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Seventh Sunday of
Easter
May 28, 2006 Sermon
by The Rev. Bill Van Oss, Rector
Readings
There is an ancient story that tells of 6
blind men who encounter an elephant in the jungle.
The first man grabs the elephant’s tail and exclaims: “We have found a
length of rope.”
The second man feels the elephant’s side and says: “No, what we have
here is a canvas wall.”
The third man feels the elephant’s ear and exclaims: “No, no it’s a
fan.”
The fourth grabs the elephant’s tusk and proclaims: “A spear, it’s a
spear.”
The fifth man, feeling the elephant’s trunk in his hands says: “I beg to
differ, but what we have found is a snake.”
Finally, the sixth, reaching down and feeling the elephants leg says: “I
believe we have come upon a sturdy post.”
They are all wrong, of course, and if they choose to hang onto their
small piece of reality and not listen—not open themselves up to the
others, and their experiences, they will never find out the truth.
But if the blind men were to work together, to cooperate, to listen and
discuss and put the pieces together, they just might find out that what
they’ve come upon is an elephant.
But they would need to get beyond their little corner of reality, they
would have to let go of their narrow idea of the truth, and see a bigger
and more complete picture.
They would need to have an open mind, and an open heart.
It’s interesting to note how anxious Peter was to replace Judas in
today’s first reading from Acts.
After a prayer, lots are cast and Mathias wins.
Why was Peter so anxious to replace Judas?
I could imagine that after the bad experience with Judas, the eleven
might say, “Let’s just keep the group at 11” - no need to risk bringing
in a newcomer.
What if he has different ideas? What if He had a different experience of
the Lord, what if it’s different from our experience?
What if he felt the tusk, and the rest of us felt the tail, and the leg
and the truck and the ear?
But they did it in spite of the risk—the
eleven apostles added Matthias, perhaps because he would bring a
different experience of the Lord, a new perspective.
The criterion for selection were simple: He needed to have been a
witness of the resurrection and he needed to have a good heart, an open
heart.
And Matthias’ insights and experiences would then be added to the rest
of the believers and it would fill in the picture—some people call this
“seeking the truth in community.”
It gives a clearer, and more complete picture, of who Christ was, and
is.
It is so tempting to believe we have a corner on the truth. That our
perception of reality is accurate and others are not.
Like blind men bickering over an elephant, we can hang on to our little
corner of the truth.
The disciples, today, remind us that another insight might help complete
the picture and bring us closer to the truth.
Because the disciples knew that Christ was experienced by different
people in different ways:
-
As a comfort to the sorrowing
-
As healer to the broken
-
As friend to the outcast
-
As a challenge to the complacent
-
As a threat to the self-assured
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As forgiveness for the sinner
-
As one who loved lepers, Samaritans, and little children
Christ can be experienced by all of us as
each of these things and so much more.
And together we fill in the picture of who Christ is and how He
continues to be alive in our hearts and in the world.
May we not blindly hang onto our narrow perceptions, but open ourselves
to finding the truth in concert with people who might see things very
differently than ourselves.
“Seeking the truth in community” worked for the disciples long ago and
it will work for us, disciples, today.