The story is told of a man who took an evening flight on which dinner was to be served to the passengers. Of course he was in first class, so we can expect that he would have received first class service and a first class meal. He was a bit hungry as he had missed lunch that day in order to attend a meeting so that he could catch an earlier flight home. He inquired of the flight attendant how long it would be before they would be serving dinner, and she was rather cross with him, but he tried to ignore her behavior when she responded that it would only be a bit longer. And so as dinner time arrived, the flight attendant came around with the cart and started passing out the wrapped dinner trays which included a tossed salad. When the passenger received his tray he was a bit anxious and began opening his salad, but he was met with a surprise upon peeling back the covering. There, on top of the mixture of lettuce and carrots and what have you, lay a roach. Of course after such a strong urge to eat, his hunger quickly left him and he no longer desired the salad or any other food they had to offer. He became quite furious and decided that when he arrived home he would most certainly send a scathing letter to the president of this particular airline. So he wrote the letter and mailed it off.
A couple weeks or so later he was surprised to receive a special delivery package in the mail. Lo and behold upon opening it up he saw that it was from the president of the airline. In contrast to his own letter full of contempt and anger, this letter from the airline president was just dripping with apology. He informed the passenger that the particular plane on which he had flown had been taken out of service. He told him it had been stripped and treated for bugs. He also told him that the flight attendant would most certainly be reprimanded, possibly up to and including termination from employment. And he ended by appealing to the passenger to continue to use this airline. As the passenger finished reading the letter, he noticed that there was another page clinging to the back of the letter. You see the secretary had made a grave mistake because the passenger noticed that this was his own letter. He pulled it apart and his attention was drawn to the unfamiliar scrawl of the airline president who had written these words to his secretary; "Send this guy the standard ’roach’ letter".
Here was a man that wanted some answers. Perhaps that airline president had the right intention in mind, and had this gross mistake not occurred, the passenger may have indeed believed that the airline was taking some serious steps to correct the problems he addressed in his letter. If the passenger had not found out through happenstance that the letter was nothing more than a perfunctory response, probably a standard form letter sent out in response to all similar complaints, the passenger would probably have thought that this was indeed an airline that was genuinely concerned about customer service and customer satisfaction, and wanted to answer his concerns sincerely and earnestly and had that been the case, he probably would have continued to give them his business. But he deserved better, and should have gotten more than the standard "roach" answer to his letter.
Much of the time life seems like an endless series of questions. Sometimes all we feel that we get are "roach" answers. Modern society has produced a complex life style, with complex issues, complex concerns, complex questions and yes, complex answers. We are often confused even having to ask "What exactly are the questions?" Philosophers of even more than 2000 years ago—even during the time of Christ—came up with what we today call, Transcendental Questions—questions that are all encompassing, they are common to all cultures and languages, human beings ask these questions to try to make sense of what is happening and what is going on around them. These Transcendental Questions are: Is it one or many?; Is it true or false?; Is it beautiful or ugly?; Is it good or evil? Our cultural training determines how we answer these questions—for what is true in one culture may not be true in another; what is beautiful in one culture may not be beautiful to another; what is good in one culture may be evil in another. These are questions we ask about ourselves, about others, and about what is going on in our environment. But all too often, particularly if we are honest, we do not like the answers to our questions, and ironically, the answers that we don’t like the most are usually what is true.
I believe that something must have happened to my generation. We seem to be looking for answers, looking for something, searching for something, yet we seem to be afraid of finding the answers. Many of my own generation, the so-called "baby boomers" are just plain old scared. We seem to have what it takes—we have talent, education, credentials, we even have the looks—if that’s what it takes. But we don’t seem to have the confidence because we’re scared. Looking for answers, but running scared. And there really isn’t any particular thing we’re afraid of.
We’re afraid of relationships. We’re afraid that we’ll never meet the right person and if we do meet him or her, we’re afraid it won’t work out.
We’re afraid we’ll never get that "good" job, and when we do get it, we’re afraid we’re going to lose it.
