Conversations With God

“Conversations With God”

The Rev Jen Van Zandt

October 30, 2022

Back in the old days before we printed scripture in the bulletin, we would pull out our Bibles and read along (especially when we're reading in the Old Testament). I thought if we had to do that today, there'd be no room for the sermon, because it would take 20 minutes just to find Habakkuk in the Old Testament! I actually had to look it up in the table of contents not only because it’s a very small book, but a very rare book to study and/or preach on. I have never preached on Habakkuk, ever, but I think it's fitting today.

Almost thirty years ago you may have remembered a book called Conversations with God. It was written by a man called Neale Donald Walsch. It was wildly popular by both seekers and critics and his books (the original one and books 2 and 3), were based on his take of what he thought about God. He’s not a theologian, but he offered his perspective on what he thought he was hearing from God in response to so many complicated and deep questions that we all have, that range from: the existence of God to sentient beings and of course, the true nature of Jesus as part of the Trinity. While a number of his posits are way outside the theology of Judeo-Christian understanding,

listening to God at a deep level, is absolutely one of the tenets of our faith. Although his target audience was people outside the mainline faith those who wish to see God not as bound by an institution and active in all places, with all people and all space and time.

Ironically, both of these texts here today actually do the very same thing. And so we don't really need Neale Donald Walsch today, but we DO need to keep listening to God when God speaks.

Habakkuk did that, constantly. He was a prophet and contemporary of Jeremiah. And Jeremiah's message in Chapter 29 (which was the backdrop of the church-wide retreat last weekend) echoes a lot of what Habakkuk is saying here.

Like Jeremiah and akin to part of Walsch's Conversations with God, Habakkuk is in the conversation with God, trying to make sense of all the horror and suffering he is seeing at the hands of the Babylonians, while still trying to claim that God is righteous and God is loving and kind.

Even though Habakkuk was written roughly 2,500 years ago, it's still relevant today as we watch and pray for Ukraine; as we say and pray and worry about victims of gun violence, especially in our schools and victims of hurricanes… (we're no stranger to that as the 10th year anniversary of Sandy is this weekend. And even overnight, hundreds and hundreds of youth and young adult were killed in stampedes in Korea while celebrating and trying to enjoy Halloween.

God's response to suffering and heartbreak is the same then as it is now. But it's a clear and helpful reminder that I think bears repeating--the righteous can continue to live in confidence, because God is trustworthy. In short, what God is saying to Habakkuk is, “I got this. I hear what you're saying, but I've got this. You may not see all of what I'm doing, but I have a purpose for you and all of humanity and all of creation, because I am filled with love and grace. Trust me. I've got this.”

Depending on your mindset today or in general, the rest of the oracle from God is also equally comforting. In short: The arrogant better watch their step. They live by ego and pride and principles of falsehood. And they're putting themselves in jeopardy. And when we see the injustices of the world, I don't know about you, but I find that helpful. We don't have to look too far to see those kinds of people in our daily experiences, and in the media, in our schools and even our neighborhoods. But if we're truly honest, it's also about us as well.

I've been disturbed about the recent divorce of Tom Brady and Gisele Bundchen and we can all jump to conclusions as to what that was about. The media are having a field day with it. Ultimately, it is none of our business. If the relationship went the distance and that's as far as they can go, twelve years is better than the year and a half that I had, that's all I can say. But let me tell you about another couple that I came across recently and I'm unbelievably amazed about.

Remember, the tennis player Andre Agassi? I had wondered recently what had happened to him. When Agassi was on the tennis circuit, he was a wild child. He had long hair. While white was the appropriate color for tennis, he started wearing brown and black. Who would do that? And why? He wore an earring and was an all-around rebel. BUT—he was also a phenomenal tennis player! Shortly before he retired, he also had his eye on one of the other tennis players, Steffi Graf, who, at the time, was the best of the game. And the two of them eventually met up, dated very briefly and are still happily married after 21 years!

In one of my YouTube feeds, I was watching something about tennis and this story came up about Agassi and Steffi Graf. And I thought, huh, I wonder if they're still together? The interviews were unbelievable. One interview after the other validated they are still together and still deeply in love. They're still so dedicated to each other and to their family. But what they've done with their riches speaks volumes. Unlike so many sports stars, they did not buy up ginormous properties with boats and toys and fancy cars. Instead, Agassi started a school in western Las Vegas where the poorest of the poor live. And for 19 years, he funded that school so that children, especially those who were at risk, could have the best shot possible to go, not only through high school, but on to college.

Steffi Graf also took her winnings and started a foundation in Germany to take care of children and youth who have been victims of violence, abuse, PTSD from war and/or being a refugee as well as other mental illnesses to help them sustain and grow and move on and through all of that pain. Powerful.

In the interviews that I saw, the way Agassi talks about his wife is absolutely stunning and I think the secret is in a chalkboard. Early on in their marriage, Agassi, loved the idea of having a chalkboard in the kitchen, like many families do. Maybe some of you have chalkboards in your kitchen to write down things that you need at the store. Well, he decided to use the chalkboard and take it way beyond a grocery list. Before he goes to bed every night, he writes something to her about what he has learned about her and how much he loves her. Every night! And he still does it to this day. Now I'm sure some nights it’s easier than others, but because he knows and trusts the love and the marriage (and I believe he's a Christian--the way he talks he has to be) he knows there's a way to live, even in the midst of crisis. God is calling us to that as well. Just like Habakkuk is reminding us of the goodness of God. I think this is something for us to pay attention to.

The theme behind the story of Zacchaeus, however is a little different. He was wealthy but he didn’t quite know what to do with his wealth. Moreover, he didn't know what to do with the shame that was attached to the fact that he was probably overcharging people and pocketing the difference. He didn't know what to do. Almost. So he didn't buy a big house and I don't think he had a chalkboard with visitations and things to write for his wife, but he did know that there was something about God's presence in Jesus, that he needed more than the cash in his pocket. He knew it so deeply that he climbed a tree just to get a vision of Jesus.

I think we may all need to climb a tree and be in the vision or sight of Jesus, so that Jesus can see us and help us figure out what we need to be doing, what we need to stop doing.

I want to share with you some of those things from the church-wide retreat last week for those of you who couldn't make it. We had a meaningful time together. The group was split into seven groups of 6-7 people. I charged them to get together and make a list of the things that they want to stop doing as a believer as well as a church member and things that you want to start doing as a believer and a church member. Here are the some of the things that came up:

Stop being critical

Stop jumping to conclusions

Stop being impatient

Stop being negative

Stop making church a Sunday morning only activity

Stop being comfortable

Stop inward focus

Stop complaining

Stop being impatient

Stop being mired in the past

That's a pretty healthy list. Here are the starts:

Start having faith, hope and love

Start being supportive of others no matter how I feel

Start understanding other viewpoints

Start being more accepting

Start trying to discern what God is calling us to be

Start reaching out to a more diverse community

Start being more open to possibilities, being optimistic and hopeful

Start embracing change

Start being more positive

Start loving

Start being more friendly and open

Start putting God at the center

That is the desire of all of those who were at the retreat and I imagine the collective of those who couldn't make the retreat. And that's a beautiful list. That's our chalkboard. And if we can only do half of that each and every day, then we won't have to climb up the tree to see Jesus because we won't be afraid or ashamed of our actions and our thoughts. We'll be delighted to ask Jesus to our homes, because like Habakkuk, we won't need to worry about the awful things that are happening in the world, but instead focus on God's love and God's mercy and God's promises, because they are trustworthy, and they are true. Thanks be to God. Amen.