St. Philps Day
John 14: 6-14
May 5, 1991
A small boy was sent to Sunday School, and on that day, the class was learning the story of Moses and the crossing of the Red Sea. The little boy listened carefully as the teacher spoke of how the Hebrews fled Egypt, surrounded by a great wall of water, and how God promised to look after them. They learned how that wall of water finally collapsed upon the Egyptian army, which was in pursuit of Moses and his people, and how the Hebrew people were saved.
When the boy arrived at home, his parents asked him what he had learned in Sunday School, and he began to re-tell them the story. ‘You see, Moses was the general of a huge army, and he was trying to get his army out of Egypt. So, when they came to this big ocean, he had his corps of engineers build a huge bridge. He moved all of his tanks and soldiers, and equipment across the bridge as fast as he could, and then he saw the Egyptian army coming up behind him. So, he got on the radio and called up the Air Force. Just as soon as the Egyptians got onto the bridge, Moses had his planes bomb the Egyptians into $ smithereens.” His parents looked at him incredulously and said, “Is that really what they taught you in Sunday School this morning?” And the boy leaned over, and said, “Mom, Dac{ – if I told you what they told me, you would never believe it.”And we don’t. We don’t believe the promises God has made and kept. We don’t believe that somehow God will be faithful and that he has given us the power to perform miracles in his name.
Our Gospel story this morning is a case in point. Philip just doesn’t get it. He doesn’t understand that the promises of God are a reality. And so he says – “Just show us – and we’ll be satisfied. In other words, it’s beyond my small imagination. And Jesus says, haven’t I been with you long enough?
Why do you ask? The writer of the Gospel, leaves out a part of this dialogue. What is left out is where Philip asks for the power to make things happen for God. And Jesus would have said, “You already have the power to effect things for God.” And then Philip might have said, “I don’t feel like I have it.” And Jesus replied, “Whatever you ask in my name, I will grant it. If you ask anything in my name, I will do it.”
This is the promise, A promise from Jesus. And I wonder if we believe it.
Let me suggest that in order for the promises of God to become operative in our hearts as well as in our minds, two conditions have to exist. First, we have to believe that we’re living in the kingdom of abundance. The problem for most of us stems from the fact that we feel as if we’re living in the land of scarcity. The land of scarcity is a place where our power is severely limited. We tell ourselves that we only have so much, and somehow our trivial offerings can’t possibly mean much, and if we were to part with those resources, we would somehow be weaker. Let’s be honest. The fear of scarcity calls the tune in so many of our decisions. People often say to me, “Roger, be realistic.” In other words, “You’re asking for too much. Do what’s possible.” But if we believe that we are living in the kingdom of abundance, we will not allow these people to have the last word/The key assertion in the promise Jesus gave to Philip is: “Whatever. . . Whatever you ask in God’s name.” The second condition to understanding the promises of God is learning to be a risk taker. This calls for imagining something can happen and taking the first step in making it happen. And this is risky. There’s always a small voice within us saying, “Watch out – stay back. Are you sure you heard right about God’s promise?”
There is a wonderful Talmudic interpretation of the Red Sea crossing that tells how the sea waters did not part and allow Moses to pass simply because they were in trouble and God had promised to help. This interpretation suggests that the reason the sea opened was in response to Moses putting his big toe in the water, risking that the sea would drown him, but being determined and filled with that much faith. The story ends, as does each Talmudic interpretation, with the moral: DO NOT STAND MERELY ON DRY LAND PRAYING FOR MIRACLES. GOD HAS ALREADY GIVEN YOU THE POWER TO DO GREAT THINGS.
We are now almost three Sundays after Easter – that day, that bright Sunday morning when the once dead Jesus burst the bonds of death and came forth from the tomb. Lif6 stepped over the boundary of death. The impossible, the unachievable, happened, and the future was cracked open with fresh potential.
But three Sundays from Easter is a long hind. And the lilies fade. And the sounds of the Easter trumpets are muted. And the crowds that flocked to churches have thinned out. And we sometimes wonder if anything has changed.
Eventually, the old boundaries fall back into place. The old inner voices take over. And for some, it’s the same old world of scarcity, of hoping to accomplish great things, but feeling so very insignificant. And the deadly boundaries of our minds seem so impervious, so impenetrable to the promises of God. And sometimes we know the answers theoretically, but in our hearts, we just don’t seem to get it. We’d like to say “yes,” but somehow “no” seems so much more reasonable. We’d like to feel as if we have Easter power, but the truth is that in our hearts, we don’t feel as if we’ve got it. And we have to be reminded that the power of God has already been given to us. It’s a done deal. To use the words made famous from the Nike ads: “Just do it.”
After the crush of Easter, I often try to take time off. I usually pick up a book that is as far from the church as I can find. The book I picked up a few weeks ago was an old Michael Crichton novel called “Sphere.” And just to show you that the word of God can be found in the most unlikely places, let me share some of the dialogue. The story is about a group of scientists who are attempting to enter this sphere, which has been discovered at the bottom of the sea. Norman, one of the party, finally gets in. As he enters, he senses another’s presence.
“Anybody here?” he asks.
“I am here,” a voice responds.
“Did you speak?”
“No.”
“How are we communicating?” he wonders.
“The way everything communicates with everything else.” “Which way is that?” asks Norman.
“Why do you ask if you already know the answer?”
“Will you answer a question?” Norman asks. “Who are you?
“I am not a who.”
“Are you God?”
“God is a word.”
“Am I talking to God?”
“You are not talking at all.”
“Where are you from?”
“Why do you ask if you already know the answer?”
And then later Norman says, “Will you give me the power?” “What power?” the voice says.
“The power you gave to the others. The power to make things happen. Will you give it to me?”
‘No.”
“Why not?”
“Because you already have it.”
“I don’t feel as if I have it.”
So often we can identify with the Normans of this world. But on this St. Philip’s Day, let us remember that we have been given the power. We have the resources within ourselves to make it happen. To do great things for God. To step over the boundaries. For remember – remember – what has been given. “Whatever you ask in my name, I will grant it.”
Amen