We’re afraid folks on the new job won’t like us and then when we get there, we’re afraid certain folks will like us.
We’re afraid of failure, and we’re afraid of success.
We’re afraid of dying young and we’re afraid of growing old.
We’re afraid of things staying the same and we’re afraid of change.
We’re afraid to take risks, we’re afraid to step out on faith, yet we’re control freaks and so we’re afraid to give up control.
We’re just plain old running scared!
And unfortunately, that inability to find the answers to our tough questions has carried over into what we often call generation “X”, a generation of young people who are very apathetic about the world and about life and feel that the world and that we have somehow let them down. They don’t want to accept that there are more questions than there are answers an attitude that many of us probably passed along, and so they are very disillusioned and very indifferent.
Moreover, because of all of our fears, we get all stressed out and burned out, and then we start wondering why—why can’t we get some answers—and when we can’t figure it out we start stressing out, and then, we start looking for ways to manage and control the stress in our lives. We try to figure everything out—we figure that there has to be an answer, a way to deal with our problems with our situations. So we start working on ourselves—we become our own project—our own self-improvement project. "Maybe the answer is in earning this degree. . . , or getting that job.., or having this relationship.., or going to this seminar. . . , or seeing this therapist . . . , buying these clothes. . . , getting this hairstyle . . . , going on this diet . . . ,stop eating pork . . . stop eating meat . . . , take more vitamins. . . , get more sleep” . . .
And sooner or later it seems like the little project and plan is not working fast enough or not working out the way we thought it would, and it’s then when we slip into the self-destructive and self sabotaging behaviors and attitudes, trying to cope with the stress of perceived failure--we drink. . . , we over eat. . . , we smoke. . . , we take drugs—(the prescription and non-prescription kinds). . . , we overspend. . . , we gamble . . ., we engage in behaviors and activities that are self defeating and self destructive. Then somewhere along the line when we finally get a clue, if we ever get a clue, that this ain’t working either, this is not the answer, we start all over again, it becomes a vicious cycle, we start working on ourselves again, on the self-improvement regimen. Eat right, exercise, take our vitamins, read more books, join a self-help group, go to church, because church is supposed to have all the answers. And so whatever we do, we think we’ve finally found the answer, but most of us really don’t stick to anything, no doubt many of us sitting right in this room have started something that we didn’t finish and we only ended up in that vicious cycle, back and forth, start and stop, trying and giving up, looking for some answers. And then we wonder why our young people are looking for answers.
We live in a world with people with all kinds of questions, looking for all kinds of answers—they wan the quick fix, the fast solution, the rush to the finish, the quick answer. Some think the answer is in the Psychic Hotline or the zodiac, or more recently, Miss Cleo. But the Psychic Hotline and Miss Cleo will only take folks hard earned money just to give them a little temporary hope. They just end up going back again and again, spending more and more money just to have a little temporary hope. Some folk think the answer is in getting rich, no realizing that all they do is create some new bills, some new debt, some deeper debt, some new worries, some new fears, some new questions, and probably even some new enemies. Some folk think that finding the right relationship is the answer, and fail to realize that when they’re down and that other person is having their own problems—whose problems are going to be more important?
Can any of this, any of these things, or these situations answer our questions? Can any of this bring any of us more than just a little temporary happiness? It may make us happy, for a little while, but will it make us content? Yet another question. Being content is knowing that the answer is not in the zodiac, the answer is in the Person who hung the sun moon and stars in place. Being content is knowing that while Miss Cleo may try to tell the future, there is someone who is in control of the future. Being content is understanding that when I’m down to my last dime, God will step in on time and supply all my needs according to His riches in glory—and it’s also knowing that God may bless me with abundance, but I really need to learn how to be a good steward and better manage what I already have. Being content is learning to make the best of a bad situation. Being content is finding the silver lining, on a cloudy day. Being content is knowing how to come back from set back. Being content is understanding that God is good all the time and that no matter what you’re going through, God is still our joy in sorrow and our hope for tomorrow!
