F. Harry Daniel
Second Presbyterian Church
Sermons: May 20, 2007

"Zinnias"

Around the year 1220, a labyrinth - a maze - was laid into the floor of Chartres Cathedral southwest of Paris. Over forty-two feet wide it has been hidden in darkness under rows of wooden seats installed years after the construction of the cathedral was complete. Even the name of its designer has been lost. The maze has been an object of recent study and research. Scholars believe that the maze had among its functions that of reminding worshippers that life is largely a matter of searching and moving toward a goal. Life has strange twists and turns. Expected and unexpected dangers await us, and it is so easy to wander and lose direction. We all search for a way that can be trusted as we traverse the uncertainties of life. Walking the maze on the cathedral floor was a way of being reminded that there is a way so that "even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for Thou art with me."

Life is a maze that is unavoidable. There are no interstates that cut through everything. The maze of life is ours, we are stuck with it. Living in the maze is not easy, it is challenging and rigorous. Maze living needs a focus, a calling worthy of a lifetime. Isaiah found it in that magnificent vision of God in the temple, and through Jesus Christ that same God offers us a calling. Calling is the Christian word for purpose, for meaning. We are called through our baptism to a purpose larger than our own limited lifetime can encompass. Only a purpose, a meaning that places our lives in the context of God's redemptive purposes for this world is sufficient to justify a lifetime of energy. Life, the maze is leading somewhere. The great tragedy we see about us is in the lives of people who are living for goals and purposes that sell them short, that leave them vulnerable to disillusion in later life passages when the bankruptcy of these goals becomes painfully evident. They wander the maze in quest of power, security, and strength.

Our calling to tread the maze does not cease as we grow older. We do not, we cannot, retire from it, even though we may retire from our job. Examples of quality aging people are those people whose sense of calling has kept their vision of faith vivid to the end. We are responsible to God, to whom we belong, who has called us to live using the gifts God has given us.

We are those who have been given the insight that the maze is leading somewhere. We know that human beings don't have to get lost in it. Unlike the maze say at Williamsburg that has false alleys and traps to fall into, life's maze leads somewhere. The saying goes, "If you follow the path, you will reach the center." That is true of Chartres' floor maze. But it is even more true theologically. We are all in the maze of life. We may walk it in different ways. But there is a way, and we are guided by scripture, by the tradition of the church, and by persons gifted to accompany us in finding our way in Christ's way. Those principles are incorporated into the apparently random turnings of the maze. Though not very clear at times, the way is certain, if we will only stick with it. There is the rub.

Everyone whom Christ calls into salvation, he also calls to service in the kingdom. Our opportunities, talents, abilities, and activities, whatever they are and wherever they occur, are resources for living out service to the kingdom. It means our careers are not ours to build up our own power, strength, or security. Our careers are to minister to others in the name of Christ, through our daily activities and relationships, as God gives us the ability to minister. Each day we have countless opportunities to give gifts of grace, or deny them. It looks a little selfish to stop in the maze and build a little empire of power, strength, and security, and not go forward. We are all tempted to stop at various points in the maze and say, No further.

At this point in thinking about the sermon, I turned a cup of coffee over on the table and it spread out on papers and notes and books with a little bit being absorbed here and a little there. The folder for this sermon has a lot of stained notes and papers in it. A great many lives are like that coffee spreading out with no focus. A little bit of life given here and absorbed, a little bit given there. Life in a maze can be piecemealed out. A great many of us don't prioritize, don't pick, we just go with the flow. In that situation traffic in the maze slows, and we become obstacles.

Service in the kingdom is not like a second job. It is not a task added to others. We are called to pay the price of the kingdom's service and to put our hands to the task. We are called to go forward in the maze. Our goal lies ahead.

