Sermon by The Very Rev Chris Yaw, 6/23/2024
Centering Prayer
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, May your will be done, through me.
In Paul Simon's famous 1970's hit song 'Kodachrome' -
He laments about his days as a student –
I think many of you know the first line of the song:
'When I look back at all the crap I learned in high school...'
Please note that I am a preacher, so I can use Bible words, and I assure you the word 'crap' is in the Bible - I will show you where later - although to my underage children who may be listening - you don't get to quote from that particular version just yet...
Nonetheless, Kodachrome is about the distortion of reality between what we experienced in the past and how we perceive it today -
As we know, human memories are notoriously unreliable - which is why so many of us have been rooting for the Lions for so long...
But I am particularly joyed this morning to invite us to look into our fraught memories to remember the teachers in our lives... those who taught us all that crap - or, to be fair - when we remove the distortions - all that invaluable stuff we use every day like counting... the minutes until this sermon is over - or reading... the memes on the Internet... or writing - in cursive - which, to be fair, no one does any more - But where would we be without our teachers!?!
Remembering is so important!
Were we to boil down the Bible into just a few words - I have no doubt that one of those words would be 'remember' –
God is continually asking us to remember...
Remember those times God walked beside us, provided for us, got us out of an impossible jam... sent us Head Coach Dan Campbell!
Specifically, this morning though, we want to remember how God has used those special people who decorated bulletin boards, bought school supplies out of their own salaries, and headed classrooms that shaped, formed, and molded us –
And let's not forget those teachers who did not frequent our classrooms - those mentors and guides who gave us great advice, advanced our learning, and gave us invaluable 'street smarts' that helped us get to where we are today.
In remembering our teachers, we remember our Great Teacher - after all, this was one of Jesus' main jobs - in today's Gospel, that's the name the disciples used when talking to Jesus: Teacher.
In this way, I invite you to think of your teachers –
Think of the holiness of your teachers - the ways God has used those gifts of patience and intelligence - and actually modeled, in the flesh, God for us, in the form of our teachers.
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My kindergarten teacher was Miss Lindeman - who taught me how to hold crayons - before I taught the class how to eat them - or at least use them as spoons to eat the paste...
While she, no doubt, taught me letters and numbers, one of the hackneyed, catch-phrases you hear around the instructional profession is that "more is caught than taught" - in other words, kids may listen to what you have to say - but they will DEFINITELY observe what you're doing.
Reminds us of the Maya Angelou quote, 'People never remember what you said to them, but they will always remember how you made them feel.'
And Miss Lindeman made me feel amazing.
When she listened to you, she gave you 110% attention. She cared about what you had to say, no matter how kooky - oh yes, my Kindergartener-to-be, taking after his dad, bragged just the other day - said 'Do you want to hear me spell Kentucky Fried Chicken!' I said sure, he said, 'KFC'
But Miss Lindeman would ask follow-up questions the next day on the activities you'd told her about the day before - she listened –
And she was ever-so-patient when I insisted that flip flops were more than adequate for tobogganing...
Her smile, soft words, and gentle way of guiding her students, is what she left me with.
That is, before she committed that cardinal sin - got married - and changed her name!
Now she's Mrs. Price - and as a testimony to the real investment she had in her students - years ago she friended me on Facebook.
What do these virtues of deep listening, authentic care, and long-standing devotion say to you and me about how we model God's persona - as a teacher - in our lives?
Are we paying more attention to the reality that 'more is caught than taught' - and being that example of kindness, patience, and love - you KNOW people are watching - instead of my constant litany to my charges: 'Do what I say, not what I do!'
More people are watching than you know - how is God calling us to walk the talk - and preach what we practice?
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After Kindergarten and Miss Lindeman - slash - Mrs. Price - it was off to grade school - and Miss Libreth!
She was actually my second-grade teacher - because my first grade teacher - a rather stern and sour old woman at St. Hugo's - who will remain nameless - was memorable for different reasons –
Yes, she carried a meter stick - knew how to raise her voice, and we were all convinced she'd received her teaching certificate from Third Reich University...
But Miss Libreth, my second-grade teacher - who would also go on to commit that unpardonable sin - and get married mid-year - to become Mrs. Jurkevich - I mean - c'mon - 'Price' we could handle - but 'Mrs. Jurkevich' - when you're just learning to spell...?!?
While she was also kindly, thoughtful, and gentle - she would also instill in us a sense of responsibility - that we had been given gifts and we were not just to bask in their light and warmth - but we had been given them to share.
Under her instruction we learned important values - honesty, sharing, kindness - And to think we did this without having the Ten Commandments posted on the wall -
Like the politicians are making the teachers do in Louisiana - which would be a great idea if, as an amendment to that law, we were to first have the politicians list how many of those Commandments they'd broken!
This, of course, would keep me from running for office....
