UCC Church of Charlotte

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Sermon for Feb 1, 2009 (Scout Sunday)
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Sunday, February 1, 2009 8:42:54 AM
From:
Phil Hobson   
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To:
Phil Hobson 


Dealing with It
I Corinthians 8:1-13 
Mark 1:21-28 

Grace and Peace to you this morning.  Grace and Peace.

What is the Boy Scout Motto?  Be prepared.
    
Supposedly someone once asked Lord Baden-Powell, "Be prepared for what?"  "Why, for any old thing," said Baden-Powell.
    
Which is often easier said than done.  You can be prepared for the camp at the base of the mountain.  You can be prepared for the hike up the slope.  You be prepared for the climbing of the ice face further up.  You can be prepared for any medical emergencies or injuries that might happen along the way, and you can minimize them by how prepared you are for the rest.
    
But are you prepared for the view from the top of a place only a few other people have ever been, and only you and your patrol or your crew are there at that particular moment on that particular day, when the sun is in that particular place, and the view stretches out before you?
    
One of the things we learn as we get older (hopefully) is that we can prepare for many things, but we also need to be ready for stuff we are not prepared for.  For there are always surprises, always moments we could never have planned for, never have anticipated.
    
Which is why you guys have training in so many different skills, so many different activities, so many different merit badges.  That way, something you have learned along the way can help you deal with whatever it is that you now face that you never could have anticipated.
    
I am learning about preparedness and facing the unexpected these days in ways I never would have anticipated last year on Scout Sunday.  I have joined the fire department here in town, not as a fire fighter, but as a chaplain.  I am there to help the fire fighters and those they are helping.  And I am learning a lot about being prepared, because they don't schedule ahead of time when the chaplain might be needed.
    
You see part of the problem is I am going about all this backwards.  If we are doing it right, we train for stuff and then test it out in real life, right?  Someone shows you how to tie a knot and then you go use it.
    
Well, I have training in dealing with families in a hospital, or helping people in a crisis in my office.  But accident scenes and house fires and ambulance runs are new to me.  So I am going to get some training fairly soon, but I am already needed so I am already going out on calls.
    
Here's what I've learned so far.  These are my own private rules for chaplaincy.  I hope to learn some better ones, but these are important.

    1.  Stay out of the way.  

I knew this one going in.  My job is to help firefighters deal with their stress, to help families cope with disaster, to bring emotional and spiritual and pastoral support to those in need.  Which means I need to stay out of the way of the guys running with hoses and stuff like that.  That one is easy.

    2.  Don't park so far over in the garage, and slow down when backing out.
    
Since I do not have to be there as fast as everyone else, I can take some time to pull out of the garage.  Unlike last Wednesday when I smashed my side mirror trying to get out in a hurry.

    3.  Take the time to get the right gear and have it with me.
    
Grabbing the first pair of shoes I can find doesn't help if there is a foot of snow (or more) at the scene of a house fire.  Let me say, my feet were cold last Friday.

    4.  Get plenty of sleep the night before a call.
    
Like I said before, they don't schedule the calls ahead of time.  So making sure I am taking care of myself means I can be ready whenever a call comes in.  This is not easy for me.  I am a night owl.  I like to stay up late, not get up early.  So like the rest of these rules, I am growing into this one.  
    
Our stories this morning from Paul's letter and from the Gospel are both about people who aren't prepared for what they are dealing with.
    
Paul is writing to the church in a time when there are all sorts of gods being worshiped around them.  People offer food to household gods, and each city would have their own gods, and they would worship the emperor as a god.  And quite often, food would be offered to idols, and then shared or sold, and eaten by the community.
    
So followers of Jesus weren't sure what to do.  Food offered to other gods and then eaten, wouldn't that make God mad?  Would it mess them up?
    
And Paul doesn't give a yes or no answer.  He asks people to check their faith.  If someone is strong in their faith, and believes in the one God, then the food is just food, because putting it in front of an idol doesn't do anything.
    
But some people, especially if they are new to the faith, are so used to idols and thinking that these statues have power, that it is difficult for them not to see the food as being different.
    
So Paul says, if someone is worried, if their conscience can't quite handle it, you don't force feed them food put before idols.  You don't mess the person up by teasing them or making them feel bad for how they understand it.  You help them.  You teach them.  You encourage them.
    
In the Gospel, Jesus is dealing with people are aren't ready for him.  When he gets up to teach, he isn't like the scribes.  He has authority.  His teaching moves them.  They don't know what to do.
    
And then there is this unclean spirit in a man.  The unclean spirits all know who Jesus is, they know what he can do, and they are afraid of him.  And Jesus tells the spirit to be quiet, and get out of the man.
    
One of the things that will happen as you get older and as you apply what you are learning in scouting is that sometimes you are unprepared for stuff, and like the church in Corinth, you will ask for help from someone you trust, someone who knows about what you are dealing with.  And there will be times when you are more like Paul.  Someone will some to you, look to you for advice, call on you for answers, with questions you may never have faced before.
    
In those cases, like Paul, think carefully about your answer.  It may not be a yes or no question.  It may depend on who is in the situation, and how much they can handle.  Always remember that most every problem we face is also a human problem.
    
And finally, there are those moments when you just need to act and take care of it yourself, like Jesus does with the unclean spirit.
    
I'm not saying we can do what Jesus did.  What I am saying is that God gives each of us gifts to use to help others, to build up the community around us.  And if we don't use them, who will?
    
Thanks be to God.
Amen.