January 11, 2009
Scarboro United Church
Calgary, Alberta
Rev. J. Paul Mullen

Where is God's Voice Today?

Picture yourself by a river on a hot summer day. You've come to see for yourself what is going on. Everybody is talking about what has been happening. Brother John is down on the river bank calling all the church folk to repent. To turn around and start being what they say they are.

Amazingly enough, people are coming, and not just a few. It's become the thing to do, although people are really taking it seriously. It's as if they really do accept Brother John's message:

"No more just talkin' the talk. Time to start walkin' the walk! No more churchin' on Sundays and cheatin' widows and orphans on Monday. No more prayin' on Sundays and hurtin' your spouse on Monday. No more countin' on your parents faith or your grandparents faith or your great-grandparents' faith. You are the one. Now is the time. Get involved. Jump right in. And not just up to your neck. No hedging, no playing it safe. Not just up to your neck, but in over your head. Time to be the people God calls you to be! Time to be the people you say you are!"

As you watch the stream of people come down to the stream of the river, one stream merging into the other, you notice one young man in particular. He's about the same age as Brother John and they get into a bit of a discussion, right there, standing in the river. It seems like Brother John doesn't want to baptize him. And then, with a bit of reluctance, he does. And as the young man emerges from the water with splutter and a gasp for air, suddenly it's like all heaven breaks loose. The sky cracks open and a boom like a thunderclap leaves you speechless. Like a meteor that lights up the sky and explodes into a thousand pieces, littering the prairie landscape.

And the weirdest light floats down onto the young man.

You stand there, agape, for what seems like an eternity. All you can think is "What was that!" And then, as your senses slowly start working, you find yourself thinking it might be a good idea to hang around this young fellow for a while and see what else might happen.

Coming back to here and now, if you have been baptized, you might be saying to yourself, "My baptism wasn't like that!" If you have never been baptized, at this point you might not be too eager to do so. If you have been baptized you might want to reflect a bit on what your experience was like. If you were baptized as an adult you may have a pretty clear memory of what happened. And it probably wasn't nearly as dramatic as Jesus' baptism. If you were baptized as an infant, like Hannah and Douglas this morning, you probably don't remember exactly what happened.

But I am more interested in what your baptism feels like now. Do you who are baptized feel like you have been claimed and adopted by God? Do you feel that the Holy Spirit has been leading you through life? Do you experience God being present with you in any way?

If not, you are probably not all that unusual, even though you may fear that you are. A surprising number of Christians say they have never felt the presence of God or experienced God in any way -- never mind the sky ripping open and the Holy Spirit descending like a dove. Even when we do have some experience of God in our lives, for the most part people tend to feel God is distant from them. We even speak of God as being "up there," which is not a phrase that signifies closeness.

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We read in the Bible:

God speaks and creation comes into being.

God speaks when Jesus is baptized and a new creation comes into being.

God speaks in our lives and new creation happens, new life.

We look around and see violence and death, corruption and exploitation, abuse and abuse, abuse and abuse.

We are left with the question, "Where is God's voice today?"

And yet I have come to believe the question is not, "Where is God's voice today?" The question is "Where is God's voice not speaking today?"

Reflecting on this I have come to the conclusion that the question is not "Why doesn't God speak to us today?" The question is, "Why are we not hearing what God says?"

God speaks in the lack of adequate housing in the most affluent province in Canada, one of the most affluent regions in one of the most affluent countries in the world. And God's voice is not pretty so we walk away.

God speaks when seriously sick people must wait beyond reason for treatment as a result of political decisions. Decisions made for the purpose of creating a demand for change so another agenda can be brought in. And God's voice is not gentle, so we find something nice to do.

God speaks when we care more about fashion and fads than for food and clean water for those who have neither. And God's voice is angry and puts us off.

God speaks when we guarantee our own security by putting 2/3 of the world at risk for one disaster or another. And God's voice makes us feel guilty so we get mad at God for creating such a world.

God speaks whenever love happens between people - even when we do not like it. Love speaks when it says that there is more to life than a robust economy and an SUV in every garage. And God's voice makes us deeply uncomfortable.

God speaks when people plant flowers and trees instead of despoiling the gift of creation to make a few bucks. And God's voice seems frivolous and we think of better things to do with our time and money.

God speaks when people say no to exploiters and users and controllers and bullies and war mongers and the greedy and people who won't stand up and say no to anything. And God's voice scares us, so we change the channel and continue to do what feels safe.

God speaks when people take the time to gather and hear God's word and sing in thanksgiving and praise. God speaks when we worship together. And God's voice makes us feel good and so we go shopping.

God speaks when people gather around the sick and the dying, when families and friends gather in support of one another and to grieve. But God doesn't give us the right words and so in our discomfort we stay away.

God speaks in the beauty of nature, fresh every morning, exhilarating joy of life. God also speaks in the pain-filled eyes of starving children and battered women, broken and battered bodies in war-torn countries. And we hurry off because we are late and have too much to do. What was that important date?

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God speaks in the brokenness between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal peoples. We fear exploitation, being used, being confused. We go blind.

You ask me where God speaks today and I say to you where is God not speaking and why are you not listening, why are you not responding?

This very moment God is speaking to you, speaking in your heart, saying, "Remember your baptism and give thanks." Calling you by name, saying, "You are my beloved child." Calling you out of yourself and beyond yourself, saying "Look and look and look. Listen and hear."

Calling you away from the violence of the status quo and into the justice of right relations in all your relations.

Calling you to be who you are created to be and informing you of why you were created. Calling you to love as you have been loved.

Douglas and Hannah, surrounded by the love of parents, family and the love of this community, you may not appreciate that your baptism fulfilled in all its potential is unsettling and dangerous. It will set you over and against complacency in the face of injustice and violence. It will move you from the sidelines to the frontlines.

And we need that so much. When the Globe and Mail can report that people like us don't speak out against racism because we don't find it offensive, even when we say we are offended by it, we need to see baptism fulfilled.

The baptism of Jesus was not just a serene moment in a quiet pool on a sunny day in the countryside. It set both Jesus and John against the oppressive political, economic, military and religious systems of both Israel and Rome. Both died from baptism fulfilled.

In Nepal, I believe even to this day it is illegal to change your religion. Candidates for baptism are asked, in addition to the usual questions about faith, if they are ready to go to jail.

Around the world Christians and other people of faith are persecuted, tortured and killed because of their faith. The Herods and the Caesars of the day always know where the threat lies.

In spite of this, baptism is wonderful. Baptism is beautiful. In baptism God speaks. God says to Jesus and to each one of us and every child born on the face of the earth, "You are my beloved." When we treat every child and every person on earth, including ourselves, as a beloved child of God, then baptism will be fulfilled. The world will be turned upside down. That is revolutionary. That is dangerous. That is wonderful. That is so long overdue.

Remember your baptism and give thanks. May it be so. Amen