"The Great Turn-Around"

Galatians 1:11-24

A Sermon preached by the Rev. Douglas M. Donley

June 13, 2004

University Baptist Church

Minneapolis, MN

You and I know that there are stumbles that we make in our lives. We try to do the right thing and we often do. Except when we don’t. With those mistakes come all of the cycles of grief, sometimes dramatic, sometimes not so dramatic. There’s shock, guilt, bargaining, anger and acceptance. Sometimes there’s even shame and this is anger and guilt combined and turned inward. We know this is not a pretty picture. It’s wise not to stay in this place for long.

We sometimes are convinced that we are absolutely doing the right thing only to find out later that it was a seriously wrong thing. This is where egos become variables and the guilt and shame are exponential. It is a good idea not to stay there for long, either. And yet it’s ungodly difficult to break out of this. We have leaders in our country who know darn well they made mistakes but seem unwilling to admit it or do anything about it. When everyone else sees the mistakes, and the person making them doesn’t admit it, well it erodes confidence, even faith.

In the past year in particular, we have seen the international concern for the US in the aftermath of September 11th erode as we charted a course of unilateralism and preemptive warfare. In the meantime, we have seen an increase in the organizing of terrorist cells. We seem to be achieving the exact opposite of our goals and yet we continue until another catastrophe happens or popular opinion somehow stops the cycle of violence painted in the colors of Christianity. Where is our voice in the midst of this?

As my soulforce buddies will tell remind me again in the coming days, even our greatest enemies have a remarkable potential for change. It is unchristian to give up on our enemies. It is the essence of Christianity to help people change and to love them through the messy fallout of that change. This week, I will be at the Southern Baptist Convention Meeting again encouraging Southern Baptists to love and accept their gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender sisters and brothers. We will not likely change the hearts and minds of the leadership in this week. But we may offer some hope to people who are struggling with this in their own family, in their own lives, in their own churches. I have to believe that people will reconsider their stances every time they meet gentle, nonviolent people who approach them in love and call on them to affirm the love people share for each other.

This brings us to today’s scripture. The Apostle Paul tells of his conversion. He was a righteous Pharisee. He knew what was right. He was orthodox. He wanted the best for the Jewish people and he knew the best way to give it to them. It was by abiding by the Law and the spirit of the law as codified in countless rules and regulations for which the Pharisee party was famous. He was zealous and he traveled the country and its surrounding provinces converting people and keeping down this rabble-rousing sect of people who followed Jesus and who called themselves "the Way".

You know what happened. Paul was met by a blinding light and had his heart changed by the risen Jesus on the road to Damascus. Paul had to rethink everything. He had to redirect his life. He had to start all over again. He had to pray hard. He had to work hard. He probably lost all of his friends. He was probably written off as a nutcase. Such is way of the call of God.

But that’s not the radical thing that happened. This was not the great turnaround. No. the great turnaround happened among the Christian church when they reluctantly welcomed the one who once was blind but now could see clearly. What would it take for us to have a turnaround in attitude about someone that repulsed or offended, or even had tried to kill off members of our family? That’s what Paul faced and I think that’s our question, too.

You know as well as I do that talk can be cheap. People know what to say to get people to like them or to smooth out a rough edge or two. But it is actions that speak louder than words. Paul said in today’s scripture that it took three years for him to speak with Peter and James. And when he did finally speak with them, they were skeptical at best. We would be, too.

When they did finally speak, things didn’t go very well. Paul was making up his own rules and they didn't follow the way the other parts of the church were doing things. It was like he was setting up his own denomination with all of these Greek and Gentile believers. But at the source of it was their distrust for Paul. They feared that if they gave Paul too long a leash, he could change everything, which he did. So they were afraid of Paul’s power, but they were also not convinced of his purity of heart. Maybe that’s why Paul felt the need to write so many letters and make sure they got published.

Think about someone you distrust. What would it take to have you trust them again? How long would it take? What would you have to give up in order to gain that trust? The list you can come up with is a long one, isn’t it. For some of us, there is no hope to regain trust, the hurt is so deep.

This is what Paul faced when he began his ministry. It took time. It took work. It took an otherworldly commitment. It took evidence of lasting change.

My concern with our world situation stems from the fact that we have lost so much face and have fostered such distrust and hatred from many parts of the world, that we have a long way to go until we can build up that trust again. It will take a change in ideas. It will take a change in atitudes. It will take a number of changes in policy. This period in time is about changing world perception. And it’s bigger than an election. It’s bigger than a policy here or a policy there. There needs to be some serious repentance out there if anything is going to change. This means we are going to need to do some soul-searching and some heroic confessions if we are going to stop the tide flowing against us by the world community. Our Presidents can take steps in this, on a national and international level.

But on a local level, on a personal level, we need to be the change we seek.

Mel White tells the story about how he was invited to be the Grand Marshall of the Gay Pride Parade in a city in California where his 91-year-old father now lives. Mel asked his father to ride along with him in the car during the parade. His father consulted his pastor and was encouraged not to ride, let alone come to the parade. When he told it to Mel, it about broke his heart.

But his dad did come to the Jewish Temple to hear Mel speak the night before. At the Temple, Mel introduced his dad to Alyssa, the daughter of an American Baptist pastor. She told Mel’s dad that she had read Mel’s book, Stranger at the Gate: To be Gay ahd Christian in America" with a razor blade in her hand. She told him how the book and the story had changed her life. In fact, it saved her life because Mel was willing to confess his sins and repent of his previous actions.

Alyssa found Mel and his dad at the start of the parade and his dad told her that it was her story that changed his mind. Mel had made a handmade sign that read, "My dad, 91 S.C. mayor '58" Carl went back to church after the parade was over, spoke with some of the people, and a number of folks said they would fight for him and make sure he wasn't removed as deacon. So this tiny little church is now embroiled in quiet a struggle.

Mel saved Alissa's life (and so many, hundreds more) when he wrote "Stranger." Alyssa returned the favor and gave Mel this wonderful gift of his father's participation - and the circle keeps on going.

Thank God, our Bible gives us a model of one who repented of mistakes. The church is only the church when we encourage each other to make the great turnarounds that we need so much. The church is only the church if it accepts the one who has made the great turnaround. That’s the really hard part. It means that we need to turn around, too. We need to break our little mental boxes in which others exist.

We need to see people as God sees them, as sisters and brothers, as children, as parents and grandparents who are not whole until we are brought together in a meaningful way.

It can take time, effort and courage. But it will never happened without our willingness to put aside our differences and imagine a new way of being.

So think about the one with whom you hold a grudge.

Only this time, don’t think about the grudge so much as you imagine them as a broken part of your family.

Imagine them as a broken part of God’s family.

Imagine the two of you together in civility, in an honest relationship, having weathered the storms you might be in right now.

And imagine how your energy could be spent if you were not spending so much time on the grudge.

Imagine what might get unleashed in you.

Imagine where your energy might be better focused.

When we can tap into that energy, then a great turnaround has happened.

And God smiles from beyond and says, "now you’re getting’ it."