Installation Sermon by Herman Kauffman
John McFarland at Little Pine COB
October 14, 2001

Moving On!

Joshua 1:1-9

 

"He floats through the air with the greatest of ease,

The daring young man on the flying trapeze ..."

According to an article by Douglas Nason, the original "daring young man on the flying trapeze" was a Frenchman named Jules Leotard. On November 12, 1859, he made circus history in Paris. Taking off from a six-foot platform, he swung out holding onto a trapeze bar. At the top of his swing he let go of the bar and floated unsupported through the air for about 15 feet. Then he reached out and grabbed onto another trapeze bar swinging toward him. The crowd went wild. No trapeze acrobat before Leotard had ever completely released a hold on the first bar before grabbing onto the second.

There is something about an installation service of a pastor in a congregation that speaks to us about our need in life to let go ... and then to reach out and grab on. Throughout our lifetime there are opportunities that await us, but they are just beyond our grasp - unreachable unless we first let go of what we now hold. We need to know when to let go, and then to reach out and grab onto something new. For pastors and congregations that may mean letting go of old loyalties and traditions with former pastors and congregations, so we can reach out begin to build new relationships and new ways of being the church together.

That's how it was for Joshua at the Jordan. For years he had been second-in-command to Moses. But now Moses was gone. God spoke to Joshua and said, "Be courageous, Joshua. Let go."

God's opening words to Joshua are abrupt and even brutal - Moses is dead. The old order is passing away; things will be different now. After many years of comfortably looking to Moses for guidance, Joshua himself is now the leader. It's time to release the grip on what belongs to the past and let go.

What's true for Joshua applies to pastors and congregations as well ... though we recognize it is more difficult for some to release the grip on what belongs in the past and just let go. Sometimes we are more locked into our traditions than we would like to admit.

One of my favorite stories is about the new husband who watches in disbelief as his bride takes her first baked ham out of the oven - both ends were missing! He asks: "Dear, why did you cut the ends off the ham?" She answers: "I don't know. That's the way my mother always does it."

It wasn't too many weeks later the couple visited the wife's parents. So the new husband asks his mother-in-law, "Why do you cut the ends off of the ham when you bake it?" She answers: "I don't know. That's the way my mother always did it."

The next time the newlyweds visit the wife's grandparents, the husband asks the grandmother: "Why do you always cut the ends off the ham when you bake it?" She answers: "I don't know for sure. I guess because that's the way my mother always baked a ham." She pauses and then adds: "But I think it was because she had a very small oven and most hams wouldn't fit."

Fiddler on the Roof is a familiar musical that also speaks to us about traditions and letting go of the past and reaching out for the future to which God calls us. The title of the musical comes from a line in which Tevye says we are like "fiddlers on the roof, trying to scratch out a simple tune without falling and breaking our neck." He continues: "Maybe you ask how we keep our balance. I can tell you in one word - tradition."

According to Tevye, his people have traditions for everything - what to eat, how to sleep, how to work, and how to dress.... He adds: "You may ask, 'How did this tradition get started?' I'll tell you ... I don't know. But it's a tradition!"

Awhile back, my colleague in Atlantic Northeast District, Craig Smith - who grew up in Jimtown, wrote in their district newsletter about going with his wife Vicki to see Fiddler on the Roof:

"...the Russian-flavored characters sang and danced and tried to figure out what in the world was happening all around them. It was 1905 and the eve of the Russian revolution. There was a Fiddler on the Roof and confusion in their minds and hearts. Their tiny village of Anatevka was in the midst of the greatest transition that they had ever known.

As the music echoed through the theater, I heard the cry of the church in nearly every song. "Tradition." "Sabbath Prayer." "Miracle of Miracles." "The Dream." "Sunrise, Sunset." "Do You Love Me?" "Far From the Home I Love." "When Messiah Comes." Songs about the way it used to be ... the way it was supposed to be ... the way it seems to be ... the way it really is , at least appears to be. Hopes. Dreams. Relationships. God stuff. Human stuff. Old stuff. Transition. Change. Each one of these maneuvering, fermenting, bubbling, skipping, chanting, gushing forth all at the same time! Welcome to the Anatevka Church of the Brethren!

Ah yes, we in the Church of the Brethren have our own struggles with tradition don't we?

