and stress these things. If our children could be more firmly grounded in these things, would they be so lost?

Life for us in not like Monte Hall on "Let's Make A Deal," tempting, "Do you want what's behind Door #1? Door #2? or Door #3? We know the right door! "'I am the gate,'" Jesus emphatically says, leaving no doubt, "'Whoever enters by me will be saved:'"

and will come in and go out and fine
pasture ... I have come that they may
have life, and have it abundantly.

So, what do we find if we go through the gate of Jesus? There we see presidential hopeful and New Jersey's favorite son, Bill Bradley saying, "in any administration of mine all departments will need to show me how they intend to improve tolerance and understanding." There we see parents finding the time to nurture and bless their children, time to be there, midst the madness, to care. For example, as the TV spot underscores, "children whose parents talk to them about drugs are 40% less likely to do them! There we see our opportunities to contribute health kits for Kosovo or money to our Lutheran International Disaster fund through the newsletter you have just received, or will soon receive at home. There you see in our Prayer Center that you might pray for the refugees from Kosovo and for the children and families of Littleton, Colorado! There you see through the darkness and the lostness to faith and hope.

David Massengill finally finished his story, in his charming southern drawl, "From that day on I believed in the gospel according to Rod Serling."Well, though I always liked the "Twilight Zone" too, I'm going to stick with the Gospel according to Jesus Christ:

'I am the Good Shepherd who lays down
his life for the sheep.'

'I am the way, and the truth ...'

'I am the resurrection and the life.'

'I am the gate. Whoever enters by me
will be saved ...'

And "Old Blue?" Well, I had a funeral service for my cat, Random, when he died, and I buried him beneath the rose bush!

AMEN

Copyright © 1999 Gunnar L. Anderson. All Rights Reserved.

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