[Propertalk] 5 Easter a

[robertpmorrison at charter.net]

Thanks to Ann for the information (and photos!) on Salisbury, here is 
what's been edited briefly, but remains to be read and re-read until 
delivered - and beyond.

Best wishes,

Bob

THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH OF ST. ALBAN, ALBANY                   	 
THE FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER EASTER (A)
ACTS 7:55-60							                      18th MAY, 2014
1 PETER 2:2-10						                       PSALM 31:1-5, 15-16
JOHN 14:1-14

“Love without evidence is stalking.”

	Tim Minchin is an Australian musician and comedian now living in 
Britain. He’s very talented and is incredibly socially aware. I saw a 
bit of one of his routines the other day in which he began with an 
apology. He said that a lot of his audiences come to his shows because 
he sings about beliefs, specifically about faith and religion. He 
confessed that he’s tended to mock some of the hypocrisy he sees around 
him. He said to this audience that they shouldn’t wait for that as he’s 
not doing it any more. The audience kind of missed that, so Minchin said 
he owed them an explanation.

	While he was relaxing after a show in Australia, Minchin was asked by a 
fan why he didn’t believe in God. Minchin’s reply was that he didn’t 
believe in God for the same reason that anyone might not believe in 
something – because he hadn’t yet had enough evidence to allay his 
doubts. 1

A little aside here, but that sounds pretty much like Thomas’ question, 
doesn’t it?

The fan replied, “Well, you don’t just go through your whole life 
believing in things for which you have evidence, do you?” To which he 
said, “Yes – that’s pretty much how I stutter my way through my turgid 
existence.”

The fan said, “What about love? Do you believe you are loved? Do you 
love?”

“Yes,” Minchin replied, “I pretty much believe in love; that I’m loved 
and that I love people.”

“Aha! You don’t have any evidence for love.”

Minchin responded, “Yes, well, yes, well, I think, well. Yes, I mean, 
love without evidence is – stalking.”

Tim Minchin went on that he’d always tried to be intellectually honest 
throughout his life, even in his comedic moments. He didn’t want to say 
anything unless he could back it up with evidence, because, despite his 
humour, his satire, he didn’t want to mislead anyone by offering false 
information, or doctored reports, or half-truths. He wanted to be able 
to show on what ground he was basing his remarks and the way that he 
lived his life.

The fan, whose name was Sam, replied with a story about his 
sixty-year-old mother who’d been diagnosed with a degenerative eye 
disease which required immediate surgery. Sam’s mother, however, didn’t 
like the thought of major surgery, partly because she had a skepticism 
of some health care providers. So Sam and his mother brought the matter 
up at their congregation’s next worship meeting, and all seventeen 
hundred people prayed, together, for Sam’s mother.

Next week, when she returned to her physician’s office, there was 
absolutely no sign of there ever having been any sort of disease at all.

A couple of more asides.

We had a church secretary – not here in Albany – whose sister had been 
diagnosed with aggressive cancer in her bladder and kidneys. The 
prognosis looked grim. We put the sister on our prayer list, we 
mentioned it at the service and we prayed, corporately and individually. 
About a week later, our secretary came back to say that there was no 
sign of any problem at all.

The third aside – yes, this DOES happen. All the time? No, far from it. 
In fact, I’d bet there are hundreds, thousands of instances where the 
prayer and ministration is equally devout and strong and nothing happens 
– physically. BUT in so many cases the individual, and those around her 
and him, will often mention a feeling of peace and warmth at being 
surrounded by love, such a peace that enables the person and the 
person’s family to deal with the frustration, the anger, the confusion 
that may be present also, and the horrible decisions that have to be 
made, many times, decisions which can amount to turning off all life 
support and actually let the person die.