I came today not so much to make a point—point 1, point 2, point 3—but I came with some questions. Many of you came with some questions as well. And if the church really takes a good long look at itself, we must face the fact that we exist in a world that has more questions than answers. And the church has questions—we’re even going to leave here today with even more questions. (What about my preaching—is it in vain? What about this charismatic stuff?) We have some hard questions. We must face the fact that we have people who are looking for answers and they are coming to the church to try to find answers. And they deserve more than the routine roach answers.
We must face the fact that people are asking hard questions, and that these questions are coming in an era where there are wars and rumors of wars; mothers against daughters and fathers against sons; a world where people ask why do bad things happen to good people; a world where people want to know why a good God will allow evil men to have so much power; a world where people want to know Who God really is—is God Allah, is God Krishna, is God Buddha—or am I god—can I just speak and things leap into existence, into being—are my words the force of faith, the energy behind what will and what will not be, can I really name it and claim it—Who is God? Much confusion and many questions.
In Isaiah 65:24, God tells Israel, "I Am" the answer to your questions. I know your questions even before you ask. I like the way the New Century Translation puts; "I will provide for their needs before they ask, and I will help them while they are still asking for help." In Jeremiah 33:3 God says "Call to me, and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know" (NIV). The New Century Translation says "I will tell you important secrets you have never heard before." God will share secrets with us, no doubt, many of these secrets are the answers to the questions that we’ve been asking. In Isaiah 65:1 God says "I have revealed Myself to those who did not ask for Me . . ." If God reveals Himself to those who do not even ask, how wonderful it must be when we do ask Him directly. God, who loves us in spite of ourselves, in spite of our imperfections, in spite of our faults, in spite of our sins, God hears us and wants to answer our questions.
In the Gospel books, and I would reference Mark 10:17-22, a young man came to Jesus with a question. Between the synoptic gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke each writer tells his view of the story including the parts the writer feels is more important. We can determine from the three versions that this is a young man who is wealthy and has some authority. He has a question for Jesus, but he thinks he already has the answer.
Have you ever met anyone who asked you a question and after you answer they tell you you’re wrong? Why ask a question if you already have your mind made up what the answer is?
But this rich, young man comes to Jesus and he said “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” We know that Jesus gave an unexpected response by answering a question with another question. Jesus’ answer was “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but God.” I believe that Jesus wanted this young man to understand what good really is—I believe he wanted to make the distinction to this young man that there is a difference between goodness and righteousness. But Jesus knew how this young man was going to respond and he wanted him to understand that you may think you are doing good, but are you righteous, sanctified, justified, and holy before God? His desire was that this young man would understand the difference between his own self-righteousness and what would truly make him righteous in the eyes of God.
We know that Jesus said to him “You know the Commandments. . .” and the young man said yes, probably with a hint of arrogance he added “I have kept them since my youth”. But then came the clincher. Jesus said “Then one thing you lack. Go and sell what you have and give to the poor.” Wrong answer—Wrong answer Jesus—I didn’t come here for you to tell me what I need to be doing, or what I should be doing—I came for you to tell me how well I’m doing since I keep the Commandments—I obey the law—I’m such a good citizen—I know I’m bound for Mt. Zion—and heaven is my home. But the Bible says the young man went away sad and broken hearted because he was given an answer he didn’t expect, nor that he wanted to hear.
Someone once said that a true friend will not always tell you what you want to hear—a true friend will tell you what you need to hear. For all of us, we are not always going to get the answers we want to hear. Even as we sit today and discuss what our concerns are about and consider the questions the church has for itself, we must prayerfully consider the answers. And this also means that we must be willing to listen to the hard answers God has for us when we pray. I wonder do we remember that prayer is a conversation and a conversation is a two way event?
The woman whom most people came to know as Mother Theresa, was known, among other things for her effective and fervent prayers. Very recently I did some personal study on prayer and in the course of my reading I found an article about a conversation between news reporter Dan Rather and Mother Theresa before she died. Dan Rather said to Mother Theresa “It has been said that you pray to God for hours each day. How can you find so much to pray about?” Mother Theresa’s response was, “Much of the time I listen”. I wonder what our prayer life would be like if we talked less and listened more? If we are looking for answers, we need to be quiet long enough for God to speak and respond to us and give us the answers to our questions.
