To be grounded.
Meaning, whether you are defining a term or finding the core of a plan or strategy, is all about context.
It did not occur to me until I sat down to write this sermon that simply titling the sermon, “grounded,” could lead some of you to try and fill in the blank of the context. You see, if you are a parent or a child living with those who parent you, to be grounded can have a somber application. To be grounded, in said case, is to have forfeited the privilege of going out in response to wrongdoing.
You see, context is everything. The state of being grounded as forfeiture of the privilege of going it is not what we are going to be reflecting on this morning.
And parents and youth take a collective sigh of relief!
Groundedness. When I think of the states of being, of pursuits we ought to engage in as disciples of Jesus, groundedness, grounding, often comes to mind.
I find it very difficult to find grounding, to stay grounded. Part of it, and it may come as no surprise to many at this point in our pastoral relationships, is that I am not one to stay put, or at least stay put long enough. And I gather that this is also true for many of us who call the Presbyterian United Church of Christ our spiritual home. Perhaps the antonym of groundedness is restlessness.
Restlessness is an interesting noun. I find it interesting what restlessness is not. Often, when we use the noun “rest” as a verb, we use it as an action verb - “I rested”. When used in verb form, restlessness is a non-action verb - “I am restless”. Rest is something one can both do and be. Restless is only something one is. And if I’m reading the meaning correctly, one is often restless about things outside of ourselves. Restlessness:
the inability to remain still or at rest
discontent or dissatisfaction that drives one to keep looking for solutions, alternatives, or new things
Many of us who suffer restlessness do so, often, because we may not have proper discipline to compartmentalize, decompress, and deal with our internal reaction to external stressors. Restlessness is not simply not being able to rest. Restlessness is not being able to be at rest, to remain still.
Last Sunday, the invitation was to be prepared, to get ready, and to be at the ready. Our ability to get ready is predicated on our ability to find value in stillness. The blessed and happy one is described in Psalm 1, not as the one who is always on the move. The blessed and happy ones are those who are grounded, like the tree by the river. The correlation is clear in the Psalm. The living waters of a stream by which a tree is planted are like those who take time to consider and meditate on God’s revelation. Like a tree planted by a stream, those who live a faith that seeks understanding. People who do this, the psalmist suggests, will yield fruit in its season, and will never wither. And see that the image is not that of a flower or a grain. Trees are images of sustainability and long-term capacity and impact.
To be a grounded people.
A very common misconception of Christians, especially during the Advent season, is that prophecies speak of a singular person - namely, Jesus. And I argue it is a misconception - dare I say a mistake - because for many Christians, making Jesus the object of prophecies about a Messiah, has meant an excuse to sit down and wait for divine action to deal with all the problems around us.
And I would think that was the same challenge Isaiah faced in his time. The marvelous vision Isaiah was casting at the height of chapter 11 of a time when when pursuing wisdom and understanding, a time when the Spirit would inspire with knowledge, strength, and good counsel would inevitably lead to a time of righteousness, dignity, solidarity, faithfulness, resilience, and an example to all the people of the world can - and I would argue was - easily misconstrued not as the hope of a time, but the hope for a man to do all these things. Because it is much easier for us to place all of our expectations for a just and verdant world as the responsibility of a man. History is replete with individuals, mostly men, who were thought to be saviors. Not once, I would argue, has a person, acting alone, been able to deliver a time of righteousness, dignity, solidarity, faithfulness, resilience for a people and as an example for the whole world.
To be a grounded people.
What I hope we do not miss this Advent is the good news of the prophecy of Isaiah, the lesson of Psalm 1, and the example we follow in Jesus. Righteousness, dignity, solidarity, faithfulness, and resilience, not in the hands of an individual, but in the commitment of a people to be grounded. The imagery in Isaiah, I think, is stunningly guiding. The hope for Isaiah’s people is not a single plant growing, but a new branch for that moment sprouting from the stump of a history of faithfulness, devotion, commitment, and peace. A stump.
The people listening to Isaiah’s prophecy, and many of us, might have placed our hope in the strength and size of our own understanding of history, only to realize that what is left is only a stump. This is true, I think most certainly, about the American political project. And I think it might also be about our traditions and history as a people of faith. A stump. And the realization that what we have as a foundation is nothing but a stump is not a good feeling. The nation is going through that. And I think many liberal and progressive Christians who think of their tradition as mainstream or mainline are also going through that.
That is the moment, however, when the challenge of a difficult realization can and has to be turned into good news. What we may have left over is but the stump of what it used to be, but God is not done with us yet.
You see, while the visible life of a tree is in its trunk, branches, leaves, and fruit, its memory and resilience is in its roots. The good news, and the call, for us today is to be a grounded people because the roots never forget. And in due time, in its season, from the roots a branch will sprout.
While restlessness is a logical response to all that is happening in church and throughout the region, the nation, and the world, our call is to be grounded. Because that restless energy that many of us are feeling, maybe, just maybe, is that new growth we are about to see and be with and for Saratoga Springs and the world. And the witness to that which God is doing in us, with us, and through us will not be how big a tree we think of ourselves to have been, but the roots from which we have grown before and will grow again - a signal to the peoples, a reference to the nations.
A people grounded.
Deep roots.
A new branch growing. Amen.