Tim Minchin said that after that encounter with Sam, he went home 
thinking, having, in his own words, “been involved in witnessing what I 
can only describe as a first-person miracle”, and he wrote a song which 
begins, “I have an apology to make; I’m afraid I’ve made a big mistake; 
I’d turned my face away from you, Lord. I was too blind to see the 
light; I was too meek to feel your might; I closed my eyes, I couldn’t 
see the truth, Lord. Then, like Saul on the Damascus road, you sent a 
messenger to me …, now I’ve had the truth revealed to me forgive me all 
those things I said, I’ll no longer betray you, I will pray to you in 
the stadium and I will say, ‘Thank you, thank you, thank you, God.’”

Then, interestingly, Tim Minchin said, “Thank you, Sam!” If it hadn’t 
been for Sam, Tim might have continued to consider himself, as he said 
self-deprecatingly, a “stalker”, someone who knew the words, but hadn’t 
been able to connect them to events, to mystical experiences in his own 
life, to the people around him.

A fourth aside – and, who knows, there may yet be more! – I find this, 
“I went to church, the congregation prayed and my mother’s eye disease 
disappeared” approach to God, and healing, and love somewhat dis-easing. 
I don’t doubt for a minute that this happened to Sam’s mother, or to 
many others, or, for that matter, that the original diagnosis was 
correct. I think there are millions and millions of Thomases and Philips 
in creation, every last one of us not really interested in stalking 
through religion and life. We all have our questions – about our health, 
about our relationships and, ultimately, about what happens to us and 
our loved ones when we die. And I think we should NEVER stop asking 
questions.

I have friends who find amusing the Episcopal Church’s slogan that we 
don’t ask anyone to check their minds at the door. The comment I got 
just last week was that this is a church, why on earth wouldn’t one 
bring one’s mind in with one when one came in – whether it’s to ask for 
some kind of help, or to meet with a group established here already, or 
to join with others in worship of God – however one defines God?

But there ARE some folk who are uneasy with characters like Tomas, or 
Philip, and, of course, Peter who seemed to be a perpetual yo-yo in 
terms of decision-making; there ARE some folk who feel that there are 
way too many questions elsewhere in life that they don’t need any more 
situations where there isn’t absolute, black-and-white certainty. 
They’re worried about things that they feel should stand for all time, 
and shouldn’t be questioned.

Fortunately, we DO have people who’ve wrestled with questions and 
answers, and may feel a little more comfortable in being a little more 
certain or precise in the responses. But don’t look for any of the 
disciples among that group. And, if we’re honest, I’d bet that most 
congregations wouldn’t fall into that group either.

We’ve ALL been faced with challenges which have rocked us back on our 
heels, which have disturbed us so much that we may feel like dropping 
out of church, out of our social organisations, even dropping out of 
life altogether. For our sake and the sake of the entire community, we 
NEED to make it known that this is a place for questioners, where, with 
humour, and compassion, with a sense of commitment to and for others, we 
will wrestle with difficulties together and sit down to help one 
another, no matter from where one has come, or how one appears, or even 
how one has expressed her or himself – maybe even like Tim Minchin, and 
Philip, and Thomas, who can say, “Give me at least a little evidence. 
It’s tough enough facing life unless there’s something concrete on to 
which we can hang.”

Of course, Jesus was right there for the disciples – both the ones who 
were brave enough to speak out and the ones who had the same questions, 
but didn’t feel as if they should really appear to be quite that unalert 
and unaware of  everything about which Jesus had been talking. The crazy 
thing is that Jesus is STILL here, to reassure, to laugh, to challenge, 
to hug.

The good news is that none of the disciples or the crowds remembered to 
bring their cameras or cell phones with them while Jesus was around, so 
we don’t have a picture. Nor, for some strange reason, did any of the 
contemporary writers think to describe Jesus in physical terms. That 
wasn’t what struck the people, obviously. In other words, you may not 
have been able to have picked out Jesus in a crowd. What distinguished 
Jesus was His ability to see to the heart of a problem or a joy and to 
make an appropriate and helpful response to it. That Jesus was present 
for people in their situation of need – whether an illness, a dispute, 
or a question about the future – Jesus was able to offer advice. He 
didn’t beat folk over the head with it either. He simply spoke, His 
actions mirroring His words, and tried to bring everyone up to speed in 
terms of wholeness of body, mind and spirit. Again – He DIDN’T beat 
people up over this. He left each individual to decide why something was 
done or not done, something said or not said. In line with the 
post-resurrection experiences, He simply was there.

