I CORINTHIANS 15:10 | “I Y’AM, WHAT I Y’AM”

“I Y’AM, WHAT I Y’AM”

I CORINTHIANS 15:10

JUNE 25, 2017

IN AN ERA WHEN GEORGE REEVES WAS SUPERMAN, AND IN BLACK AND WHITE;

AND BEFORE THERE WAS BATMAN, PLAYED BY RECENTLY DEPARTED, ADAM WEST; OR JAMES BOND, PLAYED BY ALSO RECENTLY DEPARTED, ROGER MOORE;

THERE WAS ANOTHER “SUPER MAN,” “SUPER HERO” OF SORTS; AND HE WASN’T EVEN REAL – HE WAS A CARTOON.

REALLY, HE WAS JUST AN ORDINARY SAILOR, UNTIL, OF COURSE, “I EATS ME SPINACH,” WHEN HE BECAME POPEYE, THE SAILOR MAN; HERO; WINNER OF ALL BATTLES, ESPECIALLY AGAINST BLUTO; AND CHAMPION TO HIS GAL OLIVE OIL.

AS CHILDREN WE ALWAYS SUSPECTED THAT IT WAS A CONSPIRACY BY PARENTS TO GET US TO EAT OUR SPINACH; THEY EVEN PUT POPEYE’S FACE ON THE CAN!

AND IF YOU COULD EVER MAKE OUT POPEYE’S MUMBLIN’ WORDS UNDER HIS BREATH, YOU KNEW THE CARTOON WAS AS MUCH FOR ADULTS AS IT WAS FOR KIDS.

BUT POPEYE’S FAMOUS TAG LINE, BEYOND THE SONG HE SANG OF HIMSELF, WAS: “I Y’AM WHAT I Y’AM, AND THAT’S ALL WHAT I Y’AM.”

TRUER WORDS WERE NEVER SPOKEN; FOR WE ARE WHAT WE ARE, FOR BETTER OR WORSE, THE GOOD AND THE BAD OF IT, THE HAPPY AND THE SAD OF IT, THE PERSONA WE SHOW OTHERS, AND THE PERSON WE KNOW OURSELVES TO BE, INSIDE AND OUT.

AND IT’S COMPLICATED.

PSYCHOLOGIST, PSYCHIATRIST, SOCIAL SCIENTISTS; EVEN AUTHORS, MUSICIANS, PAINTERS, POETS, AND THEOLOGIANS, HAVE TRIED TO CAPTURE THE REAL US – THE LIGHT AND DARKNESS THAT DWELLS WITHIN EACH OF US.

THE RORSCHACH TEST – IS IT A BUTTERFLY OR A BAT; BALLERINA OR BEELZEBUB?

OR JOHARI’S WINDOW WITH ITS FOUR PANES: THE SELF I KNOW THAT OTHERS KNOW; THE SELF OTHERS KNOW, THAT I DON’T KNOW; THE SELF I KNOW, THAT OTHERS DON’T KNOW; THE SELF NOT KNOWN TO ME OR TO OTHERS.

LESS SCIENTIFIC, BUT EVERY BIT AS REAL, AND AT LEAST AS REVEALING, IS WHAT AUTHORS, MUSICIANS, PAINTERS, AND POETS HAVE SHOWN US.

THAT OUR FASCINATION WITH THE DARK SIDE – WITH THE LOCH NESS MONSTER, THE OCCULT AND THE DEMONIC, WITH EXORCISM AND BLACK MAGIC, EVEN WITH JAWS, AND JASON, AND FREDDY, AND ALL THE REST;

IS OUR WAY OF CONVINCING OURSELVES THAT IF THE DARKNESS IS REAL, SO IS THE LIGHT; AND THAT IF THE SHADOWY AND MONSTROUS SIDE OF THINGS EXISTS, INCLUDING IN US, THEN SO DOES THE BLESSED SIDE.

IT’S WHAT KAREN POSTED ON FACEBOOK AT THE TIME OF THE DEATH OF ROCK AND ROLL LEGEND, GREG ALLMAN, A LINE SHE HAD SEEN IN AN ARTICLE ABOUT NEW ORLEANS:

“BLUES NEVER LET TRAGEDY HAVE THE LAST WORD.”