Celebration/Conclusion
We’re not the first to ever have questions. We’re not the first to ever want some answers. There have always been questions.
Cain asked the question "Am I my brother’s keeper?"
Abraham asked the question "Can we find just 10 good men?"
Joseph asked the question "How can I sin against God?"
Moses asked the question "Whom shall I say has sent me?”
David said "The Lord is my life and my salvation"—then he asked a question—
’’Whom shall I fear?"
Then he said "The Lord is the strength of my life"—then he asked another question—"Of whom shall I be afraid?"
Job’s wife, had a question—she said "Why don’t you curse God and die?"
Job had a question too—he said "God, why was I ever born?"
The Psalmist asked the question—"How can I sing the Lord’s song, in a strange land?"
Somebody asked Esther—"Who knows, but that you’ve come into your position for such a time as this?
The disciples asked Jesus—"Who’s going to be the greatest in the kingdom?"
John the Baptist asked Jesus—"Are you really The One?"
Nicodemus asked Jesus—"How can a man be born again?"
The people asked the question—"Is Jesus really the Son of God?"
But you know what—Jesus had some questions of his own.
Jesus asked the disciples, "Who do men say that I am?"
Then Jesus asked Peter, "Who do you say that I am?"
Jesus asked the question—"What does it profit a man—to gain the whole world – and loose his own soul?"
Jesus asked the man at the pool—“Do you want to be healed?”
Jesus asked the Pharisees—“If you don’t believe Moses, how will you believe me?”
Jesus asked the woman caught in adultery—“Woman, where are your accusers?
Jesus asked Bartimaeus, the man born blind—“What do you want me to do for you?
Jesus asked the question, "My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?"
Somebody said Jesus is the answer for the world today—
Above Him there’s no other—Jesus is the way
Jesus said—Seek first the kingdom of God and all these things shall be added—seek God first and you’ll get some answers; God knows the answer, God is the answer.
They tell me He’s an on time God—said He may not come when you want Him—but
He’ll be there right on time. God has all the answers
He is a God that canand a God that will
A God that can take a mess and find a way to bless
A God that hears our cry and answers by and by
A God that hears our call and will catch us when we fall
A God that gives love that is unconditional
Joy that is unspeakable
Peace that is unsurpassable
Hope that is incomprehensible
Understanding (secrets) that is unknowable
Faith that is unshakable
Strength that is inexhaustible
Power that is unbelievable
A God that is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we could ever ask or think, according to the power that works in us (Ephesians 3:30)
The song says—
I was weak and weary—I had gone astray—walking in the darkness—I couldn’t find my way—then a light came shining—to lead me from despair—all my sins forgiven—and I was free from care—
And it doesn’t stop there—it says—
I was sad and lonely, all my hopes were gone—Days were long and dreary, I couldn’t carry on.
Then I found the courage to keep my head up high—Once again I’m happy, and here’s the reason why.
I found the answer—I learned to pray—with faith beside me—I found the way—the
sun is shining—for me each day—I found the answer—I learned to pray
I Found the Answer
Johnny Lange
1. I was weak and weary, I had gone astray
Walking in the darkness, I couldn’t find my way;
Then a light came shining to lead me from despair
All my sins forgive, and I was free from care.
REFRAIN:
I found the answer, I learned to pray
With faith to guide me, I found the way.
The sun is shining for me each day,
I found the answer, I learned to pray.
2. I was sad and lonely, all my hopes were gone,
Days were long and dreary, I couldn’t carry on.
Then I found the courage to keep my head up high,
Once again I’m happy, and here’s the reason why.
(REFRAIN)
3. Keep your Bible with you, read it every day,
Always count your blessings and always stop to pray,
Learn to keep believing and faith will see you through,
Seek to know contentment and it will come to you.
(REFRAIN)
