Facing Change and Taking Risks

Luke 9:57-62  (Genesis 19:15-17, 24-26)                                  Rev. Todd B. Freeman

Bethany Presbyterian Church, Dallas                                                    June 12, 2005

This morning I’m going to talk about facing change and taking risks, as I’m sure you could already tell by the sermon title.

Let me begin by announcing that I have made a major change in my life this past week. I spent all day Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday…cleaning my office. Don’t laugh, there were some stacks on my desk that have been there for two years. I even got into 3 boxes of more stuff in my closet. Some of those things have been packed away for over 5 years.

This major change in my approach to office management has come about, in part, as a reaction to the many other changes here at Bethany. Changes like the departures of Brian, our Administrative Assistant for the past 4 years, and of Nancy Willet, our full-time seminary intern pastor since last August. In addition, within the past few weeks ago we learned of the impending departure of our phenomenal organist for the past 8 years, Maurice Thompson, as well as elders Chris Bartley, Todd Brawner, Peter Dickson, and Sandee Lannen. And then there’s this whole merger talk stuff going on. It’s been a lot for me, and I know for you, to have to deal with lately.

But let’s face it – change happens! And just as not all change is good, neither is all change bad. Sometimes it’s just change.

As we read together in this morning’s Call to Worship from Isaiah 43, “Thus says the Lord…I am about to do a new thing.” I can feel this “new thing” it in my bones. I’m not sure yet what that new thing will be, but I know something is going on. I’m sure you feel it as well.

Concerning the future, one biblical commentator writes, “We are asked to be willing to release our grip on the past enough to take in the signs of something else – a future that is about to be open before us.” In a sermon on this topic of change a year ago last March, I included the following quote from the brilliant 20th century theologian, Paul Tillich. In his 1955 book The Shaking of the Foundations, he writes, “The first thing about the new is that we cannot force it and cannot calculate it. All we can do is to be ready for it.”

And Tillich is aware that there are both personal and social dimensions to all of this. Concerning the personal, which I think we can easily project into a church setting, he writes:

The new being is born in us just when we least believe in it. It appears in remote corners of our souls which we have neglected for a long time. It opens up deep levels of our personality which had been shut out by old decisions and old exclusions. It shows a way where there was no way before. It liberates us from the tragedy of having to decide and having to exclude, because it is given before any decision. Suddenly we notice it within us!

The new which we sought and longed for comes to us in the moment in which we lose hope of ever finding it. That is the first thing we must say about the new: it appears when and where it chooses. We cannot force it, and we cannot calculate it. Readiness is the only condition for it.

So how ready are you for the new things God is doing in your life? How ready are we as a congregation for new things God is doing in our church life? I encourage you to believe the ancient prophet: God is indeed doing a new thing - in your life, in my life, and in the life of this congregation.  Let us keep our eyes and ears and hearts and minds open – so that we may indeed perceive it, and may be ready for it!

But there is still the issue of learning how to cope with change. Robert Maynard Hutchins, president of the University of Chicago, was once asked, “If you could have your students leave this great institution after four years with but one lesson firmly planted in their minds, what would it be?” Without a moment’s hesitation he replied, “I’d teach them to cope with change, which is inevitable.”

Change – we may not like it, but we best learn how to cope effectively with it in order to function to the best of our ability, and to be able to follow where God is leading. The writer of the Old Testament wisdom literature in the book of Ecclesiastes tells us that “to everything there is a season,” Change, it seems then, is part of the very fabric of God’s creation.

One coping mechanism then, is to accept not only the inevitability of change, but to look for the promise that it brings. Another suggestion is to look for ways that change can work for you, for us. I have a favorite story about change that I have shared over the years, especially with elders on the session. It’s about a lobster and God.

Long ago, when the world was very new there was a certain lobster who determined that the Creator had made a mistake. So he set up an appointment to discuss the matter.

“With all due respect,” said the lobster, “I wish to complain about the way you designed my shell. You see I just get used to one outer casing, when I’ve got to shed it for another. Very inconvenient and rather a waste of time.”

To which the Creator replied, “I see. But do you realize that it is the giving up of one shell that allows you to grow into another?”

 “But I like myself just the way I am,” the lobster said.

 “Very well,” smiled the Creator. “Since your mind is made up, from now on, your shell will not change…and you may go about your business just as you are right now.”