This is where Jesus' sharp teaching enters the picture. He focuses our attention on his goal of kingdom building, a goal that demands strict concentration. In each of these three encounters the would-be disciple proposes a course of action that Jesus challenges. These proposals seem either praise worthy or, at least, reasonable. The text makes agreeing with Jesus difficult by placing his words in contrast with the sensible point of view, which, by and large, we also share. Jesus is deliberately trying to make things hard for us in order to block the natural tendency to simply add discipleship to the duties and values by which we live. Discipleship is not an add on. It is not merely another commitment which we may add to our already long list of commitments, but is the commitment, demanding a reordering of our lives from the ground up. Jesus' answer forces the disciple to stop and think. What is required is personnel commitment made with full understanding. What Jesus means is clearly stated in the final metaphor: "No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of heaven." If we would tread the maze we must go forward! "Looking back" is the way of the spreading coffee: a little here, a little there. That will keep us wandering in the maze with no direction. Hand to plow is needed. Jesus forces us to consider his call within our competing commitments and to think about the decisions which this call may require us to make. The most difficult choices in life are not between the good and the evil, but between the good and the best.

These encounters are about can what prevent our going forward. The radicalness of Jesus' words lies in his claim to priority over the best, not the worst, of human relationships. Discipleship is for those who aspire to a life of active devotion to great ends, and not for people who are content merely to phrase lofty sentiments and pass brave resolutions. Nor is it possible anywhere on earth to fulfill the demands of Christian discipleship at no cost or risk to oneself. The kingdom is not offered to the lowest bidder. Jesus does not appeal to the motives of those who seek gain and advancement in prestige. Many a would-be follower of Jesus has pleaded the requirements of social obligation or prior demands as an excuse for not meeting the imperative of obedience. Only a lifetime of conversion can change us into the new creations God has in mind for us. That is the reason for the maze, which is designed to lead us forward. Presumably, we are never too old, too adept at Christian living to be exempt from the need for more conversions, additional turnings. The Christian life is a journey through a maze where all that is known is the faithfulness of God. To go forward means work, service in the kingdom, putting the hand to the plow.

That is a call for self-evaluation to all who call themselves followers of Jesus.

One of the summer memories of my childhood when we would go visit my grandparents was the profusion of zinnias. I can still remember great vases of zinnias in church, on the piano, zinnias of all colors, sizes, and shapes. One neat thing about the zinnia: it doesn't need pampering. Give it a place in the garden, sunlight, and some water, and it will make its own way. It responds to care and cultivation, but it makes few demands. And with half a chance a bed of zinnias will brighten the whole summer and into the fall.

Now that is what a good maze treading church member is like. Our Form of Government is very blunt about it. We expect something from each other, both lay and clergy. We expect each other will be about the kingdom business and not spend a lot of time demanding someone else look after business and not spend a lot of time demanding that someone look after them. Oh, there are times when we need care and cultivation, again both lay and clergy, but the Reformed faith expects each of us to do our bit to brighten the world, make it more humane, work for the fullest possible, sustainable life for all persons everywhere.

As a matter of fact our Book of Order has a whole section on the meaning of membership: "A faithful member accepts Christ's call to be involved in: proclaiming the good news; taking part in the common life and worship of the particular church; praying and studying scripture and the faith of the Christian church; supporting the work of the church through the giving of money, time, and talents; participating in the governing responsibilities of the church; demonstrating a new quality of life within and through the church; responding to God's activity in the world through service to others; living responsibly in the personal, family, vocational, political, cultural, and social relationships of life; working in the world for peace, justice, freedom, and human fulfillment." Wow! Some hand to the plow! Enough challenge for a congregation full of zinnias.

How do you recognize zinnias? They are focused, going forward in the maze toward the calling worthy of a lifetime, serving with their hands the kingdom walking in fellowship with Jesus Christ and the triune God. They give the gifts of intimacy, trust, affection, friendship. They know about maze grace. They know how to challenge us to use our hands in the service of the kingdom. Look around you at the amazing numbers of zinnias here in this place, in this church, growing, loving, caring and serving. What a bright, colorful, God-given, Christ-focused, future there is in this church.