THERE IS DARKNESS AND LIGHT; DECAY AND GROWTH; DOWN AND UP; WORSE AND BETTER; SICKNESS AND HEALTH; DEATH AND LIFE; TWO SIDES OF THE SAME COIN; TWO SIDES OF OURSELVES.

THE THEOLOGIAN, IN THIS CASE, THE APOSTLE PAUL, CUTS TO THE CHASE, AND IN OUR PASSAGE FROM CORINTHIANS THIS MORNING, SAYS WHAT HE BELIEVES CAN HELP MAKE A DIFFERENCE:

“BUT BY THE GRACE OF GOD I AM WHAT I AM, AND HIS GRACE TOWARD ME HAS NOT BEEN IN VAIN.  ON THE CONTRARY, I WORKED HARDER THAN ANY OF THEM – THOUGH IT WAS NOT I, BUT THE GRACE OF GOD THAT IS WITH ME.”

PAUL GOT IT!  PAUL UNDERSTOOD IT!  HE KNEW THAT THERE WAS “A FINE LINE BETWEEN SATURDAY NIGHT AND SUNDAY MORNING,” AND THAT THE LINE OF DEMARCATION WAS, IS, THE GRACE OF GOD.

GRACE IS ENOUGH, MORE THAN ENOUGH, MAYBE, SOMETIMES…

BUT PAUL ALSO UNDERSTOOD THAT THERE WAS WORK TO BE DONE; AND THAT THERE ALWAYS WOULD BE;

AND THE BEST WAY TO PROVE THAT GOD’S GRACE IS NOT IN VAIN, IS BY WORKING TWICE AS HARD AT LIVING LIFE AS FAITHFULLY AS WE CAN.

I FOUND THIS IN MY DESK DRAWER AND CAN’T HONESTLY REMEMBER WHETHER I MADE IT UP, OR IF IT’S SOMETHING I SAW AND LIKED, BUT EITHER WAY, THERE IS TRUTH IN IT:

“THE CHRISTIAN I AM, IS THE CHRISTIAN I AM BECOMING, AND EVOLVING, THE CHRISTIAN I WILL BE.”

IT ECHOES THE WORDS OF POPEYE AND PAUL; IT SPEAKS TO THE NATURE OF OUR BECOMING; THE WORK TO BE DONE; THE PROCESS OF SANCTIFICATION;

THE ALREADY BUT NOT YET.  THAT IS, WE ARE ALREADY CHRISTIANS, BUT NOT YET WHERE WE WANT TO BE;

SO, FAITH, LIKE LIFE, IS AN EVER, AND FOREVER, CHANGING, AND ONGOING PROCESS; SOMETHING THAT WE WILL BE WORKING AT ALL OUR LIVES.

HAVE YOU SEEN THE COMMERCIAL FOR THE NEW JEEP COMPASS?  THERE ARE ACTUALLY A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT VERSIONS OF IT OUT THERE NOW.

KAREN AND I HEARD IT, BEFORE WE SAW IT, AND AT FIRST, IT WAS RATHER ANNOYING; BECAUSE ALL WE HEARD WAS THE COMPUTERIZED WORDS OF A GPS DEVICE SAYING: RECALCULATING.

RECALCULATING; RECALCULATING; RECALCULATING; THEY MUST SAY IT TEN TIMES IN A THIRTY SECOND COMMERCIAL – AND IT’S VERY ANNOYING; UNTIL YOU ACTUALLY SEE THE COMMERCIAL.

BECAUSE EVEN THOUGH IT DOES SHOW A JEEP COMPASS DRIVING THROUGH ALL SORTS OF DIFFERENT SETTINGS AND TERRAINS, ETC.  THE RECALCULATING IS ABOUT LIFE;

A GUY TURNS RIGHT RATHER THAN LEFT, REFUSING TO FOLLOW THE CROWD;

A WOMAN THOUGHTFULLY DETERMINES WHETHER TO TAKE A JOB OFFER;

THERE’S A PROPOSAL OF MARRIAGE; A GUY REFUSING TO TOE THE COMPANY LINE; A BEAR MENACING THE COMPASS IN THE WOODS; A WOMAN LOOKING AT A PREGNANCY TEST; A COUPLE MOVING INTO AN EMPTY HOUSE.

