What Led You Here?

When Noah was growing up, he had the same question posed to him in school that you probably were asked: “What do you want to be when you grow up?”

As far as I know, he did not ever put Shipbuilder. Or Sea Captain. Or Cruise-Zoologist. Noah might have wanted to own his own vineyard. Produce his own label of fine wines. But God led him somewhere else.

My own path is similar. Up until the 4th grade, I had written “Priest” in answer to that question. But then I learned that you couldn’t collect all 7 sacraments of the Catholic church. You had to choose either to be married or be a priest. I knew I was called to be a husband, so I chose that route. I didn’t even know that  being a Protestant minister was an option.

After 4th grade when I encountered this question, I put a whole set of professions. I would be an author, a psychologist, a paleontologist, a soldier or officer in the Army, a screen-writer. Each of these answers was a lie. I didn’t have a clue. What I think I wanted to be when I grew up was independently wealthy. I would have time to write, read, take long hikes in nature and spend time with family and friends.

In a way, I have achieved this goal. Not in the financial sense. But in the sense that I have time to write, read, take long hikes in nature, and spend time with family and friends. One way we hope to spend time with family is on an Alaskan cruise with my mom and sister next summer.

This is a big step for me, as I’m a landlubber.[1] Ships have been on my mind. As we are talking about Noah and his famous ark, I’m also reminded of how the church has been referred to as a ship. Many of Jesus’ 12 disciples were fishermen. They often sailed across the Sea of Galilee during Jesus’ ministry. Paul was shipwrecked. In the early years of Christianity, the boat was often used to portray the church, and the anchor symbolized Jesus.[2] The old image still resonates in the word we use for the central portion of a sanctuary, the nave. The Latin word for ship is navis.  So where is the nave? I’m on the chancel where the communion table, pulpit, lectern, and choir loft are. The nave is where the pews are. Where many of you are sitting or would sit if you were here, is the nave, the ship.

You are sitting in the ship, just like those early disciples. Just like Noah is preparing to. Because God chose Noah.

But why Noah? The rabbis and Christian theologians have many reasons. I heard from Karen Brocco-Kish that maybe God was trying to get rid of the Nephilim.[3] The Hebrew loosely translates their name to “giants” but others have interpreted them to be a race of fallen angels. Noah and his family were not associated with the Nephilim, so that made God’s choice easy.

In my Jewish Interpretation of Genesis class in seminary, Rabbi Jack Paskoff stated that in any other generation, Noah wouldn’t have been remarkable. He was okay. A passing student. Just another schmuck like the rest of us. I found that interesting as well.

One insight is that God works through regular folks. Noah was blameless “in his generation.” God works with what God has. And what each of us has is the here, now, and each other. I take great comfort in that.

I also take comfort that we’re all in the same boat. Literally, I wouldn’t know you if not for the nave… the church! I’m astonished that I’m back in the church at all.

I thought the church was too backwards until I found one that wasn’t. Kate and I had found our people. We chose the expression of the church that is the United Church of Christ. We have loved each church that we have been a part of. Each had its own flavor and culture and joy. We learned. And God led us from Vienna, VA, to seminary in Lancaster, PA, and a church in Mountville, PA, then from there to Sylvania, Ohio to you.

All because my life wasn’t going how I thought it would. I didn’t like who I was becoming. Greedy, selfish, demanding. Maybe these were the traits of the Nephilim that God was trying to get rid of with the flood. I was flooded with images to consume more, dehumanize those outside my chosen circles, and more. I needed a safe place. And I found it in the boat that is the church. And now we’re in this boat together.

We chose to be here. The mission statement of “Welcoming, Loving, Serving, where God has no limits” spoke to us. Your warm welcome, not just to us but to each and every visitor, spoke to us. How you serve the community through financial gifts to area charities as well as your blood, sweat, and tears, spoke to us. From the first interview, I knew that this was the place we would be. We’d put down roots. We’d do ministry together.

We’re in the boat together because we’ve chosen to be here. So what led you here? How did you choose this place? I’d love to hear it. Please write it as a comment on the Facebook livestream. We’ll even have a video on Facebook tomorrow morning which will invite you to post your story. Or send me an email. Or take some time to write down part of your story in the space in the bulletin and leave it in the offering plate. It doesn’t matter if you’re a long-time member or a first-time visitor. I would love to hear from you. What led you here?

That’s the question before us. It will help shed light on the values that we hold dear and it will help us all row in the same direction.

Because on the ark… or in a fishing boat… there are no passengers. Every single one of us is the crew. This is our congregationalist tradition. We’re not a luxury cruise liner. The metaphor for the church is the ancient fishing boat where we each have a job. To row. To mend the nets. To pull in the nets. To steer the ship and more! On the ark we have animals to tend to. Meals that need served. We have to pull people from the flood of division, hate, and sin that is in our culture. Just as the early church was a vessel of salvation, so must we be.

There are no giants here. No rock stars. This is not a cult of personality for anyone other than Jesus. We each have important roles to play, and God is still speaking in our story. Let us take time to listen to God speak through our story and the story of our church. And we shall start our nautical adventure with our first question. So pray. Take your time. And then somehow get your response to me. What led you here? What originally led you and your family to our church?

Now let us hear how our friends have responded in our interview series: The congregational story project. A big thank you to our fellow shipmates, Carol Brenneman, Arnold and Cheri Ingraham, the Nolan and Swantek families and for Gil Brucken, Scott Ockunzzi, and Crell Johns, our stewardship team who filmed and came up with this worship series.

Works Cited

[1][1] I confessed in this sermon: https://www.uccmedina.org/sermons/withdraw-to-pray/ that I was really nervous the first and last time I went sailing.

[2][2] This is a great read on boat imagery in the early church: https://www.floodofnoah.com/post-early-christianity-church-as-ark

[3][3] Genesis 6:1-4 is the reference. A brief Jewish descriptions: https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/monsters-demons-and-other-mythical-creatures-in-jewish-lore/  and https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/nephilim

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