June 23, 2024
Indianola Presbyterian Church, Columbus
" Blindfolded"
Sermon by Rev. Trip Porch
June 23, 2024 Based on 2 Corinthians 5:6-9, 11-14
A few years ago, I was on a retreat with my youth group. We were all excited for an afternoon of team-building activities in a beautiful, forested part of the camp where we were staying. We’d done some of the usual activities a group teeter totter, a wall we had to get over together, a spider’s web of rope we had to crawl through. At this point we were feeling confident after having finished several elements successfully and quickly but then our guides pulled out blindfolds.
They had us form a line, put them on, put our hands on the shoulder of the person in front of us and walk. If you feel comfortable, I invite you to close your eyes and imagine this in your mind with me as I tell you how it went.
We walked on for a way and they told us there was a log coming up we needed to step over, so one by one we did, and then another log we had to duck under, so one by one we did, coming up further still a mud patch we had to navigate around so we had to do some side to side snake turns. Until finally we reached our destination. They told us to reach our hands to the side where we found a rope tied taut between two trees. They told us this rope was a part of a rope maze and we’d need to find our way out of this maze blind, just by feeling it. They said there are two things you need to know before you start… The first is that there is only one way out of this maze, and the second is if you need help at any time, just ask.
So of course by this point we figured… we’ve got this. We put our hands out and began. At first, we all went in different directions. We found places where the rope split into two or three or four paths. Places where the rope ran into another path you had to climb over. As we walked, we began to get a sense of just how big this maze was. We laughed as we bumped into each other, some were convinced they figured out a shortcut that would lead them to the exit, after some time folks started retracing their steps in frustration.
And me? I ultimately found myself completely stuck. I felt the familiar ridges of a particular rope crossing and began to think each time I came to it that it was little too familiar, like I was stuck in a loop. I tried every path I thought might lead off of it, but nothing felt right. My confidence faded, replaced by a growing sense of helplessness. Finally, I swallowed my pride and called out, "Can someone help?"
And almost immediately, a gentle hand reached out and removed my blindfold.
You can open your eyes too by the way.
“You’re here” they said, “You found the exit," the voice chuckled as they took my blindfold off.
It was right there all along… the one way out of this maze was to ask for help.
This, my friends, is a perfect illustration I think of Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians: "We walk by faith, not by sight." Just like that ropes course, life can often feel like we are blind. Unsure of the right way to navigate it. And there are often times where we find ourselves in situations where the way forward isn't clear for us. We can't rely solely on what we see or what seems logical.
The pressures and anxieties of this world can feel like a tangled maze, an endless loop of worry and doubt. Like us in the rope maze, we might be tempted to be self-reliant… Thinking we can pull out by our own bootstraps… navigate life on our own strength, our own understanding.
But Paul reminds us, there is a different way. We can choose to walk by faith, trusting in God's presence even when we can't see it. We can hold onto the rope of God’s love, knowing that God can see things clearly and trusting that God will guide us, even when the path seems unclear. And just like in the ropes course, when we ask for help, we find our way out.
Here in this life, we can turn to prayer, to scripture, to the wisdom of the community that surrounds us, we can ask for help when we feel stuck in a loop and find a way out. And the beauty is, God is always there, ready to guide us. God is as close as our breath guiding us through spiritual practice and through one another. God may not always provide the solutions we expect, but God will always lead us down a path towards liberation, and freedom.
Now, this doesn't mean we walk around oblivious to the world. This isn’t some escape clause that allows us to fully leave the maze of life and abandon others stuck in the maze blindly. In faith our eyes are opened, and we are given a new perspective in our walk of life, but we must continue to walk.
Which brings me to another powerful verse in our passage: "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!"
When we walk by faith, we are walking towards transformation. It’s as though the blindfold is slowly coming off, and we begin to see God’s vision more clearly. How love is intertwined in this maze, and how others are walking this maze blind, and how we fit in. We who are becoming new creations, we begin to see how God is making the world anew through us… empowering us to face the challenges of life with courage and hope, so that we can participate in helping others remove their blindfolds and find freedom in this life.
After my blindfold came off, the guide told me, to go walk alongside those still on the maze as a guide. Their one instruction. Tell them you are here to help; all you have to do is ask.