AT THE END OF THE COMMERCIAL, THIS TAG LINE IS SPOKEN:

“LOVE, HOPE, HAPPINESS, WHATEVER YOUR DESTINATION, THERE ARE A MILLION BEAUTIFUL, EVER-CHANGING WAYS TO GET US THERE;”

AND ON THE SCREEN – THESE WORDS – FIND YOUR TRUE NORTH.

AND THAT’S WHAT THE COMMERCIAL IS ABOUT, AS MUCH AS IT IS ABOUT THE CAR;

THE WAY LIFE IS ALWAYS CHANGING, ALWAYS THROWING US A CURVE, MOVING IN DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS, WHICH NECESSITATES OUR RECALCULATING OUR LIFE, OUR FAITH, OUR DIRECTION IN LIFE.

AND WHILE I’VE ALREADY DESCRIBED THE COMMERCIAL, AND GIVEN AWAY THE ENDING, WE’RE GOING TO TAKE A LOOK AT IT AFTER THE SERMON.

BUT, THINK OF IT AS GPS – GOD POSITIONING SELF.

WE ARE FOREVER RECALCULATING, REALIGNING, REPOSITIONING OURSELVES IN OUR LIVES IN RELATIONSHIP TO GOD;

TO WHAT WE BELIEVE, AND HOW THOSE BELIEFS SERVE US, AND OUR LIVES;

REORIENTING OURSELVES TO OUR TRUE NORTH.

PREACHER, PROFESSOR, AUTHOR BARBRA BROWN TAYLOR, IN HER BOOK, AN ALTAR IN THE WORLD WRITES ABOUT THE SPIRITUAL PRACTICE OF WALKING.

AT FIRST, AND AT LAST, SHE WRITES ABOUT JUST PLAIN WALKING, AND IN BETWEEN, ABOUT THE ANCIENT SPIRITUAL PRACTICE OF WALKING A LABYRINTH.

OF JUST PLAIN WALKING SHE SAYS THIS:

“WALKING IS ONE OF THE MOST EASILY AVAILABLE SPIRITUAL PRACTICES OF ALL.  ALL IT TAKES IS THE DECISION TO WALK WITH SOME AWARENESS, BOTH OF WHO YOU ARE AND WHAT YOU ARE DOING.

WHERE YOU ARE GOING IS NOT AS IMPORTANT; HOWEVER COUNTERINTUITIVE THAT MAY SEEM.

TO DETACH THE WALKING FROM THE DESTINATION IS IN FACT ONE OF THE BEST WAYS TO RECOGNIZE THE ALTARS YOU ARE PASSING RIGHT BY ALL THE TIME.

MOST OF US SPEND SO MUCH TIME THINKING OF WHERE WE HAVE BEEN OR WHERE WE ARE SUPPOSED TO BE GOING, THAT WE HAVE A HARD TIME RECOGNIZING WHERE WE ACTUALLY ARE.

WHEN SOMEONE ASKS US WHERE WE WANT TO BE IN OUR LIVES, THE LAST THING THAT OCCURS TO US IS TO LOOK DOWN AT OUR FEET AND SAY, “HERE, I GUESS, SINCE THAT’S WHERE I AM.”

AND, ON THE ANCIENT SPIRITUAL PRACTICE OF WALKING THE LABYRINTH SHE SAYS THIS:

“FOR THOSE WHO HAVE NEVER SEEN ONE, A LABYRINTH IS KIND OF A MAZE.

LAID OUT IN A PERFECT CIRCLE WITH A CURLING PATH INSIDE, IT RARELY COMES WITH WALLS.

INSTEAD, IT TRUSTS THOSE WHO ENTER TO STAY ON THE PATH VOLUNTARILY.

THE PATH IS OUTLINED WITH HAND-PLACED STONES OUT-OF-DOORS OR PAINTED RIGHT ON THE FLOOR INDOORS.

EITHER WAY, IT INCLUDES SWITCHBACKS AND DETOURS, JUST LIKE LIFE.

IT HAS ONE ENTRANCE, AND LEADS TO ONE CENTER.”

