11022022 – John 8. 31-36

For better or worse, we are still talking “Reformation Day” – but I do want you to know that a part of the church has moved on.

November 1st is always, ALL SAINTS DAY!

November 2nd is always ALL SOUL’S DAY!

Meanwhile, we are still stuck on the reformation, I guess because there are still a few things left to be said.

So where do I go?

The land of “Barnum & Bailey.” (Of course!)

The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus was an American traveling circus company billed as being “The Greatest Show on Earth.”

It and its predecessor shows ran from 1871 to 2017. Known as Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey, the circus started in 1919 when the Barnum & Bailey’s Greatest Show on Earth, a circus created by P. T. Barnum and James Anthony Bailey, was merged with the Ringling Bros. World’s Greatest Shows.

The Ringling brothers had purchased Barnum & Bailey Ltd. following Bailey’s death in 1906, but ran the circuses separately until they were legally merged in 1919.

So, come with me to the high-wire, if you will. This is going to be fun. Breath-taking. Invigorating. Thrilling. Astonishing. Exciting. A little bit scary. But a good lesson for all of us, I hope!

You know what I am talking about! Way, WAY up there! Go ahead, look up!

Imagine with me for a minute that YOU are THE ONE going out on the “flying trapeze” to do “stunts with a partner.”

You climb up to the top of the platform, 50 feet in the air. That’s a mighty big ladder to climb! I hope your knees are in good shape! There are lots of steps…

Once there…

You grab ahold of the trapeze bar in front of you, go ahead reach for it…and with a deep breath you swing out FORCEFULLY, feeling the breeze hit your face as you fly high above the ground.

The air is warm up here, because as we all know, hot air rises.

I hope you put enough chalk on your hands…for a good solid grip!

On the backswing you can’t help but look down and remember that there is no net down below. Yikes, well that was scary!

You may have to push off again and again a couple of times until you get the hang of it and the proper coordinated motion. Keep your arms straight, head up! Don’t forget to smile!

And then, with another deep breath you swing forward, and as your trapeze reaches its apex you let go and you see your partner waiting for you, upside down, knees tightly clenched around his trapeze, arms outstretched…and waiting.

You have ONLY ONE THING left to do.

But this one thing is EXTREMELY important. If you DO IT you will make it.

If you don’t, you will plummet to the ground below. Trust me, you do not want to do that!

So, there is only one thing left to do!

You have to let your partner grab a hold of you. But that isn’t so simple. Is it?

It’s hard to TRUST someone else that much. To believe they will be there for YOU..really (literally) BE THERE FOR YOU!

It’s hard to be at PEACE with your inability to help yourself.

It’s hard to admit that you CAN NOT save yourself, but that someone else has to do it for you.

So, you have to ALLOW THEM to catch YOU.

If you reach out and try to make the connection happen…

If you try to grab them first…

If you try to SAVE YOURSELF from falling, the connection will be impossible and you will miss your target.

BUT, if THEY catch YOU, you will be fine.

It’s all about THE OTHER! And, the timing.

Isn’t that “a great illustration” of God’s way of dealing with us?

We can’t save ourselves. And never could!

We can’t grab a hold of him.

We can’t TRUST in our own abilities, or our activities, or our sensibilities.

We have to rely on God to catch us, to save us, to hold onto us. We have to put our TRUST in him!

He has been there, all along, just waiting for us. Always there. Always present. Beyond patient. Biding his time. Watching. Praying. Making sure everything is JUST RIGHT.

His timing is impeccable. He is spot on…and he is more than ready to reach out and take you to himself.

I know this was a LONG WAY AROUND…but it spoke to me. The Reformation was “kind-of” like this!

Emphasis was BACK on God. Back to where it should have been all along.

Not on us. Not on the pope or on the clergy. Not on the church. Not on councils of the church. Not on works. Not on saints. Not on relics. Not on anything we could do.

We were hopeless.

We were just flying UP THERE in the air, hoping that someone is there to take hold, and to catch us.

Someone strong enough to reach out and grab us, less we fall.

And that someone, of course, is God. Sola Dei! Was one of the cries of the reformation era, sola Dei, God Alone.

God alone could save us, and bring us safely to himself.

God, and God alone, is reaching out to you and for you.

Let go.

Let God.

He’s got you!

He wants you!

He always has!

The reformation, essentially was “a back to God movement.”

And it is MY JOB to call you, back to him.

Amen.