Our eyes were opened and we were sent, to help other stuck in the maze.
So, the next time you find yourself lost in the maze of life, remember the ropes course. Remember the feeling of reaching out for help and finding the way forward. Remember that God is always there in your community and in prayer, ready to guide you, to remove the blindfold from your eyes, and show you the path towards a new and beautiful beginning.
And that in our own transformation, as our eyes are opened to God’s work, we are invited to join in. To help in the liberation of others and the liberation of our world… until all can see the maze of life clearly, and experience the love that God brings in community.
Until that day… Let us walk by faith together, trusting in the love of God who will lead us home.
Amen.
WE GATHER IN AWE AND PRAISE
PRELUDE “Faith” Kendra Logozar
INTROIT “This is The Day” Pablo Sosa
WELCOME Rev. Trip Porch
One: This is the day that the Lord has made
All: Let us rejoice and be glad in it
*OPENING PRAYER
God of every thought and reality, the holy, prophetic sustainer of community, we gather here today as your people,
children of the good news. Assure us of your presence once again, that we may trust the mystery of life and growth,
as we gather in the name of our Savior, who is Jesus, the Christ.
*HYMN 23 “God, You Spin the Whirling Planets” PLEADING SAVIOR
*PRAYER OF CONFESSION by Peter Bankson Bob Concitis
One: Holy God, you call us to live in mystery, to walk by faith.
All: Yet we long for plans with goals and schedules. It’s hard to live by faith.
One: You call us to place our trust in you, to live according to your direction.
All: Yet we want life to make sense from a human point of view.
One: It’s hard to live by faith. You call us to feel the mystery of life, to marvel at the power of your love.
All: Yet it’s not easy to accept your promise that everything old has passed way. It’s hard to live by faith.
One: Forgive us, holy maker of reality.
All: Forgive us for playing God instead of accepting our humanity.
*ASSURANCE OF PARDON
*RESPOPNSE OF PRAISE 695 “Change My Heart, O God” CHANGE MY HEART
*PASSING OF THE PEACE
One: The peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all,
All: And also with you.
WE LISTEN FOR GOD’S WORD
ANTHEM “Be Thou My Vision” arr. Alice Parker
PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION
SCRIPTURE 2 Corinthians 5:6-10, 14-17 adapted from CEB
“So we are always confident, because we know that while we are living in the body, we are away from our home with the Lord. We walk by faith and not by sight. We are confident, and we would prefer to leave the body and to be at home with the Lord. So our goal is to be acceptable to him, whether we are at home or away from home.”
“So then, from this point on we won’t recognize people by human standards. Even though we used to know Christ by human standards, that isn’t how we know him now. So then, if anyone is in Christ, that person is part of the new creation. The old things have go ne away, and look, new things have arrived! All of these new things are from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and who gave us the ministry of reconciliation. In other words, God was reconciling the world to himself through Christ, by not counting people’s sins against them. He has trusted us with this message of reconciliation.”
Holy Wisdom, Holy Word
Thanks be to God
CHILDREN’S MESSAGE Mary Rebekah Fortman
SERMON
WE RESPOND TO GOD’S WORD
*HYMN 817 “We Walk by Faith and Not by Sight” DUNLAP’S CREEK
PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE followed by The Lord’s Prayer
TIME OF OFFERING online giving is available at www. indianolapres.org/give
OFFERTORY “In a Moment of Tranquility” James Michael Stevens
*OFFERTORY RESPONSE 710 “We Lift Our Voices” OFFERING
*PRAYER OF DEDICATION
As we offer our treasure, our hearts, and our lives to you, O God, may they be used to pass on the promise of hope, of peace, of justice, of community to all in need of your gifts and presence in their lives. Amen.
*HYMN 656 “We’ve Come This Far by Faith” THIS FAR BY FAITH
TIME OF COMMUNITY SHARING
CHARGE AND BENEDICTION
POSTLUDE “My Faith Looks Up to Thee” OLIVET (arr. Christine Sullivan Robbins)
Acknowledgments: Unless otherwise indicated, all texts and music are printed and broadcast under OneLicense.net license #A-702452