Surrendering to the Master of the Board

This past Sunday at St. Matthew we used this theme of surrendering to the master as the perfect context for focusing on themes indigenous to the celebration of All Saints. We rang the bell of remembrance, we read the names, and we watched dancing angels collect roses associated with the twenty-four St. Matthew members that passed on to be with the Lord. It was a solemn event almost scripted for what it means to surrender to the master. Death, is the great act of surrender.

In our sermon series "When the game is over it all goes back in the box" death is the box. But surrendering to the master is more than just a consideration of how we die or how we anticipate death in the way we live. There is a natural conflict at work in the world. Two principles at cross-purposes define the basic conflict of every human life to varying degree. The first is natural to the human condition the second is natural to the order of the universe.

The first principle is the natural human tendency to exert our control over our surroundings. This effort to control explains why wealth and power are such addictive substances. If we get enough of them we can be in charge and call the shots. We will be able to place demands on the efforts of others and reserve for ourselves a formidable defense of all that matters most to us.

In John Ortberg's book (which shares the title of our sermon series and is the basis for them and the small group material being used in the church) he uses the Dr. Seuss story of Yertle the Turtle as the example for this desire to control. Yertle is the king of the Turtle pond and he uses his power to literally stand of the backs of his subjects to get a better view of the world. He asserts his control and his subjects dutifully comply, but it took only one turtle with some indigestion to bring King Yertle down to size.

Life changes for Yertle pretty quick, and that brings us to the second principle. The principle that is basis for the universe and life itself: change. In a world of constant change is control really possible? Or is it just an illusion, or a good public relations scam? Bernie Madoff was the darling of Wall Street. If you could get in on his game you could almost guarantee a 20% return on your investment; well, until it all came crashing down.

We live between change and control. And Christians don't escape the tension. It over simplifies the challenge to just say control is bad for Christians. Next week's sermon implies that true. Pastor Dave, on Sunday, will preach on the topic of making you move. It is fair to say that without some sense of control we would never get out of bed in the morning, but how do we know where to stop, and when does our will becomes an object of abuse and self deception, and how does the will and purpose of God fit into the equation?

We have a world within which God has set us. God commanded us to "subdue the earth and have dominion over it," the question is how does that command fit into the context of belonging to the will of God, and expectation of faithful stewardship. What is the balance?

For comparison's sake Ortberg places this question in the context of a complete humanistic world view. Near the end of his chapter entitle "Resign as Master of the Board" he quotes Joan Didion's book The Year of Magical Thinking (p. 68). Ms. Didion experiences the tremendous loss of both her husband and her child, and it put her into a despair that nearly engulfed her life. She says, "I had myself for most of my life shared the same core belief in my ability to control events. Yet... Some events just happen. This was one of those events. You sit down to dinner and life as you know it ends." The change in her life was unexpected and without a view of God's presence it was entirely arbitrary. How does an eternal perspective change the manner in which Christians deal with crisis?

We belong to a story that defines our world. When we speak of surrendering to the master of the board the point is not to "give up" on the world and our place in it. Maybe better language would be "giving in" to the Lord, and placing our dreams, ambitions and efforts into the broad context of blessing God and the world into which he sent us .

by Pastor Jim