We've never done it that way before have been called "the seven last words of the church." But I suggest to you today that the church is called to be God's agent of change, not an agent of the status quo. But change makes us uncomfortable, doesn't it? What if we release our grip on what belongs in the past and let go ... and we miss the trapeze bar! What if we fall. What if we fail!

But the trapeze acrobat does more than just let go. After letting go, it's time to reach out and grab on. "Be strong!" God says to Joshua. "Reach out and grab onto the Word of God given to you by Moses." Grab onto it, do not turn from it, so that you may be successful wherever you go.

And God gave Joshua something else to grab onto as well - a promise. The promise of God's presence:

"Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened or dismayed,

for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go." (1:9)

The church today - and that includes all of us, doesn't it - needs to do more than just let go; we need to reach out and grab on to God's Word and the promise of God's presence. I am convinced that when pastors change churches and churches change pastors, it is our ability to reach out together and grab on to God's Word and the promise of God's presence as we move into the future together that makes the transition possible - for this is indeed our common ground.

Circus history was made again, according to Nason, in Tucson, Arizona, on July 10, 1982, when 17-year-old Miguel Vasquez completed the first quadruple somersault on the flying trapeze. It was an amazing accomplishment, one that had long eluded even the greatest of acrobats. But circus people know that the true hero that day was not Miguel - the true hero was his older brother, Juan.

No flyer spinning at the speed required for a quadruple somersault could ever hope to pull out of the spin and grab on to the bar. Everything ultimately depends on having a catcher - someone who is able to grab hold of the flyer's outstretched arms, break the spin, and hold on tight. Juan was the catcher, swinging upside down on the receiving bar to catch his brother. Here is how Juan described the event:

"Hanging upside down, I am swinging toward him as he is hurtling toward me at 75 miles per hour. Now I'm reaching for him; my hands are straining toward his, his hands are straining toward mine. I have him! Our hands are locked and holding!"

This is the promise God gave to Joshua and which is given to us when we dare to let go of the past and reach out for the future to which God calls us: "I will be there to catch you. Be courageous - let go of the past! Be strong - reach out and grab onto my word and my promise. I will be there for you, to catch you and to keep you from falling."

This congregation is in the midst of change as we gather today to install John as the pastor here at Little Pine. In a certain sense, John becomes your "Joshua," the one who takes up the responsibilities of leadership, leading you across the Jordan and into the Promised Land! Wow, that sounds like a pretty heavy responsibility doesn't it, John?

But lest we all forget, taking possession of the Promised Land was not a feat accomplished easily by Joshua and the Israelites. They arrived only after a long, difficult journey of 40 years, and a whole new generation of leadership. It required leaving behind many treasures and opening themselves to a future that was fully in God's hands.

It did not take the Search Committee 40 years to find a new pastor, but on the other hand, this congregation has been on a journey for the past 40 years since Ralph Hoffman was installed as the first paid pastor, on a part-time basis. During these years, there have been changes in leadership, and there have been losses of people, things, and traditions that were treasured here at Little Pine. But now we move forward faithfully knowing that our future is fully in God's hands.

Craig Smith concluded the newsletter article I referred to earlier with "some tips for the Anatevka Church of the Brethren wherever it is found." They seem appropriate on this Installation Sunday and so I share them with you:

In the final scene of Fiddler on the Roof, the little clan makes its exodus. They are moving! Much like the Israelites under Joshua's leadership moved on, from the wilderness, across the Jordan River and on to the Promised Land. Moving from the way it has always been to the way that it is becoming! So it is for Little Pine. This is Installation Sunday. This is moving day. We are moving on ... from what we have been to what God is calling us to become. We are moving on ... Continuing the work of Jesus ... Peacefully ... Simply ... Together.

 

Let us pray:

O God, I thank you for this gathered group of Your faithful servants. We are here because of our common commitment to Your Church. Help us as Your People to move from the way it always has been to the way it is becoming. We thank you for both the Fiddlers on the Roof and for the daring young men on the flying trapeze who are among us.

Guide us, we pray, as we continue to be in touch with your presence. Help us to know when to let go, and when to reach out and grab onto something new. Move with us, O God, as you moved with your people long ago ... so we pray that today you will move in our midst. We pray in the name of Jesus, whose ministry we seek to continue. Amen

 

Douglas Nason, a Presbyterian minister and adjunct assistant professor of preaching and communication in the Fuller School of Theology.