But the genuine modeling that you teachers do when it comes to instilling responsibility - not lying, honoring your parents by making them cards and writing letters, and hopefully not committing armed robbery - at least in 2nd grade - for me, that was the year that these lessons in being accountable for your gifts - was made real.
I wonder what you're doing with your gifts this morning?
Sure, God gave them to us to enjoy - and certainly we're here to give thanks for them –
But how are we sharing them?
How are we being responsible for what's been entrusted to us?
Is God asking you to make a deeper commitment to share, in some way?
How, like our teachers taught us, are we thinking of those around us, as we make our way through life?
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Fall of 1976 is when High School began - I got to trade an 8th grade class of 18 kids to an incoming class of 150 –
We were fresh off the nation's Bicentennial celebrations - bell bottoms and disco were in the air - and being 6-foot-2 and 110 lbs soaking wet with a voice that cracked - I was in great shape to tackle a school where I knew about 6 people.
A required class was Religion - which I took from Brother Koppes - whose unending patience stays with me today. In fact, as a reminder of that patience - and the wholesale capricious and ironic nature of life - to this day I have my first semester report card framed on my desk at home - it's the one that rates my knowledge of content in religion class as 'FAILING' -
I don't expect that to be a surprise to most of you.
However I do hope it will be an inspiration - that when God calls you to do something - you may be a failure in the eyes of the world - but not to God.
God may put you in a job or other situation - that you don't feel equipped, suited, or 'meant' for - that's ok - because God doesn't always call the equipped - but God equips the called.
Brother Koppes - showing the patience of God - helped me get through St. Augustine and Paul Tillich - and while I had neither interest nor aptitude - God had other plans - and I was not soured to the field - thanks to the dear brother's persistence and patience.
If there's ever a good lesson to pick up at an early age - especially for you young ones who are full of energy and ideas but may have no clue as to the best way to direct them: take a chill pill.
Don't freak out if you fail.
Nobody is good at anything the first time they try it.
But God is faithful.
Growing up takes a long time. And during that time, God is shaping and molding you through the teachers that cross your path.
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That's what happened when I got out of college and started experimenting in the grown-up world - with a term I had heard bantered around in college called: 'a career.'
This is when I met a mentor named John Lansing - the news director at WWMT-TV, Channel 3, in Kalamazoo.
By that time I was a budding TV reporter - and John took time to meet with me, time to give advice, critique, and eventually offer me a job!
I was hired in 1987 as a full-time reporter 3-days a week, and videographer 2-days a week - with a $20,000 Sony video camera - which I dropped during my 2nd week on the job - bending the lens - and ensuring that I would now become a 5-day a week reporter....
It was under John's guidance that I learned to tell stories with video - to lose the notes and talk to the camera as if it were a person - to be relentless in digging for stories –
I treasure a hand-written note of commendation from him for award-winning work I was a part of on the crack cocaine epidemic in West Michigan in the late 1980's.
But John's most admirable and obvious trait was his amazing ability to stay calm during a crisis - which - as you can imagine - happens often in TV news rooms. John never raised his voice.
Stayed calm and collected. A trait that can take you very far. And I was not surprised when I heard, a few years ago, that he was named CEO of National Public Radio - from where he retired last year.
John, a teacher, a mentor, taught me the importance of not taking life so seriously, of knowing that there's always something to get freaked out about, but not to take the bait - to trust that all will be well, all will be well, in all manner of things, all will be well.
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In this morning's Gospel you and I meet Jesus and his disciples during their ministry journey.
They are on a boat - Jesus and several seasoned fishermen -
When a storm pops up that's so scary even these fishermen are losing it -
I was once on an airline flight and looked over at that veteran flight attendant during severe turbulence: she was freaked - so we know, we ought to be!
Unable to contain themselves, the Disciples awaken Jesus - who is 'asleep on the cushion' -
One translation says that Jesus was 'relaxing on the cushion.'
Yes, the world is going crazy - life is threatened - fear and confusion reign -
And what is God's response -
Chillin' on the cushion.'
He stills the water then gives a lecture:
Do you think I brought you this far to abandon you?
Have faith.
Fear not.
As Hebrews 10 says: "Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who has promised is faithful."
Many of us are in the midst of the storm this morning -
The waves are crashing -
The sky is dark -
The wind is howling -
And Teacher Jesus is giving a wordless lesson - hoping we've caught what's being taught: By his chillin' on the cushion.
Friends, thanks to the faithfulness of the good teachers and mentors in our lives - this is a lesson God has given us through them.
Our best teachers help us set aside the fear - by equipping us with the knowledge and encouragement we need to make a difference -
Here's to Mrs. Price, Mrs. Jurkevich, Brother Koppes, and John Lansing -
And all of you teachers who have loved us and learned us -
Thanks be to God who has used you to make us who we are today!
Can I get an Amen?