The Good News Proclaimed
Preached by the Reverend Durrell Watkins at
the Sunshine Cathedral on
Trinity Sunday, May 18, 2008.
There was once a rancher whose cows stopped producing milk. He figured
someone must be milking the cows, stealing the milk. He decided to set a trap
for the milk thief; and so one night he remained in hiding waiting to catch
the culprit.
Instead of a neighbor coming along to milk his cows, the rancher saw the
most incredible sight. He saw a woman riding on a moonbeam, descending to the
earth with a pail. Sure enough, she filled her large pail with milk from some
of the cows, and then just as she was about to catch a moonbeam back to the
heavens, he grabbed her. Well, up close, he noticed that she was incredibly
beautiful and so instead of turning her in to the local authorities, he
decided to bargain with her. If she would marry him, he wouldn’t make a fuss
about the milk. The woman agreed, but asked that he allow her to return home
to give her family the last pail of milk and to say goodbye. She promised she
would return the next night. The bargain was made and the woman ascended back
into the heavens.
The next night, the man was waiting for his intended to return. Finally, he
saw her descending on a moonbeam, just as before, but instead of carrying a
milk pail, she was carrying a trunk. She approached the rancher and said, “I’m
here to keep my promise but now I need you to promise me something. My most
prized possessions are in this trunk. I want you to promise that you will
never open it.” The rancher agreed, and off they went to live as a new family.
A few weeks went by and the rancher started thinking about that trunk,
though. And he couldn’t stand that his wife was keeping secrets from him.
Whatever was in that trunk he has a right to know about (he reasoned). So, one
day, when his wife was away, he went up to her special trunk, opened it up,
and peered inside. To his amazement, it was empty! The trunk had nothing in
it! He was furious; what kind of game was his moon bride playing?
Of course, he decided to confront her. When she came home he pounced on her
and said, “I’m very angry with you. You told me that trunk of yours was filled
with your most prized possessions, but when I looked in it, it was empty. Why
didn’t you want me to look inside an empty box?!”
At once, his wife turned on her heels, picked up her trunk, and started
walking out the door. She was going to wait until nightfall and then catch a
moonbeam back to her heavenly home. The rancher demanded, “Where do you think
you’re going?” She answered, “I’m leaving you — and not because you broke your
promise to never look inside my trunk.”
“Then why?” the confused rancher asked. “Because,” she answered, “that
trunk contains all my dreams and when you looked inside it, you didn’t see
them; you thought the trunk was empty. I could never stay with a man who can’t
see my fondest hopes and dreams.” And that is the story of my Aunt Gladys’
first marriage.
The story actually comes from West Africa, and it teaches something very
important about relationships. Right relationship; that is, the righteous
relationship, is one of mutuality — power with, not power over. All parties
enter into the relationship freely, without coercion or threat.
In the story of the moon-maid and her rancher husband, she was stealing
from him; he captured her. The relationship wasn’t based on mutual trust or
positive regard. Of course she didn’t trust him with her dreams; naturally, he
didn’t seem the when they were in front of him. Their relationship was one of
fear and obligation… it wasn’t healthy. It wasn’t mutual. It wasn’t
life-giving. It couldn’t last.
Strangely, that’s the very sort of relationship many people have with God.
They feel trapped by God. They had better give lip service to God or God will
turn them over to punishment, perhaps forever. And so they claim to worship or
love God, when in reality they are using religion like fire insurance… just
trying to believe whatever will keep God from tossing them away like a used
tea bag.
That arrangement has benefited institutional religion. It has given those
who claim to speak for God power over those who are desperate for divine
approval. It has infantilized the faithful and excluded those whose dignity
would not allow them to submit to such a system. But there is another way to
relate to God.
We begin each Sunday with this prayer of St. Paul’s:
“May the grace of
Christ, the love of God, and the unity of spirit be with you all.”
Grace,
love, and unity or communion or fellowship — those are the attributes of a
holy relationship with the divine. Not fearful obedience. Not legalistic
rules, but Grace. Love. Fellowship. That’s what God is offering us. We aren’t
being threatened into a dysfunctional relationship of fear; we are being
invited into a life-giving relationship of unconditional love. Grace. Love.
Fellowship — that’s the Christian witness, the Christian message, the
Christian hope.
Today’s gospel message, the so-called Great Commission, affirms this truth.
What is a disciple? It’s a student and a student asks questions, explores,
makes mistakes. A student takes risks in pursuit of knowledge and wisdom. A
good student can’t be paralyzed by fear, nor can she simply regurgitate
formulaic answers. A student is a seeker, a questioner, one who trusts the
process and joyfully becomes part of it. Go therefore and make disciples of
all kinds of people.
What is baptism? It’s a rite of initiation. It symbolizes full inclusion.
It is how we formally welcome people into the Christian community. Go
therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them… welcoming them
into life-giving relationship. And do it in the name of the loving God, the
gracious Christ, and the relationship building Spirit. Go therefore and make
questioning students, welcoming them in the name of grace, love, and
fellowship.
Why do we offer Spirit & Truth magazine? Why do we offer courses
through Light University? Why do we offer worship in Fort Lauderdale, and in
Jamaica, and soon in Miami? Why do we reach out to literally thousands of
people each month on the worldwide web? Why do we collect food for people who
need a hand? Why do we offer progressive, positive, practical spirituality to
as many people as possible in as many ways as possible? We are just trying to
help people be students of life, and we are welcoming them into the joy of
community in the name of Grace, Love, and Fellowship. This is, after all, the
Great Commission. And this is the Good News. Amen.