CProp12

Hosea 1:2-10; Psalm 85; Colossians 2:6-15; Luke 11:1-13

July 29, 2007

What happens when six teenagers, five parents and a priest go on a retreat?

The priest looks for ways that everyone will encounter Christ.

The kids look for ways to have more fun in between the scheduled fun.

The parents look for ways to deal with

thin mattresses on bunk beds and bugs in the shower stalls.

Last weekend we did go on a retreat

and I wanted to share a bit of what we experienced.

Our reading in Colossians is almost a summary of the theme of the 4 days.

When we arrived last Thursday night, we got settled into our bunkhouses

at Nantahala Outdoor Center up near Bryson City, North Carolina,

explored a little and then went to dinner.

After dinner we had our first group time

and we talked about the prayer that is said over the water at a baptism.

It begins with the words:

We thank you, Father, for the gift of water,

And then continues with the many roles that water has played

in our faith story.

Over it the Holy Spirit moved in the beginning of creation.

Through it you led the children of Israel out of their bondage in Egypt

to the land of promise.

In it your Son Jesus received the baptism of John

and was anointed by the Holy Spirit

as the Messiah, the Christ, to lead us through his death and resurrection,

from the bondage of sin into everlasting life.

In it we are buried with Christ in his death.

By it we share in his resurrection.

Through it we are reborn by the Holy Spirit.

And so we read the bible passages about these events that shape our faith.

We read in Genesis about the wind from God that swept over the formless void and the dark waters of chaos

and began to create a paradise of harmony and order and beauty.

We read in Exodus about the Israelites moving safely

through the waters of the Sea of Reeds

while the chaos and destruction that followed them was swallowed up.

We read in Matthew about the baptism of Jesus in the River Jordan.

And we read in Luke about following Jesus,

about how our being brought to the waters of baptism

becomes a sign and symbol of our lives being given over to Christ,

and the spirit moving over us, anointing us (+).

About how we are brought out of the chaos of a broken world,

into a new world conformed to Christ,

in which we are a brand new creation.

Well, the conversation of our first group time

as the 12 of us sat out on the deck of our bunkhouse

after a hearty meal and a late afternoon rainstorm,

wasn’t quite that sequential,

but that was the underlying gist of it.

The next morning we arrived at our day on the ropes course,

activities meant to build up things like interdependence and communication as well as individual awareness and self-confidence.

As a group, we worked together to get water to flow 40 feet

when each of us had a short section of pipe totaling 15 feet in length.

These were sections of drainage pipe and a tennis ball was the ‘water’

that had to roll all the way to its destination.

If it fell on the ground, we had to start over.

And we started over several times.

And the adults were not allowed to talk!

We got all of our members across a shaky narrow bridge

over a ‘swamp filled with alligators.’

It was really 3 long 1X6 boards laid out and joined at right angles,

about 2 feet off the ground

with the one inch width as our walking surface.

And, again, we had to get everyone across – and several times we had to start over.

And actually mosquitoes, rather than alligators, were our worst threat.

Then we were taken over to the ropes course that offered the challenge of

going across it at either 20 or 40 feet in the air.

We were taught to belay (sp) each other

using harnesses and ropes to support each brave climber.

Everyone would cheer each person on –

except when a parent was watching their child

walk across a tightrope 40 feet above the ground.

That parent would get oddly quiet, look a bit pale,

and would not even blink the whole time their child was up there.

Well, that night we talked about the day.

About those prepositions that shape the baptismal prayer:

Who was over us – I’m sure the Holy Spirit was hovering.

But we depended also upon our trained leaders to oversee us

and to bring safety and order to the day.

There were many times we knew we had to get through

one of the challenges that seemed impossible.

And we were depending upon God and our teammates

to get us through to the other side.

There were wonderful moments when we were

all attending to the same challenge, all supporting the same person,

solving the same problem,

that we really experienced being in it together.

The next day brought more excitement and challenge

when we went whitewater rafting.

Yes, we were in that frigid 55 degree river together,

And we went through rapids and rocks together,

And we hoped that almighty God and our river guides

were watching over us.

The waters of baptism encompass the whole of a person’s life

As we move through life, as we are in it with others.

And those particular waters call us into a relationship with Christ,

Joining ourselves to him, following him and trusting him.

And as we conform our lives to his,

We are promised that he will be over us, in it all with us,

and moving through our lives with us.

That’s where Colossians comes in:

He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

In him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell,

and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things,

whether on earth or in heaven

by making peace through the blood of his cross.

If we use our own gifts and make our own sacrifices in life,

practicing the same compassion and love that he showed,

we will also attain and enjoy the peace and fullness of God.

During our last group time,

we stacked up boxes that we had written lots of words on.

The words described what we would want Jesus to see of our lives,

our strengths and accomplishments and good deeds and Christlike qualities.

And also, the things we would not want Jesus to see,

our weaknesses, failures, moments when we did not conform to Christ.

When all the boxes were stacked up we kicked them down –

to remember that his presence is never based on our successes or failures.

There is nothing we can do to make God love us

more than God already does

and there is nothing we can do that will keep God’s love away from us.

It was a good trip -

and the answer to the beginning question goes like this:

The priest found moments of Christ-presence

right on the faces and in the actions of the kids and parents.

The kids found some unplanned fun in building a huge camp fire

and fixing the most scrumptious s’mores you’ve ever tasted.

The parents finally found, on the third night of our retreat,

how good it felt to stretch out on those mattresses at the end of the day.

And how wonderfully those showers worked to wash off the heat of the day or to bring feeling back into numb and freezing bodies

after being in the river.

Retreats like this one are valuable and intentional ways of reflecting and growing.

In real life, we all have had to go through experiences and trials we felt were impossible.

Please pray with me the Collect of the Day in closing:

O God, the protector of all who trust in you, without whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy: Increase and multiply upon us your mercy; that, with you as our ruler and guide, we may so pass through things temporal, that we lose not the things eternal; through Jesus Christ our lord, who lives and reigns with you and the holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.