So, if Jesus wasn’t photographed or painted, in His own day, how are we 
to tell who’s who? Jesus IS, Jesus always has been, present. But where 
on earth do we find Him? What does His voice sound like?

Tim Minchin found Him obviously, in his own way, even with all the 
satire. But the description he gave is really interesting: tall, 
bronzed, shirt open almost to his navel, a chain around his neck. Could 
he be a Chippendale? Well, there WAS a cross on Sam’s chain. But who’s 
to say a Chippendale – or an Albany Fire Department fire-fighter – isn’t 
the voice of God for us?

The overall point of all of this, just as in the Gospel story, is that 
we don’t have to worry. Things WILL work out.  Of course, we can’t fly 
off any which way, unwilling to use the brains, and the emotions, that 
we have. Tim had to analyse what Sam said. We ALL have to listen, to 
match what we hear with what we know Jesus did under certain 
circumstances. But then we have to measure everything against that Love 
which God brings to us, and asks us to observe, to experience – yes, 
experience … as difficult as it may be for some, at certain times, we’re 
invited to work on discovering what it can be like to live the 
experience of love. I love the quip Tim Minchin used: “Love without 
evidence is stalking.” But there’s another side to that. God’s love is 
always present for us. We may not know it. We may not feel it. We may 
not want to know or to feel it. But it’s there. Others have described 
it, and simply left it up to us to hope that we’ll find it for 
ourselves, being present with us, keeping us company until we do.

A friend on a pilgrimage to Scotland and England right now has been 
sending back pictures of her trip. A series of them, on Thursday, showed 
the relatively new, wonderfully striking font at Salisbury Cathedral. 
The design is so welcoming. It has a large surface, with space around it 
to accommodate so many people. And then the water cascades down off 
spouts at the corners. What struck me, though, about the pictures Ann 
sent were the verses engraved around the edge of the font: “Do not fear 
for I have redeemed you – I have called you by name and you are mine – 
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you – And through the 
rivers they shall not overwhelm you.”  2

	The Very Rev’d. June Osborne, the Dean of the Cathedral, remarked, 
“It's not just something pleasing and aesthetic to have around. It's an 
invitation to all our visitors, whether they're Christians or not; a 
statement, as they come in through the door, of the Christian conviction 
of life after death. The font is a reminder that they have entered not 
just a historic building but a sacred space. They're on holy ground. …

	“‘Some people will use it, like the Trevi fountain, and throw coins in 
it,’ says Osborne, with a smile. ‘And others will see it, and they will 
cry, because it will remind them of God's unconditional love for them.’” 
“‘It's there forever,’ says (William) Pye, (the sculptor), quietly.”

	That story about Sam and his mother spurred Tim Minchin on to finish 
his song by questioning why Sam’s mother’s eyes were more important than 
the rest of the suffering of the world. He put everything into a context 
that we know, one that makes us uneasy, and he leaves us with a 
question. So he continues to write and use satire; and to tweak and 
tease God, and us with our attitudes about God. But that’s what meeting 
God is about. And God, I’m sure, is rolling on the floor laughing.

	Love without evidence is stalking? [question mark] God is always 
waiting, in the here and now, and waiting to give us that wonderful 
welcome, where there will always be room for everyone! So laughing, or 
just plain breathing, IS permitted!

NOTES:

1 	Watch “Tim Minchin and the Heritage Orchestra - Thank You God” 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B494y6DMmAk

WARNING – “adult language” at the end of the song!

2	See 
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/features/3637709/Salisbury-Cathedral-funky-font-makes-a-big-splash.html

Robert P Morrison
Interim Vicar
The Episcopal Church of St Alban
PO Box 1556
Albany OR  97321   541-921-1076 (cell)
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://stsams.org/pipermail/propertalk_stsams.org/attachments/20140516/63a946fb/attachment.htm>