At first, the lobster was very content wearing the same old shell. But as time passed, he found that his once light and comfortable shell was becoming quite heavy and tight. After a while, in fact, the shell became so cumbersome that the lobster couldn’t feel anything at all outside himself. As a result, he was constantly bumping into others. Finally, it got to the point where he could hardly even breathe. So, with great effort, he went back to the Creator.

 “With all due respect,” the lobster sighed, “contrary to what you promised, my shell has not remained the same. It keeps shrinking!”

 “Not at all,” smiled the Creator. “Your shell may have gotten a little thicker with age, but it has remained the same size. What’s happened is that you have changed – inside, beneath your shell.”

The Creator continued, “You see, everything changes…continuously. No one remains the same. That’s the way I’ve designed things. And the wisest choice is to shed your old shell as you grow.”

 “I see,” said the lobster, “but you must admit it is occasionally inconvenient and a bit uncomfortable.”

 “Yes,” said the Creator, “but remember, all growth carries with it both the possibility of discomfort…and the potential of great joy, as you discover new parts of yourself. After all, you can’t have one without the other.”

 “That’s very sensible,” said the lobster.

 “If you’d like,” offered the Creator, “I’ll tell you something more.”

 “Please do,” encouraged the lobster.

 “When you let go of your shell and choose to grow,” said the Creator, “you build new strength within yourself. And in that strength, you’ll find new capacity to love yourself…to love those around you…and to love life itself. That is my plan for each of you.”

(The Synod of the Northeast, 1981.)

Perhaps that is God’s plan for us as well. What are the current “shells” in your life, and in the life of this congregation that we need to shed in order to grow into another one?

And just like letting loose of one shell so that we can grow into another, change involves risk. Are you much of a risk taker? Presbyterians, by nature, aren’t always. This congregation, however, has had more experience with taking risks than most. Here’s another story I like concerning an approach to taking risks.

There’s an old tale about a maiden and a tiger: Three men were given the option of opening one of two doors. Behind one there was a hungry tiger. Behind the other was a maiden.

The first man who tried refused to take the chance. He died safely and died all alone, without having known romantic love.

The second man hired a risk-assessment consultant. He collected all the available technology to listen for growling and to detect the faintest whiff of perfume. He completed checklists. He developed a utility function and assessed his risk awareness.

Finally, sensing that it was time to make a decision, he opened the optimum door – and was eaten by a ‘low-probability’ tiger.

The third man took a course in tiger taming. He opened the door at random and was eaten by the maiden.

This story shows us three ways we often respond to the unknown: first, by trying to avoid or retreat from it; second, by trying to comprehend it; and third, by trying to control it.

Charles Birch writes, “There is an alternative to these three approaches to the future. It accepts the inevitability of incomplete knowledge. It accepts the challenge of the surprising world around us. It accepts the imperfections of human beings. The fundamental question is not how to calculate, control, and even reduce risk, important as they are in many situations. It is how to increase our risk-taking ability.”

I don’t think Bethany has any choice but to face some kind of major risk in the near future. It is a risk to work toward merging with another congregation. It is also a risk not to merge. But regardless of which path is eventually taken, I suggest we look forward, wherever that may lead us, and not look back.

I don’t particularly like this morning’s Old Testament story, because look at what happened to Lot’s wife when she disobeyed the warning and looked back at the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. She turned into a pillar of salt. I’d rather that Bethany keep focused on what lies ahead for us than turn back and just focus on what was, and turn into a pillar of salt.

Or, as Jesus revealed in today’s Gospel lesson, loyalty to the will of God is shown as the greatest loyalty, even over loyalty to one’s work or family.

Former Presbyterian pastor, A. Stephen Van Kuiken, wrote the following in a 1999 sermon to his More Light Presbyterian congregation in Cincinnati, “‘Don’t look back’ is a call to adventure beyond the safeties of the past, a call to risk, a call to what may be, a call to creativity, a call simply to life. It is a call to act upon the inner stirring of the heart, not to put it off but act now. Life cannot be put on hold, or it is not life.”

Or as Birch once wrote, “One must live not by certainties, but by visions, risk, and passion.”

So as we look toward our future, let us learn to face and cope with change, and to take risks.

Amen.