I DON’T KNOW HOW MANY OF YOU HAVE EVER WALKED A LABYRINTH; OR IF YOU FOUND IT TO BE A HELPFUL SPIRITUAL PRACTICE WHEN YOU DID; AND YOU CAN’T REALLY KNOW UNTIL YOU DO SO; BUT I WOULD RECOMMEND IT TO YOU IF YOU EVER GET A CHANCE.

AT THE END OF THIS SECTION WHERE BARBRA BROWN TAYLOR IS WRITING ABOUT THE SPIRITUAL PRACTICE OF WALKING, AND WALKING THE LABYRINTH, THE TWO SUBJECTS INTERSECT, IN MUCH THE SAME WAY LIFE OFTEN DOES.

SHE WRITES:

“A FEW YEARS AGO, A FRIEND OF MINE WAS WALKING THE MOTHER LABYRINTH IN CHARTRES CATHEDRAL WITH A GROUP OF OTHER PILGRIMS WHEN SHE NOTICE AN OLDER MAN AND WOMAN STANDING NEAR THE ENTRANCE WATCHING.

AFTER ABOUT TWENTY MINUTES OF LOOKING, THEY WALKED STRAIGHT TO THE CENTER OF THE LABYRINTH AND BOWED THEIR HEADS IN PRAYER.

THE WOMAN TOOK OFF HER SHOES AND HANDED THEM TO HER HUSBAND, ALONG WITH HER PURSE.  AS HE WATCHED, SHE TOOK THE LONG WAY OUT OF THE LABYRINTH, FOLLOWING THE PATH THIS TIME.  SHE CRIED ALONG THE WAY.

HE CRIED JUST WATCHING HER.  WHEN THEY HAD PULLED THEMSELVES TOGETHER, MY FRIEND WENT UP TO ASK THEM WHAT HAD JUST HAPPENED.

THEY HAD COME TO CELEBRATE THE END OF THE WOMAN’S TREATMENT FOR BREAST CANCER, THEY EXPLAINED.

THEY HAD NEVER HEARD OF A LABYRINTH BEFORE THEY WALKED INTO THE CATHEDRAL THAT DAY.

THE WOMAN COULD NOT EXPLAIN WHY SHE WAS DRAWN TO WALK IT, BUT WHEN SHE DID HER HUSBAND DECIDED TO HOLD DOWN THE CENTER, GIVING THANKS FOR HER LIFE, WHILE SHE FOUND HER WAY OUT.

‘I BEGAN TO FEEL AT PEACE IN MY BODY AGAIN AFTER BEING VERY ANGRY THAT IT HAD LET ME DOWN,’ THE WOMAN EXPLAINED.

WALKING, SHE FOUND HERSELF REMEMBERING ALL THE PEOPLE WHO HAD WALKED WITH HER THROUGH HER SURGERY AND TREATMENT.

‘I NOW KNOW THIS IS WHY WE CAME HERE,’ SHE TOLD MY FRIEND.”

I DON’T KNOW WHERE YOU ARE IN YOUR “WALK IN LIFE” YOUR “WALK OF FAITH” BUT AS I SAID SEVERAL WEEKS AGO, AND BARBRA BROWN TAYLOR REMINDED US EARLIER, “LOOK DOWN;”

WHERE OUR FEET ARE, IS WHERE WE ARE.

WE MAY BE THE ONE HOLDING DOWN THE MIDDLE; OR THE ONE TRYING TO FIND OUR WAY OUT.

IT MAY BE A TIME TO STAND FIRM; TO STAND OUR GROUND; TO TAKE A STAND.

IT MAY BE TIME TO RECALCULATE BECAUSE LIFE IS TAKING US IN A NEW AND DIFFERENT DIRECTION.

I DON’T KNOW.  YOU, MAY OR MAY NOT, KNOW, YOURSELF, FOR SURE;

BUT WATCH YOUR FEET, AND YOU’LL KNOW.

“THE CHRISTIAN I AM, IS THE CHRISTIAN I AM BECOMING, AND EVOLVING, THE CHRISTIAN I WILL BE.”

[SHOW JEEP COMPASS COMMERCIAL]