Sermon Summary: The Heidelberg Catechism reminds us that our only true (and always trustworthy) hope in life and death is that we belong body and soul to our faithful Savior. Slum Dog Millionaire is a film about a poverty stricken young man who is trying to win a million dollars but who, as the film beautifully portrays, is far more interested in relationships that provide hope!
As one of the producers of "Slum Dog Millionaire" said in his Academy Award acceptance speech for the film, this film is all about hope. As such, it serves as a perfect metaphor for today's sermon which will introduce our Lenten Sermon and Adult Ed Series that will focus on the Book of Acts. For you see, the Book of Acts is all about hope also. It tells the story of the amazing faith adventure of our Lord's first disciples who faced the challenge of spreading the gospel and its message of hope to the ends of the earth. A challenge that we are called to respond to in our lives as we strive to live as instruments of God's grace and the hope that it provides for our loved ones and all who are effected by our faithful witness.
Let us begin our Lenten journey by trying to feel what must have filled the hearts of our Lord's disciples on the day that is described in today's Scripture Lesson. Surely, our Lord had told them that this day was coming but when he had actually left them to return to his Father in heaven, as the dust and reality of their situation started to settle in, what do you think they were feeling? Frightened, overwhelmed and even abandoned are three words that come to mind. These are the same feelings that are so beautifully portrayed in the early part of "Slum Dog Millionaire" when two young brothers find themselves left alone in a city of poverty after their mother is brutally murdered. The look of fear that fills their faces is real and honest. It reflects the reality that they, our Lord's first disciples, and ourselves feel at times in our journey of faith when we are faced with challenges that are overwhelming and can leave us feeling abandoned.
Last Sunday in our Adult Ed Session, our friend Rev. Roger DeYoung showed a wonderful DVD about the challenges joys and blessings that three generations of Swarts have faced in their ministry in Ethiopia. My first feeling was, "Wow! Their life and faith journey is so different than ours." But the more I thought about it, I realized that although their context is so different, their faith journey contains the essential challenge that was first faced in the Book of Acts, was portrayed wonderfully in "Slum Dog Millionaire," and is the essence of our own faith journey as we strive to keep hope alive at all times and in all situations. And so we face personal challenges, worry about our children and grandchildren, our vanishing 401Ks or a host of other possible concerns, and we ask ourselves the same question that our Lord's first disciples were struggling with in that first chapter in the Book of Acts, which is how, without the assurance of the physical presence of our Lord in our midst, can we face the challenges of this day.
To that question, our Lord responded with a word of encouragement and assurance when he told his first disciples, wait here in Jerusalem and I will send the Holy Spirit upon you and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, then in Samaria and to the ends of the earth! Did you ever think about what a tremendous statement of faith our Lord was making when he told his disciples that they would take the gospel to the ends of the earth? Come on, they were the gang that couldn't shoot straight! These were the guys who had denied him and run for the hills on Good Friday and now they were going to have the faith, wisdom and courage to take the gospel in a still hostile world to the ends of the earth? Can you imagine if Las Vegas odds makers were around then what the odds against their success would have been?
On one level, it truly does merit the description: Mission Impossible. And yet look around, they did it! Beating the odds and maintaining a sense of dignity and hope is the central drama of the film "Slum Dog Millionaire" also. By the end of the film it is very clear that the hero in the film is far more interested in maintaining relationships that build hope then he is in the possibility of becoming a millionaire.
How that fictional drama plays out is the makings of a great film that I encourage you to see and enjoy, but more then providing a film review, I am interested in affirming that the same Holy Spirit who empowered our Lord's first disciples to build a community and message of hope is with us today as we come to the table of our Lord and begin our Lenten journey. He is here in the words, music and silent moments of our worship and just as importantly he is with us in each and every moment of our life and faith journey. He is the voice within that calls and assures us that today, tomorrow and forever, whether we are living on earth or in heaven, we are surrounded and sustained by the most precious gift of all which is God's steadfast and eternal love! Come to the table of the Lord. Be renewed by his Spirit and let us go forth to continue to build communities and relationships that reflect the love of our God for us and for all people. Is that Mission Impossible? It is the testimony of our Scriptures and our lives that with God, all things are possible!
Pastor Stephen Giordano —March 1, 2009